Games 12-14 ► Indiana State (9-2, 0-0 MVC) at No. 29 Kentucky (6-2, 0-0 SEC)

March 6-8, 2009  ►  Lexington, Ky.  ►  Cliff Hagan Stadium

Indiana State Probable Starters

FRIDAY:          Michael Mann, Sr. LHP

SATURDAY:    Eric Valdez, Jr. RHP

SUNDAY:        Joe Rodriguez, Jr., LHP

Kentucky Probable Starters

FRIDAY:          James Paxton, Jr., LHP

SATURDAY:    Chris Rusin, Sr., LHP

SUNDAY:        TBA

Setting The Scene

            Indiana State (9-2) is off to its best start since the 1990 season and split a pair of mid-week games against Saint Louis and Austin Peay.  However, they may have their toughest test ahead of them this weekend when they face off against the No. 29 ranked Kentucky Wildcats (6-2) at Cliff Hagan Stadium in Lexington, Ky.

            The Sycamores are coming off a tough 12-4 defeat at Austin Peay on Wednesday in Clarksville, Tenn.  The Governors scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back, as the potent Sycamore offense struggled to score runs for just the second time all season.

            The result was a bit different on Tuesday, when ISU played its second game of the season at home against the visiting Saint Louis Billikens.  With the win, the Sycamores improve to 9-1 for the first time since the 1990 season when they started the year 13-1 under head coach Bob Warn and went on to finish the season 43-21.

            Freshman Cordell Greene took the bump for the Sycamores and held the Hoosiers to just two earned runs and six hits in 3.1 innings pitched.  Senior David Gurbach (1-0) shut down the Hoosiers the rest of the way, as he struck out eight hitters and while giving up three hits in a career-high 5.2 innings of work to close out the game and pick up the victory.

            Junior Ryan Strausborger finished the game 3-for-6 with three RBI and a run scored to lead the way for the Sycamores, while junior Luke Fieser and senior Bronco Lafrenz added two hits and two RBI apiece in the victory for ISU.  IU designated hitter Alex Dickerson led the way for the Hoosiers with two hits, while Terre Haute native and All-American Josh Phegley finished 1-for-4 on the day in front of a hometown crowd.

            Fresh off a dramatic comeback win over state rival Eastern Kentucky, the No. 29 Wildcats seek to set a new school record with their 25th consecutive home non-conference win when they square off against the Sycamores. 

            The win over the Colonels was the fourth in a row for Kentucky.  Offensively, Chris Bisson has led the way with a .407 average for the Wildcats, including two doubles, one homer and a team-best nine RBI.  In addition, catcher Marcus Nidiffer has added a .346 average with a triple, a homer and six RBI and center fielder Keenan Wiley and shortstop Chris Wade had each swiped a club-high four bases, with Wiley contributing a .310 average.

                        The games will be broadcast live on the Big Blue Sports Network (radio), with live audio and video available on UKathletics.com.  Live statistics for all three games will also be available on GameTracker from the Kentucky athletics website.

About The Coaches

Lindsay Meggs (UCLA ?93) begins his third season as the Sycamore skipper (53-59) in 2009.  In his first season, Meggs coached the Sycamores to a 26-26 mark overall and a 7-17 record in the Missouri Valley Conference. Last year, the Sycamores were 18-32 overall and 9-15 in the Valley playing one of the toughest schedules in the country.  Meggs took the reigns of the Sycamore baseball program in 2006, coming to ISU after spending 13 seasons as head coach at California State-Chico.  While there, he guided the Wildcats to two NCAA Division II National Championships and compiled an overall record of 538-228-4.

Gary Henderson (San Diego State ?84) is in his first season as the head coach at Kentucky, after serving as UK's associate head coach and pitching coach for the past five years. During his five years as the associate head coach, Henderson helped lead the Wildcat program to two school-record 44-win seasons, two NCAA Regional Championship appearances, an NCAA Regional host and an SEC Championship. Last season, Henderson's pitching staff was the best in the Southeastern Conference, pacing the conference with a 3.71 team ERA, ranking as the second-best ERA in school history.

