The Indiana State baseball team begins their postseason run this week, when the team travels to Omaha, Neb., for the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament at TD Ameritrade Park.

The Sycamores enter the conference tournament as the sixth seed, finishing their league schedule with an 8-13 record. On the season, ISU sits at an even 26-26 under second-year head coach Rick Heller.

Indiana State opens the tournament against the third-seeded Illinois State Redbirds on Tuesday, taking on either #2 Wichita State or #7 Evansville in their second game on Wednesday.

ISU split the four games they played in the 2010 State Farm MVC Tournament last season, winning two games over the Creighton Bluejays and dropping two contests with the Illinois State Redbirds.

Indiana State holds an all-time record of 58-45 in the MVC Tournament, including winning records over six of the seven teams in this year's tournament bracket.

State Farm MVC Tournament History

2010 State Farm MVC Tournament Results

All-Time Tournament Records Against...

Game 53  --  Tuesday, May 24

Game 54  --  Wednesday, May 25

A Little History

The 2011 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament will be the 27th conference tournament that the Sycamores have been a member of, winning the tournament on six previous occasions. Indiana State last won a conference tournament in 1995, when ISU dropped their opening game to Creighton before running off victories over Bradley, Evansville and back-to-back contests with Missouri State. Indiana State holds an all-time record of 58-45 within the conference tournament, including winning records over six of the seven squads in this year's tournament. After not appearing in the conference tournament from 2006-2008, Indiana State has now made three straight trips to the tournament.

One Season Ago

Last season in the 2010 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, the Sycamores played four games against two teams, topping the Creighton Bluejays twice and dropping a pair to the Illinois State Redbirds. ISU kicked off the tournament in dramatic fashion, rallying from an early 5-1 deficit to pick up a walk-off win in the bottom of the ninth inning on a single off the bat of 2010 senior Ben Ferrell. Indiana State came back on Wednesday and fell 10-5 to Illinois State, allowing a five-run fourth inning and a four-run ninth inning to the Redbirds. The Sycamores played two games on Thursday, eliminating the Bluejays with a 9-7 victory in the morning before falling 9-4 to Redbirds later in the afternoon to exit the tournament. Junior Kyle Burnam and 2010 senior Luke Fieser tied for the team-lead with seven hits and four runs batted in during last season's tournament. Senior Levi Ferguson also drove in four runs in 2010, as the Sycamores batted .333 (51-for-153) as a team.

This Season Against #3 Illinois State

Illinois State took two out of three games from Indiana State when teams met earlier this season in Normal, Ill., on April 29 through May 1. The Redbirds won game one, 8-2, scoring four late runs to secure the victory. The Sycamores came back to take game two on Saturday, 3-1, scoring once in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings to grab the victory. Freshman Sean Manaea allowed just three hits over seven innings to earn the win, with junior Chris Machado picking up the two-inning save. In the rubber match, the Redbirds pounded out 12 hits, earning the series victory with a 4-1 win. Junior Kyle Burnam and sophomore Robby Ort both went 4-for-9 (.444) at the plate, with Burnam hitting his second home run of the season.

This Season Against #2 Wichita State

Wichita State took two out of three games from Indiana State when teams met earlier this season in Wichita, Kan., on May 13-15. The Shockers won game one, 1-0, getting a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth inning to take the opening game of the series. The Sycamores came back on Saturday and returned the favor, shutting out the Shockers, 6-0, to even the series. Freshman Sean Manaea scattered five singles over seven innings, tying his career-high with nine strikeouts. In the rubber match, the Shockers scored four times in the fourth inning to secure the victory, grabbing the series with a 6-1 win on Sunday. At the plate, junior Jeff Miera went 4-for-7 (.571) over the final two games of the series, while sophomore Jeremy Lucas tallied a pair of doubles.

