SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Indiana State baseball team earned their first victory in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) on Saturday afternoon at Hammons Field in Springfield, Mo. The Sycamores recorded a 3-2 victory over Missouri State and improve their record to 9-10, 1-1 in MVC play. The Missouri State Bears fall to 12-7 and 1-1 in the MVC.
The Sycamores scored in the top of the second inning for the second consecutive day Saturday afternoon. Manny Estevez led off with a walk and stole second. Andrew Gutierrez delivered a single off of the bag at first to score Estevez and give ISU the early lead.
ISU added a run in the third inning. Tyler Friis led off the inning with a walk and scored on a Derek Hannahs double to give the Sycamores a 2-0 lead.
The Bears tied the game with one swing of the bat in the sixth inning. Tate Matheny belted a two-run shot to center field to tie it up.
Indiana State scored the winning run in the top of the ninth inning. Landon Curry and Kaden Moore led off with back-to-back hit by pitches and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Andrew Gutierrez. Andy DeJesus laid down a bunt for the safety squeeze and Curry scored the game-winning run from third base.
The Sycamores had five hits in the contest. Gutierrez led the team with a two-for-three performance and picked up one RBI. Friis and Hannahs each were one-for-four, with Friis scoring a run and Hannahs adding an RBI, his 10th of the season. Andy Young also had a single.
Ryan Keaffaber started on the hill for the Sycamores. Keaffaber tossed 7.0 innings allowing seven hits, two runs, both earned, walking two and striking out two. Austin Conway (1-0) picked up the win in relief. Conway worked in the eighth and ninth innings, allowing one hit, no runs, walked a batter and struck out three.
For the latest information on the Sycamore Men's Baseball team, make sure to visit GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook and Twitter.
