KEVIN JENISON
GoSycamores.com
Indiana State (16-6 overall and 1-3 in the MVC) and Illinois State (16-7, 3-1) will battle two more times this weekend as they two sides will square off at 2 p.m. (ET) Saturday and wrap up the weekend's action at 1 p.m. (ET) Sunday.
Indiana State trailed the Redbirds 5-1 going in to the bottom of the ninth but mounted a rally after Mike Fitzgerald led off by singling up the middle. He went to second after Brian Romero reached on an error by Redbird second baseman Joe Klech and went to third when Tyler Wampler had a check-swing dribbler that Illinois State pitcher Dan Savas picked up and threw to second to get Romero out.
That is when the rally took an unusual twist. Jeff Zahn hit what looked like a normal fly to center but the Redbirds Sean Beesley dropped the ball allowing Zahn to reach and Fitzgerald to score. Connor McClain came up as the tying run with one out and that is when things got just a bit more unusual. McClain fouled off one pitch that hit a transformer and knocked out part of the lights on one tower around Bob Warn Field.
After 15 minutes of discussion, the umpires allowed the game to resume without having to turn off the tower, letting it cool down, and restarting it. McClain then smashed the ball to deep right centerfield where it looked to the fans in the stands like the Redbird right fielder Logan Leverett had misplayed the catch at the fence and dropped the ball.
However, the first base umpire ruled that Levertt had made the catch and the right fielder then threw to shortstop Dennis Colon at second who doubled up Wampler as he was scrambling to get back to the bag. That ended the rally for the Sycamores.
The game was just the second in 15 contests that the Sycamores have lost a game when they scored first. That run came in the bottom of the second after Romero had reached on a one-out walk. Wampler and Zahn hit back-back-back singles to score Romero but Indiana State left both runners stranded.
That was all the scoring for Indiana State until the ninth inning. Illinois State tied the game with a single run in the top of the third, adding one more in the fifth, two in the eighth and one in the ninth.
David Stagg started on the hill for the Sycamores and picked up the loss in allowing two runs on five hits while striking out five and walking four. Nick Kolarik, Austin Conway, A.J. McElderry, and John Patterson each worked in relief as they combined to give up three runs on four hits while stirking out three and walking five.
Cody Zimmerman, Mike Fitzgerald, Tyler Wampler, Jeff Zahn and Derek Hannahs each had a single for the Sycamores.
Dan Savas remained undefeated on the year and pitched his second straight complete game as he limited Indiana State to two runs on five hits while striking out six and walking two.
