TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State baseball is set to open its 2018 season Friday night in Las Vegas at the Marucci Desert Classic hosted by UNLV.
Tournament Schedule
UNLV - Friday - 9 p.m. ET (MWC Video)
Loyola Marymount - Saturday - 4 p.m. ET
Oregon - Sunday - 2 p.m. ET
UNLV - Monday - 3 p.m. ET (Single Camera Stream)
AGAINST THE FIELD
Indiana State is 1-1 all-time against UNLV while it will be the team's first meeting with both Oregon and Loyola Marymount.
Live stats will be available via GoSycamores.com and fans can follow along via
@IndStBaseball on Twitter for live updates.
SYCAMORES PICKED FOURTH IN PRESEASON POLL
Indiana State was picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll. Dallas Baptist tallied 63 points and were named the favorites over second-place pick Missouri State (57). The Sycamores collected 42 votes overall followed by Southern Illinois (35), Illinois State (31), Bradley (30), Evansville (18) and MVC newcomer Valparaiso (12).
PRESEASON ALL-MVC
Redshirt senior
Dane Giesler was tabbed Preseason All-MVC following a breakout season a year ago. The Jasper, Indiana native led the way for the Trees in several offensive categories. He finished with a team high 17 home runs which was fourth-best in the conference. Giesler was also fifth in the league with a .593 slugging percentage and seventh in RBIs with 49.
LOOKING AT THE SYCAMORES
Indiana State returns six position starters and three key pitchers from last season's 29-26 team. Infielder
Clay Dungan returns for ISU after starting in 55 games last season hitting .275 with 60 base hits and nine home runs. The Sycamores will also welcome back
Dane Tofteland and
Chris Ayers to the batting order. The duo combined for 57 base hits and 45 runs a year ago.
Indiana State will look to fill a void in the starting rotation this season after its top arm was taken in the 11th round of the MLB Draft. Junior RHP
Tyler Ward will look to fill the spot after a solid year on the mound. Ward finished at 4-5 with a 4.16 ERA in 84.1 innings.
Two bullpen arms in right-hander
Ethan Larrison and southpaw
Triston Polley return for the Sycamores this season as well. Larrison appeared in 19 games last season and struck out 32 batters while walking only 13. Polley struck out 35 batters and walked 14 in 26.2 innings.
OPENING NIGHT ARM
Southpaw
Tristan Weaver will take the ball opening night. An Auburn, Illinois product, Weaver played one season at Lincoln Land Community College going for a 10-1 record and a 2.00 ERA in 76.1 innings on his way to earning All-Conference, All-Region and Third Team All-American honors.
GOOD GLOVES
As a team, the Sycamores fielded .978 percent, which is tops in the Missouri Valley and 27th nationally. Ten Sycamores put together perfect fielding percentages while three more had percentages above .970. In the MVC, the Sycamores have 13 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.
