By WJBC Staff
WICHITA, Kan. – The Illinois State baseball team’s season came to an end as Southern Illinois scored a 7-1 win over the Redbirds in a Missouri Valley Conference Tournament elimination game Thursday at Eck Stadium.
Illinois State grabbed an early lead, but Southern Illinois rallied for five runs in the fifth inning to take control of the game. Southern Illinois added two more runs in the sixth and the Redbirds were unable to threaten the Salukis’ lead from there on.
The Redbirds finished the season with an overall mark of 27-27 in head coach Bo Durkac’s first season at the helm.
“It’s a bad way to end the season, but I’m proud as heck of our guys,” Durkac said. “For nine months, they’ve laid it on the line for me as a first-year head coach. We’ve got three class-act seniors in Mason (Snyder), Logan (Leverett) and Dennis (Colon), and we’ve got three or four guys who might get drafted this year who will get a chance to go chase their professional dreams.
“A 27-27 record, it’s a .500 record when it’s all said and done, but we laid the foundation for our program moving forward, and I’m very proud of how we handled ourselves this year.”
Illinois State took an early lead Thursday when Jean Ramirez provided a two-out single up the middle to score Sean Beesley in the bottom of the second inning.
Southern Illinois (12-45) was held scoreless for the first four innings, before putting five runs on the scoreboard in the fifth, thanks to three hits, four walks and an Illinois State error.
Nick Hutchins singled to lead off the inning before three consecutive Salukis reached on walks to bring in the first run. SIU leadoff hitter Chase Sloan then singled up the middle to give the Salukis their second run, and a third run came in to score on a fielding error on Sloan’s single. Tyler Rolland brought home the final two runs of the inning with a two-out double to left field.
The Salukis added two more runs in the sixth as Ryan Sabo scored on a passed ball before Sloan scored Sabo with a sacrifice fly moments later.
Illinois State starter Will Headean allowed seven runs (six earned) on six hits and five walks over six innings. Jack Landwehr, Jack Czeszewski and Jake Sale pitched one scoreless inning each to finish out the game.
Koziol and Beesley recorded two hits apiece, accounting for two-thirds of the Redbirds’ six hits.
