Life in the Valley

Illinois State Builds 10-0 Lead, Downs Hawkeyes, 10-8

Illinois State’s offense continued to cook and Carter Monke turned in a stellar pitching performance as the Redbirds downed Big Ten opponent Iowa, 10-8, Tuesday night in Normal.

Monke improved to 2-4 on the season, going 6 innings and allowing just 1 run on 7 hits with 1 walk and 4 strikeouts against an Iowa lineup that is hitting .312 on the season and averaging 8.6 runs per game. The Hawkeyes (14-9) managed to do some damage against the Illinois State bullpen, but Joe Husak got the last 3 outs to finish the game.

Monke’s 6-inning outing tied for a season high with a March 1 start at Lindenwood, his other win this season, an 8-6 Illinois State victory. Tuesday night, he threw 109 pitches and faced 27 batters, with the 1 run allowed being a season low and the 4 strikeouts his high for 2025. Monke, who walked 17 in 51 innings last season, has issued just 7 free passes in 27 innings this season, and since a loss at Western Kentucky on opening day, the senior hasn’t walked more than 1 batter in any of his 6 appearances spanning 22 innings.

Up 3-0 after 3 innings, the Redbird offense gave Monke plenty of additional cushion in the 4th, scoring 7 times. With 4 runs already in and the bases loaded, Daniel Contreras delivered the big blow of the frame, a bases-clearing double that scored Graham Mastros, Judah Morris, and Daniel Pacella to give Illinois State a 10-0 lead.

Iowa made the score close in part thanks to a couple of homers – Blake Guerin hit a 2-run homer in the 8th to cut the lead to 10-3 before Kooper Schulte hit a 3-run blast in the 8th to complete the scoring. That came with 2 out, and Husak struck out Jackson Beaman to end the game.

Brayden Bakes, who had a 3-homer game over the weekend and was named MVC Player of the Week, drove in 3 more runs Tuesday and went 2-for-5. Luke Stulga had 3 hits and Illinois State’s lone home run. Shai Robinson went 1-for-2 with 3 walks and 2 runs, while Kyle Gibson also scored twice with 2 walks. Pacella continues to lead the Redbirds with a .400 batting average. The Redbirds are hitting .285 as a team and averaging 6.8 runs per game.

Illinois State is now 2-2 against Power-4 conference competition this season, having earlier won 1 of 3 games at then-#25 Oklahoma State. Illinois State now leads the all-time series vs, Iowa, 15-10. The Redbirds and Hawkeyes will meet again in Iowa City on April 29. Illinois State (9-13, 2-1) will also play Illinois out of the Big Ten in home and away games later this season.

The Redbirds have little time to rest on their laurels, however. Illinois State is back in action today at SIU-Edwardsville at 4 p.m. on ESPN+.

Ed Morgans is the founder of MVCBaseball.com. An Evansville graduate, Ed has written about and broadcast college baseball, while following the sport for 40 years.