McLean County Times

The Illinois State baseball team secured a victory against the SIUE Cougars with a 9-3 win on Wednesday evening in Edwardsville, Illinois. The Redbirds established an early lead by scoring seven runs across the first two innings.

This victory brings Illinois State's record to 10-13 for the season, matching SIUE's overall record of 10-13.

Key performances came from Josh Outlaw, who went 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs, Kyle Gibson, who was 3-for-5 with two runs and one RBI, and Judah Morris, who contributed with a double and two RBIs.

In terms of pitching, Ryan Weaver earned his first win of the season with six and two-thirds innings pitched, allowing four hits and no earned runs while striking out seven. Toby Schriefer pitched one and one-third innings without giving up any runs or walks. Matthew Donnison closed the game with one inning pitched, conceding one earned run.

The scoring began when Shai Robinson tripled to bring home Kyle Gibson in the first inning. Daniel Pacella followed with a sacrifice fly to give Illinois State a 2-0 lead after one inning. In the second inning, Josh Outlaw hit his first home run as a Redbird to extend the lead to 4-0. Judah Morris then added an RBI double for a score of 6-0. Additional contributions came from Brayden Bakes' groundout RBI and Kyle Gibson's single in the third inning, bringing the score to 8-0. Outlaw further increased their lead in the fourth inning with another RBI single.

SIUE responded in the seventh inning by scoring twice following an error by Illinois State. They added another run in the ninth inning through a solo home run.

Judah Morris extended his on-base streak to 20 games—the longest by any Redbird this season—while Ryan Weaver set a new career high with seven strikeouts.

Illinois State will return home to host Murray State over the weekend for MVC action at Duffy Bass Field starting Friday at 5 PM.

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