The Indiana State baseball team travels to San Antonio, Texas, this week, as the team takes on Kansas, Houston Baptist and tournament-host Notre Dame during the 2012 Irish Classic.

The Sycamores face the Jayhawks on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. (ET), the Huskies on Friday at 5:00 p.m. (ET) and the Fighting Irish on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. (ET). ISU will play in one more game on Sunday, in either the championship or consolation game for the tournament at 12:00 p.m. (ET).

All four games can be heard live online through GoSycamores.com, with a link being available 15 minutes before first pitch of each game.

Indiana State swept their six-game homestand over the past week, topping Eastern Illinois, Indiana and SIU Edwardsville in midweek action around a three-game series sweep of Tennessee Martin. ISU's winning streak sits at seven games entering the tournament, while the team has won 12 of their last 13 overall.

Probable Indiana State Pitching Rotation
Thursday: Dakota Bacus (Jr. -- RHP -- 6-2 -- 205 -- Moline, Ill. -- Southeastern CC)
Last Start: Took a no-decision on Friday vs. UT Martin despite throwing six shutout innings
Friday: Sean Manaea (So. -- LHP -- 6-5 -- 215 -- Wanatah, Ind. -- Andrean HS)
Last Start: Struck out seven batters in 6.2 innings on Saturday vs. UT Martin for his second win
Saturday: Ryan Torgerson (Jr. -- RHP -- 6-2 -- 195 -- Johnston, Iowa -- Des Moines Area CC)
Last Start: Lasted 5.2 innings on Sunday vs. UT Martin to earn the win, striking out four batters
Sunday: Kyle Rupe (Fr. -- RHP -- 6-1 -- 175 -- Indianapolis, Ind. -- Perry Meridian HS)
Last Start: Scattered seven hits over five innings on Tuesday vs. SIUE, allowing just one run in the win

A Little History - Kansas
Thursday's game will be the second meeting between Indiana State and Kansas, with the Jayhawks winning the first meeting back in 1983. ISU and KU met in Tulsa, Okla., on March 11, 1983, with Kansas earning 6-2 victory.

Scouting The Jayhawks
Kansas enters the 2012 Irish Classic at 8-7 on the season, riding a two-game winning streak into Thursday's matchup after picking up wins over Stony Brook and Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minn., last weekend. The Jayhawks were picked ninth in the Big 12 heading into the season, after finishing 26-30 overall and 9-18 in conference play last season. KU returns six position starters and five pitchers from last year's squad. Junior Kevin Kuntz leads the team with a .321 (17-for-53) batting average, also leading the team with 11 runs scored. Freshman Connor McKay tops the roster with four home runs.

A Little History -- Houston Baptist
Friday's game will be the first meeting between Indiana State and Houston Baptist. ISU holds a perfect 4-0 record against teams from the Great West Conference with all four victories coming over Chicago State.

Scouting The Huskies
Houston Baptist enters the 2012 Irish Classic at 4-11 on the season, falling in five straight games entering the weekend and eight of their last nine overall. Senior Collin Hetzler leads the team with a .400 (22-for-55) batting average, tying with senior Kolby Arnst for the team lead with 10 runs scored. Sophomore Bradley Brown tops the roster with five doubles and 14 RBIs. The Huskies have played one MVC team this season, topping Missouri State in Arlington, Texas, on Feb. 26 by a score of 11-5.

A Little History -- Notre Dame
Saturday's game will be the 14th all-time meeting between Indiana State and Notre Dame, with the Sycamores holding a slim 7-6 advantage in the series. ISU and UND have not met since the 2006 season, when the Fighting Irish won 3-0 in a season-opening matchup in Millington, Tenn. The Sycamores won four straight games between the schools in the 1982 and 1983 seasons, before the Fighting Irish won five out of the eight games in the 1990s.

