McLean County Times

Illinois State University's baseball team faced a setback in their series opener against Lindenwood University, with the Redbirds losing 8-5 on Friday afternoon. The game was held in Saint Charles, Missouri. Despite the loss, Illinois State's offense was notably driven by Judah Morris, who achieved three hits out of four at-bats and contributed four RBIs.

Lindenwood University improved its season record to 5-5 following this victory.

In the first inning, Illinois State took an early lead when Judah Morris hit an RBI double down the left field line, bringing Kyle Gibson home for a 1-0 advantage. However, Lindenwood responded with a lead-off home run in the second inning, leveling the score at 1-1.

The Redbirds managed to rally again in the third inning with two-out RBI singles from Morris and Noah Smith, regaining a lead of 3-1. Yet, Lindenwood's bats came alive in their half of the third inning as they scored five runs, including a grand slam that pushed them ahead by three runs at 6-3.

Morris continued his strong performance by hitting a two-run home run in the fifth inning, narrowing Lindenwood's lead to 6-5. Nevertheless, Lindenwood added insurance runs in the eighth inning through an RBI double and an RBI single, finalizing their win at 8-5.

Key performances included Kyle Gibson reaching base in all seven games this season for Illinois State and Matthew Donnison pitching 2.2 innings of relief while allowing two hits and recording four strikeouts.

The series between Illinois State and Lindenwood is set to continue on Saturday with a game scheduled for 1 PM CT at the Lou Brock Sports Complex.

For more updates on Illinois State Baseball, fans are encouraged to visit GoRedbirds.com or follow the team's social media channels on X (@RedbirdBaseball), Instagram (isuredbirdbaseball), and Facebook (Illinois State Baseball).