This Season Against #7 Evansville

Indiana State took two out of three games from Evansville when teams met earlier this season on Bob Warn Field at Sycamore Stadium on May 6-8. The Sycamores won game one, 6-3, breaking a tie game with two runs in the eighth inning. Junior Chris Machado earned the win in relief, tossing 2.1 scoreless innings in relief while senior Blake Drake picked up his seventh save of the season. Evansville came back to take game two on Saturday, winning 10-9 in 12 innings. ISU tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the ninth, but UE rallied for the extra-inning victory. In the rubber match, Indiana State scored twice in the second inning and doubled their lead in the sixth on a two-run home run by junior Jon Hedges. Senior Jason Van Skike tossed his second complete game of the season on Sunday, scattering six hits and one run over nine innings with four strikeouts. Sophomore Jeremy Lucas (7-for-13, .538) and junior Jon Hedges (6-for-14, .429) led ISU at the plate, with Hedges driving in six runs over the weekend with three extra-base hits.

Three Runs Or Less

The key to Indiana State's success this season starts on the mound and on defense. The Sycamores are 21-2 this year when they allow three runs or less to their opponents, but just 5-24 when their opposition reaches the four-run plateau.

Strong Defense

Indiana State's defense is one of the tops in the country, as the Sycamores rank among the nation's best with a .978 fielding percentage. As of May 15, ISU ranked 13th in the country in fielding percentage, as ISU has played 23 games this season without making an error.

Taking The Lead

The Sycamores have scored first in 33 of their 52 games this season, using that advantage to go 21-12 when breaking the scoreless tie. Getting an early lead has been important to Indiana State, as the team has won just three games when trailing heading into the final three innings.

Can't String Them Together

The Sycamores have not won back-to-back games since defeating Bradley in the first two games of their MVC series in Terre Haute on April 8 and 9, a span of 23 games.

Powering Up

Sophomore Robby Ort hit his team-leading 10th home run of the 2011 season on Friday against Southern Illinois. The ISU sophomore currently sits in a tie for third place in the MVC in roundtrippers, one season after leading the team in home runs with five in his rookie season.

Hitting His Stride

Since returning in early April from his arm injury, sophomore Jeremy Lucas has topped the Sycamores with a .370 batting average (37-for-100) over 27 starts behind the plate and at designated hitter. The ISU sophomore has been even better in conference play this season, racking up a team-leading 32 hits and a .405 batting average with five doubles, a pair of home runs and 13 runs batted in.

Seeing Triple

Indiana State has tallied 20 triples this season, the most among all teams in the Missouri Valley Conference. As of May 15, the Sycamores were ranked in a tie for 25th on a national scale with BYU, TCU and Central Michigan, while Grambling leads the country with 36 triples in 45 games. Sophomores Robby Ort (six), Koby Kraemer (four), Jeremy Lucas (two) and freshman Owen Conway (two) lead the Sycamores in triples this season, with six other players recording one each. Ort's six triples also ranked the ISU sophomore in a tie atop the MVC individual rankings with Evansville's Jared Baehl.

Van Skike Tosses First ISU Nine-Inning No-Hitter Since 1949

Senior Jason Van Skike led the Sycamores to an 8-0 win over Central Arkansas on Saturday, March 5, tossing the first nine-inning complete game no-hitter since Darrell Wible against Eastern Illinois on May 6, 1949. Van Skike's no-hitter was the 10th in Indiana State's program history, the eighth from a single player in the center of the diamond and the fourth in a game that lasted nine innings. ISU's last no-hitter came back on March 30, 1988, when Skip Wiley and Kevin Klingerman combined to no-hit the University of Indianapolis in a 10-0 ISU victory. Mike Gardiner threw ISU's last solo no-hitter, coming on April 15, 1984, in a seven-inning 2-0 win against Wichita State.

Heller Wins 600th Career Game

With Indiana State's 8-0 victory over Central Arkansas on Saturday, March 5, second-year head coach Rick Heller surpassed another career milestone with his 600th career collegiate victory as the man in charge. The Sycamores' 8-0 win was not just a shutout over the Bears, as senior right-hander Jason Van Skike tossed a nine-inning no-hitter, the first of its kind for ISU since 1949. Heller begins his 24th season as a head coach with the start of the 2011 season, his second at Indiana State. In his first campaign at Indiana State, Heller led the Sycamores to a 35-19 overall record, the most wins for ISU under a first-year head coach in the 114-year history of Indiana State baseball.