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 Shortstop Dennis Colon tallied a career-high four hits in the game,
with two singles, a double, and a triple, to lead the Redbird bats.
Colon became the first Redbird to collect four hits in a game this
season with the performance.
Paul DeJong added three hits and a game-high four RBIs, while Mason
Snyder, Jared Hendren, Daniel Dwyer, Joe Kelch and Brian Rodemoyer
added two apiece. Hendren hit the first home run of his ISU career
in the win, a two-run shot in the fifth inning.
The Redbirds’ offensive surge came in support of starter Jacob
Hendren, who pitched seven strong innings, allowing just three hits,
three walks and one run, while striking out six.
Illinois State (10-10) was first on the scoreboard, as Snyder
singled to left field to open the bottom of the second inning. Jared
Hendren followed Snyder with a single up the middle, advancing the
leadoff hitter to second, before Rodemoyer singled to left to score
Snyder.
ISU tallied four more runs in the bottom of a fourth inning that
began with a Snyder walk. A Sean Beesley single advanced Snyder, and
Kelch hit a double in the left-field gap to score both runners.
Colon later recorded a two-out double that scored Kelch, and Dwyer
reached on an error that scored the fourth run of the inning.
The Redbirds added two more to their total with Jared Hendren’s
two-run shot in the fifth, scoring Snyder, who had led off the
inning with a single to left field.
Eastern Kentucky scored its first run of the game in the top of the
sixth, as TJ Alas tripled to left center and scored on a Mandy
Alvarez sacrifice fly.
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Illinois State matched a season high with nine runs in the bottom
half of the frame, however, as Colon tripled to start the inning.
Dwyer followed with a double to score Colon, and DeJong doubled to
score Dwyer. Three consecutive walks to Ryan Koziol, Snyder and
Jared Hendren scored Dwyer, and a fielder’s choice from Beesley
scored Koziol. Back-to-back singles from Rodemoyer and Colon tallied
two more runs for the Redbirds, and a three-run, bases-clearing
double from DeJong gave the Redbirds three more.
Eastern Kentucky’s Brendan Cutting hit a three-run homer in the
ninth inning to bring the game to its final score.
Jacob Hendren’s strong outing marked the left-hander’s
fifth-straight quality start. Mitch Vogrin pitched a scoreless
eighth before Craig Larkin finished out the game, giving up
Cutting’s home run in the ninth.
[Matt Wing, Illinois State
University]
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