Illinois State faced a narrow defeat against Northwestern, with the Wildcats clinching a 7-6 victory in extra innings at Rocky and Berenice Miller Park. This marked the second encounter between the teams this year.
Carter Monke, a junior from Illinois State, pitched for five innings, striking out four batters and allowing two earned runs. The Redbirds now hold an overall record of 20-18, while Northwestern improves to 13-23.
The game saw Illinois State's sophomore Shai Robinson hitting a lead-off home run in the second inning. However, Northwestern quickly responded with four runs in their half of the inning to take a 4-1 lead.
In the fourth inning, Daniel Contreras contributed with an RBI single for Illinois State. The Redbirds then surged ahead in the fifth inning with three more runs, thanks to Noah Rabin's two-RBI single and Shaydon Kubo's RBI groundout.
Northwestern reclaimed the lead with a two-run homer in the sixth inning. In the ninth inning, Kubo tied the game once more for Illinois State with an RBI single. Ultimately, Northwestern secured their win in the tenth inning through a sacrifice fly that brought home the decisive run.
Additional highlights included sophomore Luke Lawrence extending his on-base streak to 24 games and senior Erik Kubiatowicz delivering two innings of relief pitching with four strikeouts. Illinois State has yet to secure a win in extra-inning games this season, currently standing at 0-3.
Looking ahead, Illinois State will continue their road trip for a three-game series against Murray State from April 26-28 as part of their Missouri Valley Conference schedule.
For ongoing updates on Illinois State Baseball activities and events, fans are encouraged to visit GoRedbirds.com or follow them on social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram.
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