TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Indiana State plays host to No. 23-ranked Dallas Baptist in a three-game Missouri Valley Conference weekend series at Bob Warn Field. Fans can watch the action on ESPN+ or listen to the call free-of-charge with
Brian Fritz and
Luke Martin via
GoSycamores.com/Watch. Fans can also follow the action via
@IndStBaseball on Twitter.
Friday, April 20 • 6:30 p.m. • Watch | Listen | Live Stats
ISU RHP
Tyler Ward (5-3, 4.25 ERA)
DBU RHP MD Johnson (4-1, 4.93 ERA)
Saturday, April 21 • 2 p.m. • Watch | Listen | Live Stats
ISU LHP
Triston Polley (5-1, 2.44 ERA)
DBU RHP Luke Eldred (3-1, 2.33 ERA)
Sunday, April 22 • 12 p.m. • Watch | Listen | Live Stats
ISU LHP
Tristan Weaver (2-2, 6.12 ERA)
DBU RHP Trevor Conn (4-0, 1.95 ERA)
PROMOTIONS
Prior to Saturday's contest, Sycamore Athletics in conjunction with the ISU Foundation will recognize former baseball alumni. Click
HERE for more information.
The first 250 fans to Friday's game will receive free gifts courtesy of ISU Credit Union. The Sycamore Kids Club will also host an event from 11 a.m.-noon prior to Sunday's finale.
SYCAMORES AT A GLANCE
Jarrod Watkins (.318, 10 2B, 10 RBI) and
Luke Fegen (.289, 5 2B, 14 RBI) lead the Trees at the plate while
Dane Giesler and
CJ Huntley are hitting .286 and .271, respectively. As a team, the Sycamores are hitting .265 and have hit for 55 doubles, 8 triples and 28 home runs. The Indiana State pitching staff has struck out 232 batters and holds a combined 4.15 ERA which is second-best in the Missouri Valley Conference.
LOOKING AT THE PATRIOTS
Dallas Baptist enters the weekend series 23-11 overall, tied for first in the MVC with a 5-1 mark and ranked No. 23 in the nation. The Patriots are hitting .287 on the season led by Devlin Granberg at .389 in 34 games. The DBU pitching staff holds a 4.30 combined ERA.
ALL-TIME VS DBU
The Sycamores trail the all-time series with Dallas Baptist 6-16 and have dropped nine-straight games against the Patriots, including five last season (three regular season -- two MVC Championship). The Sycamores last victory over DBU came in 2015 during the MVC Championships hosted by Wichita State.
MISSOURI VALLEY PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Triston Polley earned his first MVC Pitcher of the Week honor after a dominant start against Illinois State, going seven and a third innings, allowing just one run on three hits. The Avon, Indiana product struck out five and walked just one in the outing. The southpaw retired 13-straight batter before a walk in the seventh inning. Illinois State got the offense going late though, scoring eight runs in the final two innings of play.
MASHING
Indiana State sent four balls over the wall this weekend, including three in one game against Illinois State. Two of the home runs came off the bat of junior
Chris Ayers which were the first and second home runs of the season for the outfielder coming in back-to-back games.
Dane Giesler and
Jake Means lead the team with six home runs each while
Romero Harris has five in 16 games for the Trees. As a team, ISU has 28 total home runs in 30 games.
HE CAN DEAL
Triston Polley has been the most dominant arm in the Sycamore rotation so far this year. In nine starts, the Avon, Indiana product holds a 5-1 record to go along with a 2.44 ERA -- the second-best ERA in the MVC. Polley has pitched 59 innings and struck out 39 batters while holding opponents to a .201 average against. On the year, the southpaw has allowed only 16 earned runs and one or fewer earned runs in five starts. Polley's 6.25 hits per nine innings is second in the MVC and 62nd nationally.
THE FRIDAY GUY
Junior
Tyler Ward will make his ninth start of the season for the Trees against Dallas Baptist. Ward enters with a 5-3 record and a 4.25 ERA. He has been efficient in his outings, allowing just 26 earned runs in 55 innings. The right-hander also has one of the best strikeout-to-walk ratios in the MVC with 47 strikeouts and just 11 walks.
WEAVER BACK ON THE MOUND
Left-hander
Tristan Weaver made his return to the starting rotation for the Sycamores Sunday against Illinois State after rehabbing an injury. The Auburn, Illinois native went five innings and struck out six batters in the no-decision. In total, Weaver holds a 2-2 record this season with 32.1 innings logged in seven starts.
HE'S NOT GOING DOWN EASILY
Jarrod Watkins leads the Sycamores at the plate this season with a .318 batting average. Another area the junior sits atop the team is in his strikeout numbers or lack thereof. Watkins is the toughest batter to strikeout in the Missouri Valley Conference at a 9.9 at bats per strikeout rating. The mark is also 95th in the country.
AS A STAFF
Indiana States' pitching staff holds the second-lowest ERA in the conference at 4.15 behind Missouri State (4.08).
Ethan Larrison holds the lowest ERA on the staff out of the bullpen with a 2.56 mark in 15 appearances. Among starting pitchers, southpaw
Triston Polley has a 2.44 ERA which is the best in the MVC among qualified pitchers. The Sycamores have struck out 232 batters and walked 123 in 286.1 innings. RHP
Tyler Ward leads the charge with 47 strikeouts. The Sycamores hold the second-lowest batting average against in the conference at a .251.
Triston Polley holds a team high .201 average against which is second in the MVC.
WORK HORSE
Senior
Ethan Larrison has seen action in 15 games this season out of the bullpen, totaling 38.2 innings. Larrison enters the weekend with eight saves this season. In total, Larrison holds a 2.56 ERA which is second-best in the Valley behind fellow Sycamore
Triston Polley. The right-hander has 34 strikeouts. Larrison's save mark is tops in The Valley and 20th nationally.
WEAR IT
Sycamore outfielder
Roberto Enriquez has been hit-by-pitch 16 times this season -- to rank 3rd in the nation in the category. With his 0.52 hit-by-pitches per game, he leads the country.
Luke Fegen has been nine times. As a team, ISU has been hit 57 times to lead the Missouri Valley and rank 25th nationally.
More…
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.
