Redbirds walk away with 17-3 win against Evansville

[May 13, 2013]  NORMAL -- Illinois State capitalized on 12 walks issued by Evansville pitchers, as the Redbirds beat the Purple Aces 17-3 in a seven-inning, complete-game effort by ISU right-hander Dan Savas on Saturday afternoon at Duffy Bass Field.

With Illinois State's victory and Creighton edging Wichita State 3-1, the Redbirds are now in first place with a 12-5 (.706) record in the Missouri Valley Conference, with four league games remaining, while the Shockers are second at 14-6 (.700) in the Valley, with one conference game left. ISU improved to 32-18 overall, while Evansville fell to 21-30 and 10-9 in the Valley.

Brett Kay led ISU with a 3-for-4 performance, including two runs and three RBIs. Meanwhile, Savas allowed just two earned runs while striking out seven and allowing six hits through seven innings of work. Evansville starter Kyle Lloyd fell to 7-3 after giving up six earned runs on four hits through 2 2-3 innings.

Evansville took a short-lived one-run lead in the first inning, as Kevin Kaczmarski led off with a double and scored when Jonathan Ramon reached on a fielder's choice. However, Illinois State responded with nine unanswered runs during the first three frames, including a two-run homer by Zac Johnson in the second inning. A stolen base by Chad Hinshaw, also in the second inning, marked the 105th steal of his career, tying Kevin Tokarski for the career-steals record.

The Purple Aces plated one run in the fourth to narrow ISU's lead to 9-2, but the Redbirds all but sealed the victory with a five-run fourth inning. Evansville added another run in the sixth, and Illinois State again answered with three runs in the bottom of the frame. Savas faced the minimum in the top of the seventh to secure the run-ruled 17-3 win.

With the series tied 1-1, Illinois State was to wrap up its three-game series against Evansville on Sunday at 1 p.m. (See report.) After that the Redbirds have just three games remaining in the regular season, ahead of the Valley tournament.

[Text from news release received from Illinois State University]