ISU Baseball Defeats Western Illinois 7-4 After Bouncing Back

Following its seven-game winning streak being snapped on Tuesday, Illinois State baseball won 7-4 against Western Illinois on Wednesday at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium to get back on track and improve to 18-12 on the season.

Daniel Pacella’s left field single early in the game gave ISU a two-run lead and allowed Luke Lawrence to reach base for his 44th RBI of the year. Lawrence was the one who scored a run in the second inning when Daniel Contreras was hauled in by his single. In the fourth inning, the Redbirds put on a show, scoring three runs to make the score 5-1. With one out, Greg Nichols hit a triple that drove in Noah Smith. Smith scored from third on Lawrence’s single up the middle, increasing the advantage, and Noah Rabin scored Lawrence with a pitch while the bases were loaded.

In the fifth inning, the Leathernecks battled their way back. Carter Monke, the starting pitcher for ISU, had to end his day on the mound after three straight hits and a walk by WIU rapidly reduced the Redbird advantage to one run. Monke finished with six hits, four earned runs, six strikeouts, two walks, and 4 1/3 innings thrown. Monke’s MacCallan Conklin finished the fifth after two and a third innings pitched with just one hit allowed.

Shaydon Kubo scored on a wild pitch by the Leathernecks, and Contreras scored from second on a throwing error in the same play, as ISU quickly regained a commanding lead.

In the sixth inning, ISU’s long reliever Matthew Donnison entered and proceeded to pitch three innings while giving up no hits and striking out one.

Joe Husak pitched one inning, one strikeout, and recorded his third save of the year.