PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – The Saint Joseph's baseball team opened its trip to the Snowbird Classic with a loss on Friday morning, falling to Illinois State by a 7-2 score at North Regional Park.

Illinois State (5-5) took the lead in the top of the first on an RBI groundout by Mason Snyder that scored Sean Beesley with the game's first run.

Saint Joseph's (1-6) equalized in the bottom half of the inning as Deon Stafford led off with a walk and came around to score when John Brue reached on an error.

The Redbirds added single runs in the second and third on a wild pitch and an RBI double by Joe Kelch to take a 3-1 lead.  The lead was then extended to three in the top of the sixth on a double by Dennis Colon.

Brian Lau got the Hawks back within two in the bottom of the sixth as his double scored Matt Maul, who had led off the frame with an infield single, and cut the ISU lead to 4-2.

Unfortunately for the Crimson and Gray, the Redbirds scored three runs in the eighth on just one hit, using three walks and two hit batsmen to set the final margin at 7-2.

Tim Ponto took the loss for SJU, falling to 0-2 after allowing three runs, two earned, on two hits and three walks while striking out four in five innings.  Will Headean got the win for Illinois State, allowing two runs on two hits and five walks while striking out 12 in six innings to move to 2-1.  Jake Sale notched his second save of the season with three shutout innings.

The Hawks are back in action on Saturday, taking on Indiana at 2:30 p.m.