Illinois State Leans On Veteran DNA To Stay Alive At MVC Tournament

Image credit: Illinois State celebrates at the MVC Tournament (Photo by Will Becque)

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Illinois State is a team as veteran as it comes. To begin the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament on Tuesday, it had seven seniors in its starting lineup, it brought in another as a pinch runner and used another in relief. 

It’s a group that has been through a lot as a team. Many of them were around when ISU went through a coaching change after the 2018 season. They were also there when the 2019 team, under new coach Steve Holm, got to a regional and made it to the Louisville Regional final. 

It’s also a group that knows its elimination this week in Carbondale means the end of its season and its time together. It’s no surprise then, that the Redbirds on Tuesday refused to lose  and pulled out a dramatic 10-9 victory in 12 innings.  

On four different occasions, Evansville jumped out to a lead, including two times in extra innings, but ISU always had an answer. 

After falling behind 3-0 in the top of the first, the Redbirds answered with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the frame on home runs by shortstop Aidan Huggins and catcher Tyson Hays. 

After the Purple Aces took a 7-6 lead in the top of the seventh, Illinois State tied it again in the bottom of the seventh on a Huggins single. Evansville pushed ahead in the 10th, only to have ISU tie it on an RBI double by second baseman Kyle Soberano. And in the 12th, after the Aces scored, the Redbirds got two runs, one on a solo homer by center fielder Ryan Cermak and the walk-off tally on a Jeremy Gaines RBI single. 

“Our guys were locked in from the first pitch on,” Holm said. “Some of our guys have been in postseason situations, regionals and things like that. I think that helps you stay calm. (We’re) able to reply back three times. It’s huge when you have that experience.”

Gaines, although not always a regular in the ISU lineup during his career, is no newcomer to big moments. He was the batter who came through in arguably the biggest moment in the history of the Illinois State program, hitting a two-run double as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning of the winner’s bracket game against Louisville in the regional in 2019. 

It was not too dissimilar a situation on Tuesday, as Gaines came on as a pinch runner in the ninth and was only hitting because he ended up being left on in that frame and took the field beginning in the ensuing inning. But given his history, he was perhaps exactly the person ISU wanted up in that spot. 

“Jeremy came up with a big hit in the regional in 2019, it was a pinch hit and ended up beating Louisville,” Holm said. “So you know that he had been in that situation, (and that) he was going to have a little bit slower heart rate than some of the other guys out there.”

You also really couldn’t have drawn up a win that more clearly shows the value of the veteran DNA of this team. 

“We’re a family,” Gaines said. “Every time we break down (the huddle), we break down either team or family. Like our coach said at practice last night, he said (that) this tournament is going to take everyone, all 35-40 of us to get where we want to be.”

So with the win, Illinois State is into the main double-elimination bracket, and it will be dangerous the rest of the week. 

No team in the tournament can match ISU’s big-game experience. Both Indiana State and Dallas Baptist made regionals alongside the Redbirds in 2019, but both of those teams dealt with much more turnover after that season and are more or less completely different teams now. 

It’s also a physical team that can drive the ball, and at least on this day, that played well to the Redbirds’ strengths. They had four home runs on the day and a double off the wall. 

“You’ve seen the way this park is going to play,” Holm said. “It’s going to get very, very offensive and you saw our ability to drive a baseball out of the ballpark.”

Furthermore, they still have their ace ready to go. ISU held back senior lefthander Colton Johnson rather than pitching him in the opening game, in part because Evansville had hit him hard during the regular season. Now, he’s ready to go on Wednesday. 

“I know there are a lot of teams that were hoping that we would get knocked out,” Holm said. “We’re still sitting with our ace in the hole and I believe we’ve got the best pitcher in this tournament in Colton Johnson.”

Like Gaines, Johnson is the type of guy you want at this time of year. The lefthander was primarily a reliever back in 2019, but he took the ball as a starter in the seventh and deciding game of the regional at Louisville and threw 7.1 innings, allowing three runs. 

If you’re looking for places where ISU could be vulnerable, particularly in Wednesday’s game, look to the bullpen. Lefthander Sean Sinisko, who was extremely good against the Aces in his start against them in the regular season, lasted 4.1 innings on Tuesday, giving up eight hits and six runs, five of them earned. 

In relief, ISU was forced to burn through arguably its three best bullpen arms in righthanders Colin Wyman, Derek Salata and Erik Kubiatowicz. But that’s precisely why having Johnson ready to go is such a boon for the Redbirds. If he’s on his game, they won’t need much relief, and as long as he gives the team some depth, based on what we saw on Tuesday, there should be confidence that the offense can keep up and keep the Redbirds in the game. 

And if the Redbirds are in a close game late, you’ll know that they’re comfortable.