Redbird baseball downs St. Louis in home opener

Posted on March 29, 2017

Nick Zouras drove in the deciding run in ISU’s 2-1 win over St. Louis on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy GoRedbirds.com)

By ISU Sports Information

NORMAL – The Illinois State baseball team played its first game of the 2017 season at Duffy Bass Field Tuesday and celebrated the homecoming with a 2-1 victory over visiting Saint Louis, the preseason favorite to win the Atlantic 10 Conference.

A two-out, tie-breaking RBI single from Nick Zouras in the eighth inning lifted the Redbirds over the Billikens. Mitch Vogrin pitched two scoreless frames to finish off the game and earn his team-leading third pitching victory of the season.

Saint Louis got a man to third base with two outs in the top of the ninth inning, but Vogrin induced a routine ground ball to shortstop on the next pitch to finish out the game.

Illinois State (7-15) scored first Tuesday when Owen Miller plated Zouras with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third. Saint Louis (17-6) tied it with an RBI groundout from Alex King in the top of the sixth.

The Redbirds took the lead for good, however, in the bottom of the eighth. Noah Sadler started the inning by drawing a walk before Ryan Hutchinson reached on an infield single with one out. A fly out to deep center from Joe Butler allowed Sadler to advance to third base before Zouras’ single through the right side of the infield plated the game-winning run.

Redbird starter Jeffrey Barton pitched three scoreless innings to start the game. Jack Landwehr followed with two scoreless frames. Saint Louis scored its lone run off Trevor Cross, who allowed just the single tally over two innings of work before giving way to Vogrin.

Collin Braithwaite, Hutchinson and Zouras tallied two hits each for the Redbirds, to account for all six of the team’s hits.

The Redbirds are back in action this weekend at Dallas Baptist as both teams begin Missouri Valley Conference play.

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