Bradley 5, at Illinois State 3

NORMAL, IL - Spencer Gaa was 3-for-4 with a 2-run triple and Tyler Leffler drove home the go-ahead run with a RBI single in the eighth, leading Bradley (23-16, 7-6 MVC) to a 5-3 win at Illinois State (14-30, 4-9 MVC) Saturday afternoon at Duffy Bass Field.

Freshman RHP Ben Cilano (W 2-0) earned the win for the Braves in relief of starter Cameron Roegner, who allowed three unearned runs in his 6.1 innings of work. With the game tied 3-3 and a runner at first with one out in the bottom of the seventh, Cilano entered the game. He induced a fielder's choice ground ball for the second out, then responded to a hit by pitch with a strikeout to end the threat.

Bradley's eighth-inning rally started when No. 9 hitter DJ Gasso drew a leadoff walk against Redbirds reliever Jack Czeszewski (L 0-4). Gasso was thrown out at second base on Luke Mangieri's sacrifice bunt attempt, but the freshman DH advanced to second on a wild pitch. After Gaa beat out an infield single, Leffler came through with a single to right field to plate Mangieri with the go-ahead run. Left fielder Evan Gruener tacked on an insurance run with a run-scoring double to right field for the 5-3 lead.

Sophomore Allan Beer took over on the mound to start the bottom of the eighth and created trouble for himself by walking the first two Redbirds he faced. After a sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position, Beer induced a ground ball to third and a pop out to end the inning unscathed. He followed with a perfect ninth to nail down his fourth save.

Illinois State grabbed the early lead by scoring three unearned runs in the third inning against Roegner, but for the second night in a row, the Redbirds squandered a bigger scoring opportunity by having a runner from third being caught in a rundown on a ball back to the pitcher.

Bradley started its rally from the 3-0 deficit in the sixth when Brady Wilkin opened the frame with a single to left field. Gasso was hit by a pitch and after Mangieri moved the runners with a sacrifice, Gaa delivered with drive into the right center field gap for his third triple of the year, then scored the tying run on Paul Solka's 2-out, infield single.

Having secured its first series win against Illinois State since 2007, Bradley will try to match that year's I-74 Rivalry sweep Sunday when the teams close out the series with a 1 p.m. start at Duffy Bass Field. Senior left-hander Brent Stong is expected to start for the Braves Sunday.