PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – Butler's 2016 spring break trip to Port Charlotte ended on Saturday afternoon with a 9-2 loss to Illinois State. Butler posted signature wins over Northwestern and Boston College over the last week, but will return to Indianapolis with a 4-10 overall record after losing three-straight in the sunshine state.
Saturday's tilt vs. the Redbirds was decided by just three runs over the opening eight innings, but a strong, five-run finish from Illinois State decided the outcome.
Back-to-back doubles in the first inning opened up the scoring for Illinois State. Ryan Hutchinson would score Joe Keich with a double and then a two-out single from Jean Ramirez would double the advantage with Hutchinson coming all the way around to score.