Baseball

MVC Baseball Championship: Illinois State 6, Belmont 4 (Game 6)

Game 6: Illinois State 6, Belmont 4 
 
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – No. 4-seeded Illinois State used three homers and stellar pitching from Tanner Perry, who carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, to send No. 7 Belmont home, picking up the 6-4 win on Thursday.
 
CONFERENCE NOTES
  • Noah Rabin became the fourth player of the tournament to launch two homers in a game as the Redbirds finished with three and now have seven in the tournament.
  • With the setback, Belmont has been eliminated from the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Championship and the top six seeds are the only ones that remain.
  • Illinois State will face No. 6 Southern Illinois at approximately 7:30 p.m. CT Thursday night. A win would keep the Redbirds’ tournament run alive while a loss would send Illinois State packing.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
  • Belmont starting pitcher Jordan Zuger struck out the side to open the game in his third start of the season and earned his season-high sixth strikeout to start the home half of the fourth inning before Illinois State’s Noah Rabin dropped a double in right field for the first hit of the game.
  • A balk by Zuger moved Rabin to third while a sac fly to center field by Judah Morris sent the runner charging home. Shai Robinson recorded his team-leading 19th double of the season in the next at-bat and an RBI single from Greg Nichols sent him home to give Illinois State the 2-0 advantage.
  • Rabin’s second hit of the day left the yard, a two-RBI shot over the right field wall, to push the Redbirds ahead, 4-0, in the bottom of the sixth.
  • The Bruins got their first baserunner in the top of the seventh as lead-off batter Sam Slaughter drew a walk, but Illinois State turned the 6-4-3 double play and a flyout to J.T. Sokolove in centerfield got the Redbirds out of the inning.
  • With one out in the top of the eighth, Blake Barton drew a walk and a single up the middle by Pete Daniel helped the Bruins jump on the board. In the next at-bat, catcher Landon Godsey launched a homer to left field to bring Belmont within one.
  • The Redbirds added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth thanks to Rabin’s second homer of the game, fourth of the tournament and 18th of the season. Morris followed suit and left the yard, forcing the Bruins to make a pitching change with Illinois State leading, 6-3.
  • Barton knocked a two-out double down the left field line to bring Belmont’s game-tying run to the dish, but a 6-4 groundout sealed the 6-4 victory for the Redbirds.