The Indiana State Sycamores' nine-game road trip to end the 2010 regular season continues on Tuesday when the team travels to Edwardsville, Ill., for a non-conference game with the Cougars of Southern Illinois at Edwardsville. The Sycamores are currently slotted in third place in the MVC, with an overall record of 30-15 and a record of 9-8 in conference play while the Cougars, who will join the Ohio Valley Conference next season, sit at 14-33 overall. First pitch on Tuesday is set for 7:00 p.m. with live audio available through GoSycamores.com.

Due to finals week at Indiana State University, the Sycamores did not play a midweek game before traveling to Evansville for three games with the Purple Aces last weekend. ISU went 1-2 against UE, dropping its weekend series since falling twice to Illinois State on March 26-27. SIUE split a home-and-home doubleheader with Bradley last weekend, winning both games at Roy Lee Field. The Sycamores have already picked up one win against SIUE this season, in a 6-5 win at Bob Warn Field on April 27. Despite their 14-33 record the Cougars have played well at home this season, winning nine of the 12 games that they have played at home.

The Coaches

ISU - Rick Heller (Upper Iowa '86)

The Sycamores are 30-15 under first-year head coach Rick Heller, who was named the 28th head baseball coach in Indiana State history on August 14, 2009. Heller comes to Indiana State after coaching the past 10 seasons at Northern Iowa, where he led the Panthers to a MVC title in 2001. Over his 22 years as a head coach at Upper Iowa, UNI and ISU, Heller has totaled a 591-487-4 record as the man in charge.

Heller also played at Upper Iowa from 1982-86, where he was a four-year starter at shortstop while also lettering in football and basketball. Heller is a member of the Upper Iowa Athletic Hall of Fame.

SIU Edwardsville - Gary Collins (SIUE '70)

Collins enters his 32rd season as the manager of the SIUE baseball program where he has totaled a career record of 959-676-7 entering the 2010 season. Last season, the Cougars finished the year with a 15-39 record.

The 2008 season saw a Collins led team make the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament for the 11th time in 13 seasons. The Cougars won two GLVC titles while members of the conference.

A Little History

Tuesday's game between the Sycamores and Cougars will be the second meeting this season and just the second meeting in the history of the two schools. ISU won the first contest on the field this season, 6-5 on April 27, on a walk-off single by senior Ben Ferrell. ISU and SIUE will meet one more time this season, when they play in Charleston, Ill., this upcoming Saturday, May 15.

Record Setter

Senior Ryan Strausborger has put together quite a career in a Sycamore uniform. Below is a quick look at where the senior ranks within ISU's record books.

At Bats (Career)                                                       Hits (Career)

1. Ryan Strausborger ('07-) ........... 817              1. Bob Zeihen ('85-'88) ........................ 290

2. Chris Hall ('00-'03) .......................... 802               2. Mitch Hannahs ('86-'89) .................  274

3. Steve Ruckman ('90-'93) ................. 774               3. Ryan Strausborger ('07-) ..........  268

Runs Scored (Career)                                               Stolen Bases (Career)

1. Bob Zeihen ('85-'88) .......................  234               1. Jim Sullivan ('81-'84) ......................  84

2. Mitch Hannahs ('86-'89) ................... 220               T2. Pete Piskol ('78-'82) ...................... 77

3. Mike Lexa ('83-'86) .......................... 196               T2. Mitch Hannahs ('86-'89) ................ 77

4. Tyler Thompson ('95-'98) ................. 192               T2. Michael Miller ('01-'04) ................. 77

5. Ryan Strausborger ('07-) ........... 191              5. Ryan Strausborger ('07-) ..........  70

Hitting His Stride

Junior right-handed pitcher Jacob Petricka has turned up his performances when Missouri Valley Conference play has rolled around. Last week, Petricka allowed just three hits while striking out six batters against Evansville. Below is a quick snapshot of Petricka's non-conference starts and MVC starts, along with his overall numbers.

Games       W-L      ERA       IP         H          R         ER        BB / SO     B/AVG

Non-MVC     2-3       5.19      34.2       43         22         20        15 / 35        .307

MVC            4-1       1.67      43.0       32         11          8         15 / 46        .212

Overall         7-4       3.43     81.1       79         36         31        32 / 87        .259

A Rare Occurrence

Senior Ryan Strausborger and freshman Robby Ort have led the ISU offense throughout the 2010 season, but on Saturday against Evansville both Strausborger and Ort failed to record a hit. That was just the second time this season that both have gone without a hit in a single game, with both also going without one on February 26 against UT - San Antonio.

Closing The Door

Freshman Tyler Browning has tallied nine saves on the mound this season, a number that is tied for the lead in the Missouri Valley Conference this season. Browning's nine saves also put the freshman from Mount Carmel, Ill., into a tie for third place in the Sycamore record books with Phil Thatcher (1979) and Mike Scott (2000).

National Rankings

Both individually and as a team, the Sycamores are near the top of the nation in several statistical categories. Below is a quick snapshot of where ISU ranks in the nation on games played through May 2.