Scouting The Fighting Irish
Notre Dame carries a 7-5 record as of Wednesday, playing a game with Texas - San Antonio before opening up their Irish Classis schedule against Houston Baptist. Junior Joe Hudson (.429, 18-for-42) and sophomore Trey Mancini (.400, 18-for-45) lead UND in batting average this season, with Mancini also topping the roster in home runs (three) and runs batted in (16). The Irish rank second in the country by averaging 1.5 double plays on defense per game.

Lucas Named MVC Player Of The Week
Junior Jeremy Lucas led the Sycamores in their perfect 5-0 week last week, hitting .545 (12-for-22) with one home run and eight RBIs and was named the Missouri Valley Conference's Player of the Week. Lucas tallied multiple hits in four of ISU's five games, going for three hits three times this past week. The ISU junior hit his home run on Sunday against UT Martin, sending a three-run shot to left field for his fourth home run of the season. For the week, Lucas totaled a .727 slugging percentage while playing perfect defense behind the plate with 33 putouts and six assists.

Among The National Leaders
Indiana State is among the national leaders in numerous offensive categories entering the week, including: hits (6th, 188), batting average (7th, .336), sacrifice flies (8th, 13), runs scored (9th, 129), runs per game (10th, 8.6), home runs (13th, 16), home runs per game (14th, 1.07) and slugging percentage (14th, .483).

Leading Off
Freshman Landon Curry was moved into the leadoff spot over the final three games of the Bulldog Classic, sparking ISU's offense that scored 36 runs in those three games. Curry has made the leadoff spot his home, hitting .408 (20-for-49) with 21 runs scored and a .516 on-base percentage in the leadoff role. ISU's offense has also made a turn for the better, averaging 10.8 runs per game and going over 10 runs in nine of the 12 games.

Ouch!
Indiana State tied a school record on Tuesday against SIU Edwardsville, as the Sycamores were hit by seven pitches during the game. Freshman Landon Curry led the way by being hit by a pitch three times, while seniors Jon Hedges, Lucas Hileman and Jeff Miera and junior Jeremy Lucas all tallied one each. ISU was also hit by seven pitches twice during the 2008 season, on March 15 at the College of Charleston and on May 13 against Miami (Ohio).

Saint Patrick's Day Success
Indiana State will face Notre Dame on Saturday, March 17, in the third game of the 2012 Irish Classic and also on Saint Patrick's Day. The Sycamores hold a 20-10 all-time record on the holiday, including a current four-game winning streak. The last time that ISU played on Saint Patrick's was back in 2007, when Indiana State swept a doubleheader at Murray State.

Early Runs
The Sycamores have dominated the early innings this season, outscoring their opponents 111-30 over the first five innings of their 16 games. In the first inning alone, Indiana State has a 20-run advantage, scoring 28 runs to their opposition's eight.

Scoring First
The Sycamores have scored the first run in 12 of their 16 games this season, tallying a 10-2 record when putting a run on the scoreboard first. ISU has also scored in the first inning in 10 of their 16 games, going 9-1 in those games.

Getting To The Seventh
Under head coach Rick Heller, Indiana State is 56-9 in games that they hold a lead heading into the seventh inning. When the Sycamores have trailed after the sixth inning, ISU is 9-37.

Better With Runners On Base
ISU is hitting .358 (119-for-358) as a team with runners on, compared to .309 (80-for-259) with the bases empty. Freshman Landon Curry tops ISU by hitting .500 (12-for-24) with runners on.

Allowing Big Innings
Under head coach Rick Heller, the Sycamores are 45-12 when the team does not allow a three-run inning during a game. When Indiana State does allow at least three runs to be scored in one inning during a game, ISU holds a 31-39 record.

Three Runs Or Less
The key to Indiana State's success last season started on the mound and on defense. The Sycamores were 22-2 in 2011 when they allowed three runs or less to their opponents, but just 7-26 when their opposition reached the four-run plateau. That same success has carried over to this season, as ISU is 7-1 when allowing three runs or less.

Rounding The Bases
Indiana State scored 36 runs over the final three games of the Bulldog Classic, their most in a three-game span since scoring 42 runs in wins over Eastern Kentucky (14-5), Illinois-Springfield (13-1) and Butler (15-3) on March 20-23 last season.