Scoring Runs At Will

With 96 runs scored in their first eleven games of the season, it looks as if the Sycamores will have no problem scoring runs in 2009.  ISU has scored 11 or more runs four times this season, including 12-0 and 11-4 wins in its last two games at the Palm Beach Classic last weekend and a 11-2 win over in-state rival Indiana on Tuesday.  Those runs are coming via nearly 12 hits per game from Sycamores hitters and several of those runs have come from seven home runs hit in 11 games.

Several Arms Pitching In Early For ISU

Through 11 games, eight different hurlers have picked up wins for the Sycamores.  Senior Matt Shelton leads the way with two wins in five relief efforts.  In addition, Scott Harlan, Brendon Smith and David Gurbach have each picked up a win in relief efforts as well.  However, it was the starting rotation that picked up all of the win in last weekend's Palm Beach Classic.  Michael Manus earned the win on Friday against Villanova, while Jake Petricka and Eric Valdez picked up wins against Mount St. Mary's and St. Bonaventure in a double header on Saturday.  Joe Rodriguez rounded out the solid weekend of starting pitching with a win in the 11-4 victory over New York Tech on Sunday.

Ciolli Starts The Week Off With A Bang

Junior outfielder Nick Ciolli started off last week with a bang and kept in rolling, as he hit .632 (12-for-19) with three doubles, a triple, a home run and four RBI in helping ISU to a 5-0 record.  The Terre Haute, Ind., native started the week by hitting his first home run of the season while finishing 2-for-4 with two RBI in a win against Saint Louis.  He also had a solid day against Mount St. Mary's at the Palm Beach Classic, going 3-for-3 with two runs scored and a RBI in a win over the Mountaineers.  Ciolli then wrapped up the weekend with a 4-for-4 performance and a run scored in a win on Sunday against New York Tech.

Lucky 13 For Valdez

Junior starter Eric Valdez dominated St. Bonaventure on Saturday at the Palm Beach Classic on way to picking up his first win in a Sycamore uniform.  The right hander from Kearny, N.J., threw seven innings and gave up just one walk and three hits while striking out 13 St. Bonaventure hitters.  He also induced six ground ball outs in the win for the Sycamores as he helped them improve to 7-1 on the season at the time.

Strong Starts Becoming The Norm For The Sycamores

ISU's 8-1 start is best start since the 1995 season, when the Sycamores also started the season 8-1 against Saint Louis, Austin Peay, Middle Tennessee and Creighton under then head coach Bob Warn.  That year, the Sycamores also won the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA Midwest Regional.

This is the second strong start in three seasons under head coach Lindsay Meggs, as the 2007 squad started that season 4-1 in games against Georgia State and South Dakota State.

We're Gonna Need More Time

Nine innings of play just weren't enough for the Sycamores and the Bulldogs last weekend, as three of the four games in their season-opening series went into extra innings.  Both games of Saturday's double-header needed extra frames, but ISU picked up a 9-6 win in 10 innings in game one and an 8-7 in 11 innings in game two.  The fourth and final game of the set also needed some extra time, but this time The Citadel picked up a 5-4 win in 12 innings.  Overall, the two teams played a combined 32 innings in the four-game set and the Sycamores out-scored the Bulldogs 33-26 in the series.

We'll Take A 3-0 Start

ISU had to battle hard to start the season 3-0 and needed two overtime games to achieve the feat.  The Sycamores started the season 3-0 for the first time since the 2000 season, when ISU started 3-0 with a season-opening sweep over Murray State under head coach Bob Warn.  

Some Strong Debuts For New Sycamores

Several ISU newcomers made their presence known in the team's season-opening series at The Citadel.  Junior transfer Ben Ferrell (Hutchinson CC) had a great first season in an ISU uniform, as he hit .556 with five hits and four RBI in three games played.  Junior transfer Luke Fieser (Columbia Basin CC) also hit well, as he posted a .300 average while collecting five RBI.  Freshman Kyle Burnam rounded out the impressive debuts at the plate, as he picked up six hits including his first career home run and added four RBI for the Sycamores.  Junior pitcher Scott Harlan (Cosumnes River CC) also got into the act, as he went 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA in five innings of work.

