McLean County Times

The Illinois State baseball team concluded their series at Lindenwood with a 4-2 loss on Sunday at Lou Brock Sports Complex. The Redbirds, now holding a 2-7 record, could not recover after conceding three runs.

Daniel Pacella and Nolan Barry each contributed two hits for the Redbirds. Kyle Gibson, Graham Mastros, Eric Machej, and Luke Stulga also added hits. Junior Thomas Harper pitched four innings in relief to keep the game close, following Ryan Weaver's start of four innings where he allowed four hits and struck out one batter.

Lindenwood improved their record to 6-6 with this victory.

The scoring began when Lindenwood capitalized on a Redbird error in the second inning. They extended their lead in the fourth with an RBI single and a sacrifice fly, making it 3-0. Illinois State responded in the fifth inning with a sacrifice fly by Shai Robinson followed by an RBI double from Pacella, narrowing the gap to 3-2. However, Lindenwood added another run in the eighth inning to secure their win at 4-2.

Key highlights included Kyle Gibson reaching base for the ninth consecutive game this season and Nolan Barry achieving his first two hits as a Redbird. Despite these efforts, Illinois State left ten runners on base during the game.

Looking ahead, Illinois State will travel to Oklahoma for a midweek matchup against Oral Roberts on Wednesday. The game is scheduled to begin at 6 PM CT at Chapman Park.

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