TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State baseball returns to Missouri Valley Conference action Friday when they take on Dallas Baptist in a three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET from Horner Ballpark. Saturday's contest will begin at 3 p.m. ET while Sunday will start at 2 p.m. ET. Both Friday and Saturday's games will be available live on The Valley On ESPN3 while Sunday's finale will air nationwide on ESPNU with Steve Lenox and Mike Rooney on the call.
                          
Fans can also listen to the action on Sycamore All-Access via GoSycamores.com with Brian Fritz calling the action.  
 
LOOKING AT THE SYCAMORES
Tony Rosselli (.385, 7 2B, 5 HR, 27 RBI) and Dane Giesler (.306, 8 HR, 27 RBI) lead the Trees at the plate while Brandt Nowaskie and Dane Tofteland are hitting .348 and .344 in limited action, respectively. Giesler is tops on the squad with eight home runs and 27 RBIs. As a team, the Sycamores are hitting .275 and have hit for 58 doubles, 10 triples and 29 homers. ISU pitching has struck out 280 batters and hold a combined 4.41 ERA. 
 
Junior Jeremy McKinney (4-1, 40.2 IP, 2.66 ERA, 53 K) is scheduled to make his third consecutive Friday night start. Right-hander Tyler Ward (3-2, 49.1 IP, 3.10 ERA, 30 K, 4 BB) will make the Saturday start while hard-throwing righty Will Kincanon (3-3, 43.2 IP, 5.77 ERA, 49 K) will toe the mound for the Sycamores Sunday in the series finale.  
 
LOOKING AT DALLAS BAPTIST
Dallas Baptist comes into the weekend with a 21-15 overall record and a 3-3 mark in Valley play.  The Patriots come into the weekend series winner of three straight after taking their weekend series over Central Arkansas with two wins and defeating No. 16 Oklahoma in midweek action. The team is led offensively by Tim Millard (.323, 11 2B, 32 RBI) and Matt Duce (.321, 13 2B, 5 HR, 31 RBI). As a club, the Patriots are hitting at a clip of .285 while the pitching staff holds a 4.60 ERA.
 
SERIES HISTORY WITH THE PATRIOTS
The Sycamores trail the all-time series with the Patriots 6-12 after being swept by DBU in Terre haute a season ago. 
 
TOFTELAND SETS A HIGH MARK
Redshirt sophomore Dane Tofteland broke the Indiana State single-game RBI record after driving in 11 runs on a trio of home runs, including two grand slams as the Sycamores took down Northern Illinois, 17-8 Tuesday. The 11 RBI tied the MVC record (John Knott of MSU vs. UNI on May 2, 1992) and is also the highest single-game performance in all of NCAA Division I this season.
 
STRONG ON ALL FRONTS
Senior Tony Rosselli has been one of the strongest contributors to the Sycamore offense this season, leading the team in batting average (.385), slugging percent (.679) and triples (5). In all, Rosselli has 13 multiple hit contests, including one four-hit game and eight multiple RBI games. Rosselli leads the MVC in batting average and triples and is third in slugging percent.
 
TOUGH TO STRIKE OUT
Junior Tyler Friis has been a tough out for opposing pitchers this season. The shortstop has been retired on K's just six times in 97 at bats this season while boasting 29 hits for the Trees. His 16.2 at bats between strikeouts ranks tops in the MVC and 18th-best in the nation.
 
NO FREE PASSES
Sophomore Tyler Ward has put together a nice stat line so far this season. The right-hander boasts a 3-2 record with a 3.10 ERA in seven starts. The Santa Claus, Indiana native has struck out 30 batters while walking just four. He ranks 15th nationally with a 7.50 strikeout-to-walk ratio and fourth nationally with 0.73 walks per nine innings. 
 
STRONG IN THE NINTH
Indiana State is outscoring the opposition 27-12 in the ninth inning this season and the Trees are a perfect 17-0 when leading after eight innings.
 
SLUGGING IT OUT
When it comes to picking up extra bases, ISU has no problem getting it done. The squad ranks third in the MVC with a .434 slugging percent. As a team, the Sycamores have 60 doubles, 10 triples and 34 home runs on the season. Tony Rosselli leads the Trees with a .679 slugging percentage off of seven doubles, five triples and five home runs. 
 
STRIKE 'EM OUT
One thing the Sycamores have done well this season on the mound is record strikeouts. As a team, ISU has struck out 296 opposing batters, led by senior right-hander Jeremy McKinney who has 53 K's in 40.2 innings. The team ranks 28th in the country with 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings while McKinney has struck out 11.73 per nine innings, good enough for 30th nationally. 
 
TRIPLES GALORE
Indiana State senior outfielder Tony Rosselli leads the MVC and ranks seventh nationally with five triples this season. Michael Haun of Central Arkansas, Andrew Moritz of UNC-Greensboro and Kody Ruedisili of Wofford lead the nation with six triples.  
 
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. 
 
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.

For the latest information on the Sycamore Baseball team, be sure to visit GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.