Senior Class
ISU's 2012 senior class holds 10, including: OF Kyle Burnam (.375, 18 RBIs), RHP Brandon Dorsett (2.70 ERA, 1-0 with one save), LHP Brandon Flora (two appearances, two strikeouts), C Patrick Foster (.250, seven games played), INF Jon Hedges (.365, four home runs), OF Lucas Hileman (seven walks, two outfield assists), LHP Reggie Hochstedler (three appearances, one save), RHP Chris Machado (0-0, four appearances), INF Jeff Miera (.263, five runs scored) and INF Ryan Walterhouse (.293, four doubles).

Shut 'Em Down
The ISU pitching staff combined for three shutouts in their four games during the Bulldog Classic. The last time ISU turned in three shutouts in four games came back in 1999 when ISU shut down Wisconsin-Parkside (12-0), Eastern Illinois (4-0) and Viterbo (4-0) on March 6-13.

Breaking Out The Bats
Indiana State hit nine home runs during their three-game weekend at Eastern Kentucky, with three each coming off the bats of senior Jon Hedges and junior Robby Ort while junior Jeremy Lucas hit two and redshirt junior Koby Kraemer hit one. Hedges hit two shots in Sunday's series finale, the first time a Sycamore has hit two in one game since Ort did it during his freshman season at The Citadel on April 9, 2010. Ort was followed twice for back-to-back home runs, as Ort and Lucas when back-to-back in the fourth inning of game two of the series before Ort and Hedges combined in the fifth inning of game three. The last time a pair of Sycamores had hit two consecutive home runs was when Lucas and Bryan Chestnut did so to end a string of four consecutive home runs at Saint Louis on March 16, 2010.

Back-To-Back Winning Seasons Under Heller
The Sycamores finished the 2011 season at 29-28 overall, their second straight winning season under head coach Rick Heller. It was the 69th winning season in program history. ISU has tallied three-straight winning seasons, their first three in a row stretch since 2001-03.

Sycamores Picked Fourth In MVC Preseason Poll
In a vote conducted by the head coaches from around the Missouri Valley Conference, the Indiana State baseball team was selected fourth in the preseason poll. The Sycamores finished last season at 29-28 overall and 8-13 within the league, finishing sixth overall.

Three Named To Preseason All-Conference Team
Individually, redshirt junior Koby Kraemer, junior Jeremy Lucas and junior Robby Ort were all selected to the Preseason All-Conference First Team. Kraemer led the team with 75 hits and 14 doubles last season, hitting .318 while starting all 57 games. Lucas led the team with a .333 batting average, returning from a midseason injury to hit .405 in conference play. Ort led ISU with 10 home runs, nine triples and 53 RBIs, ranking 10th in the country for triples last season.

Strong Defense
Indiana State's defense was one of the tops in the country last season, as the Sycamores ranked among the nation's best with a .976 fielding percentage. ISU ranked 20th in the country in fielding percentage, playing 24 games without an error in the field. In conference play, ISU committed just 11 errors in 22 games, checking in with a .986 fielding percentage.

No Stealing
Redshirt junior Koby Kraemer led the Sycamores with nine stolen bases during the 2011 season, a total that marks the lowest total to lead Indiana State since 1975. In 1975, Tony Grubb led the team with four swipes. Freshman Landon Curry leads the team in stolen bases through 16 games this season, going a perfect 6-for-6 on the base paths.

Ort Leads Team In Home Runs In Back-To-Back Seasons
Junior Robby Ort has led the team in home runs in both of his seasons with the Sycamores, hitting five as a freshman and 10 as a sophomore last season. Ort will be looking to be the first Sycamore to lead the team for three straight seasons since Boi Rodriguez accomplished the feat from 1985-87. Rodriguez is the only player in Indiana State baseball history to lead the team for three straight seasons in home runs.

On To The Next One...
Indiana State plays four games on the road next week, traveling to Missouri on Wednesday, March 21, before opening Missouri Valley Conference play at Evansville on Friday, March 23, through Sunday, March 25.