Sycamores win Valley series with Redbirds

[April 02, 2012]  TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Indiana State scored eight unanswered runs to beat Illinois State 11-3 Sunday afternoon at Bob Warn Field. The Sycamores (23-6, 4-2 Missouri Valley Conference) took two out of three games from the Redbirds (17-8, 1-2) in Illinois State's conference-opening series.

"It was a tough one. They played better than us today," said Redbird head coach Mark Kingston. "These were two good teams this weekend. They had the edge, being at home, and they played better baseball."

Eric Aguilera led Illinois State once again with a 2-for-4 performance, including one run and one RBI. He finished the weekend 5 for 11 (.455) with a home run, a double and three RBIs.

Redbird starter Dylan Craig (4-1) suffered the loss Sunday after allowing four earned runs on four hits through 3 2-3 innings.

Indiana State's Ryan Torgerson (5-0) earned the win. He pitched five innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits. Offensively, the Sycamores were led by Landon Curry's 3-for-5 effort with two RBIs and one run scored.

Indiana State plated the game's first run in the first inning. Curry led off with a bunt single and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Jon Hedges. The Sycamores added two more runs in the third, beginning with a leadoff solo home run by Jeremy Lucas. Robby Ort was then hit by a pitch and scored on a single by Ryan Walterhouse.

Illinois State responded with three runs in the fourth inning to tie the game 3-3. Mike Hollenbeck walked with two outs, advanced to third on a single by Kyle Stanton and scored because of an Indiana State fielding error. With Stanton on second base, a double by Aguilera drove home Stanton. Then Bryan Huff reached on a fielding error and Aguilera scored.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Sycamores answered as Kyle Burnam was hit by a pitch and Lucas walked with two outs. Ort then hit a two-RBI double against reliever Ryan Camp, to regain a two-run advantage. Indiana State plated two more runs in the fifth and three in the sixth to pull ahead 10-3. A solo home run by Hedges in the seventh inning increased the Sycamore advantage to 11-3, and Illinois State was held scoreless through the final five innings.

The Redbirds return to Duffy Bass Field for a four-game homestand beginning Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. against Eastern Illinois. Illinois State will then host Valley rival Wichita State for a three-game series beginning Friday at 4:30 p.m.

Admission is free to all Redbird home games, and live coverage will be available on GoRedbirds.com and WJBC.com.

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Sunday box score

Sunday play-by-play

Redbird Missouri Valley stats

Redbird season stats

[Text from file received from Illinois State]