Redbirds Fall to Bucknell in Snowbird Classic Finale, 13-8

[March 09, 2015]  PUNTA GORDA, Fla. – The Illinois State baseball team lost to Bucknell in its Snowbird Classic finale Sunday. Bucknell won by a 13-8 score.

The loss was the first of the weekend for Illinois State (6-6) after the Redbirds won their first two games at the Snowbird Classic on Friday and Saturday.

“The inconsistency bug bit us again,” said Illinois State head coach Bo Durkac. “We played pretty well the first two days. We had a really good team win yesterday – good pitching, good defense, clutch hits – but today we just couldn’t get those guys out. Giving up 19 hits, that’s really tough to come back from.”

Daniel Dwyer went 3-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and four runs scored, to lead the Redbird bats. Paul DeJong and Ryan Koziol added two hits apiece in the losing effort.

The 19 hits allowed by Redbird pitchers matched a season high, as starter Jack Landwehr took the loss after allowing four runs over the first four innings. Mitch Vogrin allowed two runs over the next two innings before the Bison scored three runs off ISU reliever Jake Sale. Jeffrey Barton pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the Redbirds, but Bucknell scored four insurance runs off Koziol in the ninth.

Illinois State scored its first run with a Koziol sacrifice fly in the first inning. The Redbirds added two more in the third to tie the game as Mason Snyder scored Dwyer on a sacrifice fly and Koziol hit a run-scoring single. 

Bucknell reclaimed the lead in the fourth inning, tacked on two more runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh. The Redbirds matched Bucknell’s three-run seventh as Dwyer provided a run-scoring single and later scored on a passed ball. Joe Kelch brought in another run with an RBI groundout.

The Redbirds then cut Bucknell’s lead to one with two runs in the bottom of the eighth as Illinois State capitalized on a pair of Bison errors.

Bucknell added four insurance runs in the top of the ninth, though, and finished the game with three-straight strikeouts after a leadoff single from Kelch.

The Redbirds will now travel to Boca Raton, Florida, for a true road game at Florida Atlantic on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 2:30 p.m.

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[Matt Wing, Illinois State University]