McLean County Times

For the first time in his career, freshman Brayden Bakes has been recognized as the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week. The announcement was made by the league office on Monday.

Bakes is the second player from the Redbirds to receive an award this season. The Algonquin, Illinois native had a strong performance with five hits over 10 at-bats (.500) as the Redbirds secured two wins out of three games against the Bruins, marking the start of their MVC play.

In a decisive victory at Belmont on Sunday, Bakes achieved 3-for-3 with three home runs, six RBIs, and four runs scored, leading to a 14-2 win for the Redbirds. Over the weekend, he led his team with seven RBIs.

This achievement makes Bakes the first Redbird to hit three home runs in a single game since Ryan Cermak did so in 2022. He is also noted for being the first to have three extra-base hits since Daniel Pacella earlier this season at Ball State.

His four runs are notable as it marks the first instance a Redbird has scored four times in one game since Shai Robinson last May. Additionally, with six RBIs on Sunday, Bakes became the first Redbird athlete to record such a feat since Judah Morris versus Belmont last May.

Over the weekend series as designated hitter (DH), Bakes added three walks achieving a .615 OBP while slugging 1.700 and recording 17 total bases.

The Redbirds are set to return to action at 5 p.m. CT Tuesday for a mid-week match against Iowa at Duffy Bass Field.

For updates on Illinois State Baseball, fans can visit GoRedbirds.com or follow them on X (@RedbirdBaseball), Instagram (isuredbirdbaseball), and Facebook (Illinois State Baseball).

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