Bombs Away

The Sycamores wasted no time hitting the long ball against The Citadel, as they pounded out four home runs in their four-game season opening series against the Bulldog.   Senior Brady Shoemaker picked up right where he left off last season, as he hit his 10th career home run.  Fellow senior Brian Jett also went deep, as he picked up the fifth home run of his career.  Junior Ryan Strausborger also got into the act and freshman Kyle Burnam hit his first career home run in the opening series for ISU.

That's A Good Day's Work

Senior reliever Matt Shelton started the season off right for the Sycamores, as he picked up both wins of a Saturday double-header at The Citadel.  The right-hander from Loves Park, Ill., finished the weekend with a 2-0 record in two appearances for ISU.  In five innings of work, Shelton allowed just two hits and walked one while striking out five Bulldog hitters.  In game one of Saturday's double header, Shelton threw two innings of scoreless relief while giving up one hit and striking out two to help ISU to a 9-6 victory in 10 innings.  He followed that up by throwing three innings of scoreless relief in game two of the double header, allowing just one hit while striking out three in an 8-7 win in 11 innings.

Catch Those Thieves

ISU players were off and running in the team's opening series at The Citadel.  In fact, the Sycamores could not be caught as they went a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts in the four-game series against the Bulldogs.  Brady Shoemaker led the way with two swipes, while Ben Ferrell, Kyle Burnam, Pascual Del Real, Nick Ciolli and Ryan Strausborger each added a steal to help the Sycamores sprint out to a 3-1 start.

Shoemaker Slugs The Sycamores To Wins

Senior outfielder Brady Shoemaker hit .412 (7-for-17) with a home run and four RBI last weekend for Indiana State, as the Sycamores opened the season 3-1 on the road at The Citadel.  The Brazil, Ind., native also waked five times for the Sycamores, scored four runs and was a perfect 2-for-2 in stolen bases while posting a slugging percentage of .588.  In Friday's season opener, Shoemaker went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a RBI against the Bulldogs.  However, he saved his best performance for game one of Saturday's double header, as he launched his first home run of the season and the 1oth of his career at Indiana State and finished the day 4-for-5 with three RBI to help ISU to a 9-6 win in 10 innings.

Success In The Holy City

Indiana State has had a lot of success in Charleston, S.C. the past two seasons, as they have a 6-2 record overall against teams from the “Holy City”.  The Sycamores went 3-1 in their season-opening series at The Citadel this season after defeating the Bulldogs in a single game last year 4-3.  Following that mid-week tilt last season, ISU took on the College of Charleston for a four-game set.  The Sycamores won the last two games of the series against the College of Charleston to leave the trip with three wins against teams from the Holy City.

A Wealth Of Senior Leadership

Head coach Lindsay Meggs will have no shortage of senior leadership on the field and on the mound this season.   A total of 11 seniors grace the Sycamore roster this season, with 10 of those seniors coming from junior colleges.  Only senior pitcher Matt Shelton has spent his entire career at Indiana State and has earned three letters for his work throughout his career.  Six of those 11 seniors will see their time in the field, while five will test their skills on the mound for the Sycamores.

Getting The Job Done In The Classroom

Indiana State baseball players not only work hard on the field, but they also work extremely hard in the classroom.  A total of 23 players on the Sycamores roster were named to the Fall 2008 Athletic Director's Honor Roll.  A student-athlete earns Athletic Director's Honor Roll status with a grade-point average (gpa) of 3.0 or higher during the fall semester.  To make things even more impressive, five of those players recorded perfect 4.0 GPA's in the fall semester:  Matt Bayes, Brady Shoemaker, Ben Ferrell, Brian Jett and Koby Kraemer.

A Little Home Cookin'

Indiana State head coach Lindsay Meggs has not had to look very far to find top notch baseball talent, as four players currently on the roster call Terre Haute home.  Junior Nick Ciolli (North Vigo HS), sophomore Bryan Chestnut (West Vigo HS) and freshmen Brandon Dorsett (North HS) and Joe Meggs (North HS) are all local products and each knows how competitive baseball is in the Wabash Valley.