McLean County Times

Illinois State University emerged victorious in their baseball series finale against the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), securing a 16-3 win at Les Miller Field. The game concluded after seven innings under the run-rule.

The Redbirds, now holding a record of 26-23 overall and 14-10 in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), were propelled by sophomore Daniel Pacella. Pacella delivered an impressive performance, going 4-for-5 at bat and contributing six RBIs to his team's score.

UIC's Flames fell to a record of 32-16 overall and 15-9 in MVC play, with an 18-6 home record.

The game saw Illinois State take an early lead as Pacella hit his ninth home run. Junior Daniel Contreras added to the score with an RBI double, establishing a 4-0 advantage for Illinois State. UIC responded by narrowing the gap with three consecutive doubles in the third inning, bringing the score to 4-2.

However, Illinois State extended their lead by scoring three runs in the fourth inning and five more in the fifth, creating a substantial margin of 12-3 over UIC. The seventh inning saw Pacella further solidify his contribution with another RBI single before adding three additional runs, finalizing the score at 16-3.

Junior pitcher Carter Monke made his seventh start for Illinois State, delivering a complete seven-inning game with seven strikeouts. This victory marked Illinois State's first series win over UIC since April 2004. Notably, Pacella's six RBIs are the highest recorded for Illinois State since May 2023 when Luke Lawrence achieved similar success against Valparaiso.

Looking ahead, Illinois State is set to host Eastern Illinois on May 14 at Duffy Bass Field before concluding their regular season with a three-game home series against Belmont from May 16 to May 18.

For updates on Illinois State Baseball, fans can visit GoRedbirds.com or follow them on social media platforms such as Twitter (@RedbirdBaseball), Instagram (isuredbirdbaseball), and Facebook (Illinois State Baseball).

GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App provide resources for tickets, merchandise, multimedia content, and more related to Redbird athletics.