NORMAL – Ryan Cermak returned from a COVID-19 absence to blast home runs in his first two at-bats and Jake McCaw stroked four hits Wednesday as the Illinois State baseball team defeated Illinois-Chicago 9-5 in nonconference action at Duffy Bass Field.
“Coming back from COVID, I wasn’t expecting too much,” Cermak said. “I was just trying to hit the ball hard. The first one went out was a great way to start the game.”
Cermak smacked a 2-2 breaking ball from Flames’ starter Chris Torres over the left-field wall. In the third, Cermak connected on a 1-1 pitch from reliever Zak Gould to center field with Kyle Soberano aboard for a 3-0 lead.