KEVIN JENISON
GoSycamores.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana State scored first but Indiana scored eight unanswered and held off a Sycamore rally late in the game as the 23rd ranked Hoosiers defeated Indiana State 8-4 in a mid-week non-conference battle.
Indiana State (22-9) will be back in action on Friday when they play the first of three Missouri Valley Conference games against the Southern Illinois Salukis in Carbondale. Indiana (19-10) won their seventh straight since losing 12-8 to Indiana State at Terre Haute back on March 26.
The Sycamores took the lead in the top of the second inning when Manuel Estevez sent a 1-2 pitch over the left center field fence for a two-out solo home run. It was the second career home run as a Sycamore for the junior college transfer with his first coming against Western Illinois earlier this season.
Indiana State continued to fight late into the game scoring three times in the eighth.
Singles from Landon Curry and Cody Zimmerman followed by a walk to Jacob Hayes loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the eighth. Mike Fitzgerald singled up the middle to score Curry before Jeff Zahn grounded out to first which allowed Zimmerman to score. Hayes scored the final run of the inning for the Sycamores as Tyler Wampler grounded out to short.
Indiana tied the game in the bottom of the second and added two in the fourth, three in the fifth, and two in the seventh enroute to the win.
The defensive play of the day for Indiana State came in the bottom of the eighth after the Hoosier had loaded the bases with one out. Sam Travis, who had already hit a three-run home run in the game, stepped to the plate and hit a high foul ball to the right side which Sycamore first baseman Manuel Estevez tracked down and caught. Indiana's Tim O'Conner tried to score on the play but Estevez quickly relayed to Sycamore catcher Mike Fitzgerald who tagged out O'Conner to end the inning.
It was a work day for a bevy of Sycamore relievers led off by freshman left hander Ryan Keaffaber who started and went two innings and gave up a run on one hit. Nick Kolarik went two innings (two runs on two hits), John Patterson went a third (three runs on three hits), Mike Hammel 2.2 innings (two runs on two hits), and Austin Conway one inning (no runs on one hit).
The Sycamores ended up with nine hits in the game with Indiana State led by Manuel Estevez with a solo home run and two singles in four trips to the plate Landon Curry and Cody Zimmerman had two singles each with Jacob Hayes and Mike Fitzgerald each hitting a single.
