McLean County Times

Illinois State University secured a victory against the University of Iowa with a 10-8 win on Tuesday at Duffy Bass Field. The Redbirds amassed ten hits throughout the game.

Sophomore Luke Stulga played a key role for Illinois State (9-13), delivering a strong performance by going 3-for-4 at the plate, contributing an RBI and hitting a home run. Iowa's overall record fell to 14-9 following this matchup.

The top performers for Illinois State included Brayden Bakes, who went 2-for-5 with three RBIs, Daniel Contreras with a perfect 2-for-2 including a double and three RBIs, and Luke Stulga with his impressive stats of 3-for-4, one home run, one RBI, and two runs scored.

In terms of pitching, Carter Monke earned the win with six innings pitched, allowing seven hits and one earned run while striking out four batters. MacCallan Conklin contributed an inning without giving up any hits or runs. Jack Finn and Michael Addari also took the mound briefly before Joe Husak finished the game despite allowing four earned runs in his inning.

The scoring began early when Brayden Bakes hit an RBI single in the first inning. Luke Stulga followed with a home run in the second inning. Bakes added another RBI in the third inning. A significant seven-run fourth inning put Illinois State ahead by ten points after Daniel Contreras cleared the bases with a triple. Iowa responded in later innings but could not close the gap entirely.

Judah Morris extended his on-base streak to nineteen games for Illinois State, marking it as their longest streak this season. Meanwhile, Stulga achieved his third home run of the season and Bakes recorded his third multi-RBI game as a Redbird.

Next up for Illinois State is another midweek game as they travel to face SIUE on Wednesday at 4 PM in Edwardsville.

For more updates on Illinois State Baseball, visit GoRedbirds.com or follow them on various social media platforms under @RedbirdBaseball or isuredbirdbaseball.