Week Schedule vs. Butler and Ball State

Tuesday: vs. Butler, 3:00 p.m. (ET)

Wednesday: vs. Ball State, 3:00 p.m. (ET) -- Victory Bell Celebration - We once again celebrate the Victory Bell victory. Get your picture taken with the Victory Bell as the Sycamores and Cardinals do battle on the field.

Probable Pitchers

Tuesday: TBA

Wednesday: TBA

A Little History -- Butler University

The Sycamores and the Bulldogs have played in 107 contests since the 1903 season.  Indiana State holds a 70-36-1 record over that span.  Over the last ten years, ISU is 8-2 against the Bulldogs, including winning eight-straight contests.  During those contests, ISU has outscored Butler 97-34 during the winning streak.  In 2014, ISU won the game by a 2-1 score, the smallest margin of victory during the last 10 years.  In 2009, the Sycamores won 23-3 over the Bulldogs. 

Scouting the Bulldogs

Butler brings a 12-14 record in to Tuesday's contest.  The Bulldogs lost the first eight games of the 2015 season, but have righted the ship here in the middle of the season.  Butler is currently riding a nine-game winning streak, including wins over Illinois State, and a three-game sweep of in-state rival Purdue this past weekend. 

In Butler's last midweek game, the Bulldogs used six different pitchers, with none logging more than two innings of work in the contest.  Connor Mitchell started, throwing in one inning, allowing two runs.  Luke Johnson earned the victory, tossing in the fourth and fifth innings, allowing just one hit and striking out three. 

At the plate, Butler has five players that have started at least 20 games and are hitting above .300 for the season, and are led by freshman Garrett Christman who has a .375 (27-for-72) average, with five extra base hits.  Senior Ryan Wojciechoski leads the team with 21 RBI, and 11 extra base hits, while hitting for a .344 (32-for-93) average.  Another freshman has made his presence known in the Bulldog lineup; Tyler Houston is tied with junior Chris Marras with three home runs on the season.  Houston is hitting .272 (22-for-81), and Marras has a .273 (18-for-66) average.

A Little History -- Ball State University

Indiana State and Ball State have played 139 times, dating back to May 10th, 1919.  The Sycamores hold an 88-51 record against the Cardinals and have won the last four meetings between the two programs.  In 2014, the Sycamores went to Muncie and defeated the Cardinals 9-7. ISU and BSU have played once a year for the last nine years.  The teams did not play in 2005. 

Scouting the Cardinals

Ball State will enter Wednesday's game after playing Valparaiso in Muncie, Ind. on Tuesday.  Prior to Tuesday's contest, the Cardinals are 18-8 overall and 6-2 away from the Ball Diamond in Muncie.  The Cardinals had a ten-game winning streak snapped this weekend against Buffalo, before winning the series finale Sunday.  Of Ball State's eight losses, five were in one run games, with two going in to extra innings.

During the Cardinals' last midweek game against Purdue, Trevor Henderson started on the mound.  Henderson went 5.2 innings, giving up just two hits and one run.  Cardinal pitchers gave up five hits and two runs in the contest, while walking eight Purdue hitters. 

The Cardinals Elbert Devarie leads the team with a .373 (38-for-102) average, with ten extra-base hits including three home runs.  Devarie also leads the club with 20 RBI this season.  Alex Call leads the Cardinals with 24 runs scored, while hitting for a .318 (35-for-110) average.  Call has also hit three home runs this season.  As a team, the Cardinals have 18 home runs tying them for 41st in the nation. 

Similar Starts

2014 saw the Sycamores finish second in the Missouri Valley during the regular season, with a 14-7 conference record.  2014 also saw ISU get off to a slow start in conference, starting 2-4 in series against Evansville and Illinois State.  This season, Indiana State is also 2-4, going 1-2 in both conference series against Evansville and Missouri State. 

Keaffaber's transition

Ryan Keaffaber has transitioned from one of the premier closers in college baseball, to a formidable starter for the Sycamores.  After being named to the National College Baseball Writers of America's Stopper of the Year watch list prior to the season, Keaffaber has proven to be a tough out for more than just a few innings.  In Keaffaber's three starts, he has pitched over six innings, allowing no more than two earned runs in each.  Keaffaber has struck out eight hitters over the three starts, with a season-high five against Canisius in his first start of the year. 

The Curse at First

The Sycamores have seen a revolving door at first base in 2015.  Injuries have moved Redshirt Senior Derek Hannahs from his position at second base, over to first base.  Hannahs is hitting .337 (28-for-83) in 2015, and has had the team's highest batting average each of the last two years.  Four Sycamores have started at first base during the 2015 campaign.  Last year's starter Jeff Zahn has gone down with an injury, which made room for Dane Giesler, a transfer from Wabash Valley CC.  Giesler suffered an ACL injury in his first start at first base against Youngstown State.  Manny Estevez has played two games at first, including starting against Nebraska on March 18th, where he hit his first home run of the season. 

#Fearless

Fearless has been the attitude of the 2015 Sycamore Baseball program.  This attitude was personified in the second week of the year when a schedule change saw the Sycamores travel to Port Charlotte, Fla. to take on the defending National Champion Vanderbilt Commodores.  Vanderbilt took the series 2-1 but the stats during the games were comparable.  Runs were tied at 10, the Commodores managed just two more hits than the Sycamores, and ISU issued 12 walks compared to 19 from Vanderbilt.  Other opponents for the 2015 season include two teams that ISU saw in the NCAA Bloomington Regional, Indiana and Youngstown State.  Dallas Baptist is also on the schedule who is a Top 25 team.  Georgia Tech is receiving votes several polls; the Yellow Jackets took three games from ISU during the third week of the season.  

