TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State baseball will put their five-game winning streak on the line this weekend when they travel to Champaign for a three-game set with the Fighting Illini. First pitch Friday is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. The Sycamores and UI will kick things off at 4 p.m. ET Saturday before wrapping up the series Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.
 
Big Ten Network Plus will carry Friday and Sunday's game with a subscription while all three contests will be available via Sycamore All-Access on GoSycamores.com with Brian Fritz calling the action. All links can be found on the baseball schedule page.
 
LOOKING AT THE SYCAMORES
Tony Rosselli (.414) and Kyle Moore (.339) lead the team at the plate while Brandt Nowaskie is hitting .357 in eight games of action for the Sycamores. Designated hitter Dane Giesler and Moore have proved to be reliable forces when runners are on the bases. Giesler leads the team with 16 RBI while Moore sits just behind with 15. As a team, the Sycamores are hitting .282 and have hit for 43 doubles, eight triples and 19 homers. ISU pitching has struck out 188 batters and hold a combined 5.28 ERA.

PITCHING MATCHUPS
Will Kincanon - RHP (1-2, 7.96 ERA)         Game One        Cole Bellair - RHP (1-2, 9.02 ERA)
Tyler Ward - RHP (2-1, 4.28 ERA)             Game Two        Ty Weber - RHP (1-2, 4.54 ERA)
TBA                                                               Game Three       Luke Shilling - RHP (1-2, 7.33 ERA)
 
LOOKING AT THE ILLINI
Illinois comes into play with a 6-16 overall record and have dropped four-straight games. The team is led offensively by Jack Yalowitz (.359) and Pat McInerney (.322). As a club, the Illini are hitting at a clip of .263 while the pitching staff holds a 6.94 ERA.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Sycamores trail in the all-time series with the Illini, 35-40-2. The Sycamores won three-consecutive games from 2004-2006 but since then, neither team has been able to make up much ground as they have traded victories.
 
BIG 10 STRETCH
Indiana State is in the midst of a five-game stretch with Big 10 opponents as the Trees face Indiana, Illinois and Purdue over the next week. The Sycamores travel to Champaign this weekend for a three-game set with the Fighting Illini. In total, ISU will play 12 games against Power Five Conference foes this season. The Trees will see both Purdue (Apr. 19) and the Hoosiers (Apr. 11) back in Terre Haute this season.
 
HIGH MARKS
The Sycamores rank second in the Missouri Valley in batting average as the club is hitting at a .282 clip just behind Dallas Baptist. Five Sycamores are hitting over .300 this season led by outfielder Tony Rosselli who is hitting .414 in 17 games.
 
GOOD GLOVES
Following a phenomenal defense outing a year ago, ISU has picked up where it left off. The Sycamores sit at the top of The Valley with a .978 fielding percent and have committed just 17 errors this season, five fewer than the next best team.
 
EXTRA-BASES
When it comes to picking up extra bases, ISU has no problem getting it done. The squad ranks second in the MVC with a .444 slugging percent. As a team, the Sycamores have 43 doubles, eight triples and 19 home runs on the season. Tony Rosselli leads the Trees with a .724 slugging percentage off of four doubles, four triple and a pair of home runs.
 
STRIKE 'EM OUT
On the mound, the Sycamores have been dominant in the strikeout category, retiring 188 batters via strikeouts through 21 games. Junior Jeremy McKinney leads the charge with 34 K's through just 24 innings while Will Kincanon has 29 K's in 26 innings of work.
 
TOUGH TO STRIKE OUT
Junior Tyler Friis has been a tough out for opposing pitchers this season. The shortstop has struck out just four times in 55 at bats this season while boasting 16 hits for the Trees. His 13.75 at bats between strikeouts ranks tops on the squad.
 
BACK ON THE ROAD
After playing 16-straight contests away from Terre Haute to start the season, the Sycamores hosted Oakland for a three-game set and Eastern Illinois for a midweek matchup. The Trees will now hit the road again for the next eight games with trips to Big 10 opponents Indiana, Illinois and Purdue before opening their MVC slate at Evansville.  In all, ISU will play 24 of its first 28 games on the road.
 
TRIPLES GALORE
Indiana State's Tony Rosselli is one of seven players nationally to sit atop the NCAA leaders with four triples this season. Rosselli leads the nation with 0.25 triples per game.
 
FROM WARM TO HOT
Sycamore outfielder Kyle Moore continues to get better at the plate, upping his average to .339 on the year; second on the team. Moore recorded six hits on the weekend including a season high four hits on Saturday alone. The game signified his first multi-hit game since Mar. 4 when he had two hits against Utah Valley. Moore kicked off the Trees' midweek game versus EIU with a leadoff home run to up his total to a team best five jacks on the year.
 
MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
Following a 4-0 loss to Seattle Mar. 8, the Sycamores have won six of their last eight outings, including a pair of games against nationally ranked Washington. With a three-game sweep over Oakland followed by midweek wins over Eastern Illinois and Indiana, the Sycamores enter the weekend riding a season best five-game winning streak.
 
TOP-25 WINS
Indiana State knocked off its first ranked squad of the 2017 season when the team defeated No. 12 Washington twice on the road. The Sycamores came away with a 4-2 win in the Friday opener before defeating the Huskies 5-3 on the back end of a doubleheader Saturday.
 
MILESTONE REACHED
Indiana State head coach Mitch Hannahs reached 100 career wins at the Austin Peay Invitational (2/17-19). He is the sixth coach in program history to reach 100 wins. Long time skipper Bob Warn leads all coaches with 1,070 career wins at ISU.
 
IT'S BACK
It didn't take long for Sycamore fans to know that baseball was in their air Friday afternoon. In the first pitch he saw, leadoff man Tyler Friis went deep for the Sycamores.
 
WARD COMING OFF FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICAN CAMPAIGN
Right-hander Tyler Ward became the 12th player in school history to pick up the honor and the first since Ryan Keafabber in 2014. Ward went 6-5 in his rookie season with the Sycamores, holding a 3.81 ERA with a save and 40 strikeouts. He earned 12 starts in 2016 and made 18 total appearances on the mound for ISU, who finished the season 35-21 overall and second in the Missouri Valley Conference. He went a season-long eight innings in Indiana State's 3-2 win over Illinois State where he struck out five. He fanned a season-high six in a win over Bradley on May 14 and picked up the start in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament matchup versus Missouri State.
 
SYCAMORES PICKED FOURTH IN PRESEASON POLL
Indiana State has been picked to finish fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll as voted on by the league coaches. The Sycamores are coming off a 35-21 season a year ago and a second-place finish in the conference after a 13-8 MVC campaign. Dallas Baptist tallied 59 points and were named the favorite over second-place pick Southern Illinois (53 points), as the Salukis tallied three first-place votes. Missouri State (51 points) finished third, while Indiana State and Wichita State finished tied for fourth with 36 points. Bradley was selected in sixth place with 25 points, followed by Evansville (20 points) in the seventh slot and Illinois State eighth (8 points).
 
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