Southern Illinois top Redbirds in series opener

Posted on April 22, 2016

By: ISU Sports Information

NORMAL, Ill. – Southern Illinois scored all the runs it needed in the top of the second inning as the Illinois State baseball team dropped the first game of a Missouri Valley Conference series Friday at Duffy Bass Field. Southern Illinois won, 7-3.

Southern Illinois (22-16-1, 3-4 MVC) scored four runs with two outs in the top of the second off Illinois State starter Steve Heilenbach. The Redbirds could not recover as the Salukis never trailed again in the game.

Southern Illinois scored the first runs of the game when Connor Kopach drove in two runs with a double to left field. Dyllin Mucha chased in the next two with a single to center field moments later.

Illinois State (10-26, 1-5) got half those runs back in the bottom of the second when Derek Parola hit a two-run home run off the left-field foul pole.

The Salukis added a run in the fifth when Logan Blackfan doubled in Mucha, then another in the seventh when Drew Curtis singled in Blackfan.

The Redbirds pulled one run back in the bottom of the seventh, with a Sean Beesley sacrifice fly that scored Ryan Hutchinson.

Southern Illinois got an insurance run when Ryan Miller hit a solo home run in the top of the ninth inning. Illinois State put two runners on base in the bottom of the ninth, but never brought the tying run to the plate.

Parola was Illinois State’s top hitter, going 3-for-4 with a two-run homer run. Owen Miller added two hits for the Redbirds.

Heilenbach allowed five runs on seven hits and two walks over 4.1 innings of work. He struck out two. Jake Sale and Rhett Rapshus posted scoreless relief outings for the Redbirds.

Illinois State returns to action Saturday for the second game of the series, beginning at 2 p.m. Admission is free.

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