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 The Redbirds hit seven home runs in the contest, but needed six runs
in the top of the ninth inning to take the lead for good. Illinois
State tallied a season-high 22 hits in the win, while matching its
season high with 18 runs.
“The point is to win the game, find a way late in the game to battle
through some adversity,” said Illinois State head coach Bo Durkac.
“To come back from being two down in the eighth, one down in the
ninth, and end up beating those guys – a team that was hungry for
its first win – I was really proud of our guys for the way they
competed late in the game.”
Illinois State (12-13) scored first Tuesday, plating a run in the
top of the first when leadoff hitter Daniel Dwyer scored as Jared
Hendren grounded into a double play.
Eastern Illinois (0-21) took the lead in the bottom of the first
when Caleb Howell and Demetre Taylor drove in runs, before the
Redbirds broke the game open with a three-run home run from DeJong,
immediately followed by a solo blast from Hendren in the second
inning.
The Redbirds hit back-to-back home runs again in the third inning,
when Kelch and Dennis Colon hit long balls on consecutive at-bats.
Kelch’s home run was a two-run shot, while Colon’s homer was the
first of his collegiate career.
The Panthers got one run back in the fourth when Adam Casson hit a
solo home run, but the Redbirds scored two runs in the top of the
sixth with DeJong’s second home run of the day and an RBI single
from Ryan Koziol.
Eastern Illinois started its comeback in the bottom half of the
inning, however, plating four runs to pull within three runs of the
lead. The hosts then added five runs in the seventh to take a
two-run lead at 12-10. Howell provided a two-run double in the sixth
and a three-run double in the seventh to spark the rally.
Illinois State evened the game with DeJong’s third home run of the
game – a two-run shot to right-center field – in the top of the
eighth, but the Panthers pushed back ahead with a squeeze bunt from
John Devito in the bottom half of the inning.
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Kelch tied the game with his second home run of the day to start the
ninth inning and Hendren gave the Redbirds the lead when he reached
on a run-scoring fielder’s choice. Koziol cleared the bases with a
three-run double and Kelch capped the scoring with a run-scoring
single.
Koziol took over pitching duties in the ninth and allowed one run,
but the tying run never came to the plate.
Redbird starter Jeffrey Barton allowed seven runs on 12 hits and two
walks over 5.1 innings. Matt Lambert gave up two runs over the next
inning of work and Jake Sale allowed four runs over the next 1.2
innings. Koziol finished out the game by pitching the bottom of the
ninth.
DeJong tied a school record with his three home runs Tuesday, and
notched career highs in hits (4) and RBIs (6). Kelch registered five
hits in the game, which was both a career high and the most
collected by a Redbird batter in 2015. Dwyer, Koziol and Brian
Rodemoyer added three hits apiece in the win. Kelch and Koziol drove
in four runs each, career-high totals for both players.
The seven home runs were the Redbirds’ most in a game since 2012.
The Redbirds return to Duffy Bass Field on Friday for the first game
of a three-game series against Missouri Valley Conference foe
Evansville. Friday’s game begins at 4:30 p.m.
[Matt Wing, Illinois State
University]
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