TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State baseball closes out midweek action Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET when in-state foe Ball State visits Bob Warn Field. The game will stream live on The Valley On ESPN3 as well as on Sycamore All-Access via
GoSycamores.com with
Luke Martin calling the action. The Sycamores will wrap up the regular season this weekend with Wichita State coming to town for a three-game series set to begin Thursday.
PITCHING PROBABLES
Tuesday
ISU - TBA - TBA (0-0, 0.00)
BSU - TBA - TBA (0-0, 0.00)
OUT OF THE BOX
LOOKING AT THE SYCAMORES
Tony Rosselli (.335, 8 2B, 8 HR, 38 RBI) and Tyler Friis (.338, 10 2B, 26 R, 21 BB, 13 SB) lead the Trees at the plate while Dane Tofteland and Brandt Nowaskie are hitting .324 and .310 in limited action, respectively. Dane Giesler (.287) is tops on the squad with 14 home runs and 40 RBIs. As a team, the Sycamores are hitting .270 and have hit for 76 doubles, 12 triples and 51 homers. ISU pitching has struck out 401 batters and hold a combined 4.87 ERA.
LOOKING AT THE CARDINALS
Ball State comes into play with a 28-24 overall record and a 12-9 mark in MAC play. The Cardinals are coming off a weekend series where they dropped two of three to Western Carolina. The team is led offensively by Caleb Stayton (.350, 49 H, 33 RBI) and Sean Kennedy (.337, 11 HR, 47 RBI). As a club, the Cardinals are hitting at a clip of .276 while the pitching staff holds a 4.25 ERA.
SERIES HISTORY
The Sycamores lead the all-time series with the Cardinals, 90-52, dating back to 1920. The Sycamores five-straight games in the series, including a 16-8 victory in Muncie a year ago. Owen Hunter finished the contest, 6-for-6 with three runs and a pair of RBIs.
FEAST OR FAMINE
It has been an up-and-down last month for the Sycamores as the team has been involved in four consecutive weekend sweeps. ISU dropped three-straight at Dallas Baptist before completing sweeps of Bradley and Illinois State. Last weekend, the team was swept at No. 13 Missouri State.
GOING DEEP
The Sycamores have seen their team total for home runs climb to 51 as we come down the stretch of the season. Since April 14 the Trees have 27 home runs. In those 18 games, the Sycamores have had multiple homers in eight games. Prior to then, the team had collected 24 homers in their first 29 games.
MOVING UP THE LIST
Senior closer Austin Conway moved into second place on the career save list, passing Phil Thatcher (1977-80) after earning his 11th save of the season during a win at Illinois State (May 7). He now sits at 18 for his career and eight behind Sycamore all-time saves leader Craig Kozlowski (1982-86).
STRONG ON ALL FRONTS
Senior Tony Rosselli has been one of the biggest contributors to the Sycamore offense this season. The senior is second on the squad with a .335 average on 51 hits, including 8 doubles, five triples and eight home runs. He has also shown his speed on the bases, swiping eight bags.
GOOD GLOVES
As a team, the Sycamores have a .979 fielding percent, which is tops in the Missouri Valley and 23rd nationally. Ten Sycamores have a perfect fielding percentage while three more boast percentages above .970. In the MVC, the Sycamores have eight fewer miscues than the next best squad.
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.