Category                  ISU           Total / Rank              Leader                   Total

Batting Average         Team            .318 / 73rd            Georgia State               .373

Earned Run Average        Team            4.54 / 45th                  Texas                    2.17

Triples Per Game       Team          0.43 / T-24th           Arizona State               0.67

Triples Per Game     Strausborger   0.19 / 6th            MacPhee (ASU)              0.32

Triples                      Team            17 / T-21st             Arizona State               29

Triples                 Strausborger       8 / T-5th         Lewis (Maine) / MacPhee (ASU)      12

Stolen Bases Per Game      Team           1.86 / 28th              Jackson State              4.05

Stolen Bases Per Game  Strausborger     0.76 / 8th        Wesley (Jackson St.)           1.02

Stolen Bases              Team            78 / T-34th            Jackson State              170

Stolen Bases         Strausborger        32 / T-8th      Kelley (SSU) / Woodward (CC)      43

Sacrifice Flies             Team             32 / T-7th             Georgia State               42

Sacrifice Flies            Fieser             7 / T-5th         Soares (George Mason)       12

Sacrifice Bunts Per Game    Ferrell          0.24 / T-43rd     Jennette (Oregon State)      0.42

Sacrifice Bunts           Ferrell           10 / T-24th        Jennette (OSU) / Loy (UT)          15

Strikeouts                Petricka            81 / 28th       Pomeranz (Mississippi)         104

Saves                     Browning          8 / T-22nd    Patterson (App. St.) / Arico (UVA)      13

Hits Allowed Per 9 Innings   Team            8.57 / 13th                  Texas                     6.91

Strikeouts Per 9 Innings      Team             7.6 / 59th                   UCLA                      10.6

Fielding Percentage     Team            .974 / 29th               Creighton                   .980

Win-Loss Percentage    Team          .690 / T-30th           Arizona State               .884

Late Inning Dominance

Indiana State is hitting its best when it matters the most this season, as the team carries a .344 batting average over the 7th, 8th and 9th innings. The Sycamores have also outscored opponents by 59 runs over those innings, holding a 132-73 advantage.

Better When It Counts

The Sycamores have taken advantage with runners on base this season, as they currently have a team batting average of .347 with runners on base compared to .281 with the bases empty. Freshman Robby Ort leads the team in 2010 with a .418 batting average (41-97) with runners on base.

Plenty To Go Around

Indiana State enters Tuesday's game with 497 hits as a team, good for an average of 11 per game. When the Sycamores have totaled double-digit hits in a game this season they have recorded a 22-4 record, compared to just 8-11 on the season when held under 10 hits.

ISU has supported a balanced attack at the plate this season, with six players (Robby Ort - .365, Ryan Strausborger - .358, Luke Fieser - .354, Kyle Burnam - .331, Jeremy Lucas - .324 and Levi Ferguson - .324) hitting above .300.

Whenever, Wherever

The Sycamores have a winning record no matter where the game is played this season, with a 16-5 mark at Bob Warn Field, an 11-10 record when on the road and a perfect 3-0 total when playing at a neutral site. ISU is currently the only team in the MVC with winning records both home and away.

Rookie Of The Year

Freshman Robby Ort has made quite a splash during his rookie campaign with the Sycamores. Ort leads ISU in batting average (.365), home runs (5), RBI (42) and on-base percentage (.429) this season, all while playing right field, a position he had never played before this season. The last time that a freshman led the Sycamores in home runs was in 2007, when Nick Ciolli led the way with seven.

Comeback Kids

In 16 of ISU's 30 wins this season, they have been behind at some point during the game. Below is a quick snapshot of each comeback that the Sycamores have made during the 2010 season.

Date    Opponent                       Largest Deficit      Latest Deficit      Final

2-20      Texas Southern (DH 1)              1 run               1-0, bottom 1st      17-6

2-20      Texas Southern (DH 2)              1 run               3-2, bottom 3rd      8-4

3-6       UT-Martin (DH 2)                      2 runs              4-3, bottom 7th      5-4

3-7       UT-Martin                                 1 run               3-2, bottom 4th      12-7

3-9       Eastern Illinois                          1 run               1-0, bottom 6th      8-2

3-16      Saint Louis                               4 runs              9-7, top 9th           14-9

3-19      Western Michigan (DH 1)          3 runs              4-3, bottom 8th      5-4

3-19      Western Michigan (DH 2)           1 run               2-1, bottom 6th      3-2

3-20      Western Michigan (DH 2)          4 runs              6-4, bottom 4th      10-9

3-24      Austin Peay                              3 runs              5-2, bottom 5th      6-5

4-3        Creighton                                 2 runs              3-1, top 8th           5-3

4-10      The Citadel                              2 runs              3-1, top 4th           11-7

4-17      Wichita State                            3 runs              4-3, bottom 7th      5-4

4-21      Franklin                                   2 runs              4-2, bottom 6th      6-4

4-23      Southern Illinois                        1 run               1-0, top 2nd           14-4

4-27      SIU Edwardsville                       3 runs              3-1, bottom 4th      6-5