Strong Pitching, EKU Miscues Help Redbirds to 8-2 Win

[March 21, 2015]  NORMAL - Junior Will Headean came within one out of pitching a complete game shutout, but had to settle for an 8-2 win over Eastern Kentucky Friday at Duffy Bass Field.

Headean recorded his third victory on the season, throwing 116 pitches while stifling Eastern Kentucky batters for the better part of nine innings. He allowed only three hits and three walks against three strikeouts.

Redshirt junior Paul DeJong led the Redbirds offensively, blasting a solo shot over the center field fence and tallying a pair of RBIs in the win.

After retiring the side in top of the third, Illinois State (9-10) opened the scoring in the bottom half of the inning by taking advantage of two Eastern Kentucky (6-12) errors, plating two runs without the benefit of a hit.

The Redbirds continued to apply pressure in the fourth, with junior Sean Beesley leading off with a single. Junior Jean Ramirez walked behind him and junior Joe Kelch bunted both runners in scoring position. A fielder’s choice from senior Dennis Colon brought Beesley home, while junior Daniel Dwyer’s groundout scored Ramirez, and DeJong’s single knocked in Colon.

Stellar defense followed in the top of the fifth, with senior first baseman Mason Snyder making an acrobatic over-the-shoulder catch down the first-base foul line, before Colon and DeJong paired for a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play.

The Redbirds did not score again until the bottom of the seventh, when a hit, error and pair of wild pitches committed by the Colonels tacked on two more runs for the home team, making the score 7-0 in favor of ISU.

Illinois State rounded out its scoring with DeJong’s team-leading seventh long ball on the season in the bottom of the eighth. The Colonels chased Headean with two runs in the top of the ninth, but junior Jake Sale recorded the final out of the game to seal the 8-2 victory.

DeJong, Beesley and Ramirez scored two runs apiece, while Beesley remained perfect in stolen bases with his team-leading fifth on the season. Junior Jared Hendren also notched two hits and an RBI on the day for the Redbirds. Kelch also had two hits.

Illinois State is back in action Saturday, hosting Eastern Kentucky in a 1 p.m. game at Duffy Bass Field.

[Matt Wing, Illinois State University]

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