Degano's Dominance

Starting pitcher Jeff Degano took over the Friday night starter's role in the series against Georgia Tech.  This season Degano has pitched a combined 46.2 innings, allowing 12 runs; nine earned, 32 hits, and struck out a team-high 56, including a career-high 10 in three-straight appearances against Youngstown State, Canisius and Missouri State.  Degano has also recorded six quality starts in a row.   A quality start is 6.0 innings pitched, allowing three or fewer earned runs.

Game Experience

In the Georgia Tech series, the Sycamores subbed 14 times.  This allowed members of the team that haven't seen the field some extended playing time.  Off the bench, the Sycamores notched three hits and scored two runs during the series. 

Extra Credit

During the Indiana State Tournament, the Sycamores found their power stroke, belting 20 extra base hits.  Five Sycamores hit two doubles, as well as four hitting triples.  Andy Young and Taylor Steen hit their first career home runs as Sycamores.  Jacob Hayes showed his speed with two triples, bringing his season total to three.  Hayes hit four during the 2014 season.

Speed Kills

ISU showed off their team speed during the Indiana State Tournament, hitting five triples, by four different players.  The Sycamores also stole six bases in eight attempts.  ISU's running game causes issues for pitchers, as Indiana State base runners constantly require attention from opposing pitchers.  The Sycamores also took advantage of six opponent errors to score four unearned runs.

Early Season Recognition

The Sycamores placed four players on the Warhawk Classic All-Classic team during the weekend of Feb. 13-15 at the Warhawk Classic hosted by UL-Monroe.  Position players Derek Hannahs, Kaden Moore and Andy Young earned a spot, along with pitcher Michael Eberle.  ISU went 2-1 in games in Louisiana, placing second at the Classic. 

Brothers in Arms

Redshirt juniors, Jeff Degano and Greg Kuhlman made their first appearances since 2013, on Opening Weekend.  Both are coming off of arm injuries which didn't allow them to appear on the diamond for ISU in 2014.  Kuhlman, prior to 2015, had a 3-3 career record and a 5.38 ERA after appearing in 27 games and making five starts.  Degano, a transfer from Marshalltown CC, started in three games in 2013, posting an 0-1 record in 8.2 innings pitched.  The pair of southpaws started Saturday and Sunday of Opening Weekend.  The Sycamores featured an all-lefty rotation in the first weekend of the year at the Warhawk Classic in Monroe, La. with senior David Stagg getting the ball on Friday night.

Preseason Poll

ISU placed fourth in the MVC preseason poll with 42 points.  Dallas Baptist is the preseason favorite to win the conference, earning seven of the eight possible first place votes and 62 points overall. Missouri State picked up the one other and placed second on the list with 53 total points. Wichita State finished a spot ahead of the Sycamores with 43 points.  Rounding out the bottom of the conference was Evansville with 28 points, Illinois State with 26, Bradley with 18, and Southern Illinois with 15. 

Preseason All-MVC

Ryan Keaffaber was the lone Sycamore to place on the preseason all-MVC team.  Keaffaber is a relief pitcher that finished 2014 with a 3-2 record and a 3.26 ERA.  He also was named to the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year. Other members of the preseason all-conference team are as follows: Paul DeJong of Illinois State; Spencer Gaa and Tyler Leffler of Bradley; Daniel Salters, Justin Wall, David Martinelli, and Brandon Koch of Dallas Baptist; Dylan Becker, Tate Matheny, and Jon Harris of Missouri State; and Daniel Kihle and Sam Tewes of Wichita State.

2-for-3

Over the past three seasons, the Sycamores have earned at-large bids into the NCAA Regionals.  In 2012, ISU earned a spot in the NCAA Regional in Eugene, Oregon.  ISU also earned an at-large bid last season when the Sycamores competed in the NCAA Regional in Bloomington, Ind. 

Stellar Sophomore

Sophomore pitcher Ryan Keaffaber had a freshman season that saw him etch his name into the Indiana State Record Book.  Keaffaber earned a place on the Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American Team and was the 2014 Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year.  Keaffaber  appeared in 24 games with three earning a 3.26 ERA and a 3-2 record.  Ryan served mostly as the closer for the Sycamores during the season.  His 11 saves are the third-best total in school history while holding opponents to a .212 batting average against him.   The only other Sycamore to earn Freshman of the Year honors was Mitch Stetter, a former major leaguer with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Sycamores against the Big 10

Indiana State has accrued a 1-2 record against the Big Ten Conference.  ISU showed its strength against Rutgers, the first of four Big Ten teams ISU will square off with during the regular season.  The Sycamores won the first contest by a 14-4 tally.  The Sycamores then traveled to Lincoln, Neb. where they dropped a pair of one run games at Hawks Field against the Cornhuskers.

Lucky Number Seven

ISU is looking to make it seven winning seasons in a row. The Sycamores earned their sixth-straight winning season in 2014 after going 35-18 and earning an at-large bid into the NCAA Bloomington Regional.  The six winnings seasons are the longest such streak since the 17-season streak from 1977-1993. 

Look at Me, I Can Be Centerfield

Landon Curry has started in 183 and played in 185 of the 187 games for the Sycamores since arriving in the 2012 season. Curry has a career .282 batting average and 58 stolen bases.  Curry needs 10 stolen bases to tie for sixth-place all-time at ISU.  Curry has hit in the lead-off spot 170 times of his 185 games played.  On March 18th against Nebraska, Curry hit in the second spot of the lineup, the first time since April 24, 2013 where Curry hadn't hit lead off.  It snapped a streak of 84 straight games with Curry being on the top of the lineup card.  Curry made the most of his one career home run, belting a grand slam against Ball State in 2012.  Curry also holds the record for most times being hit-by-pitch at ISU with 49. 

Powerful Pitching

The Sycamore pitching staff led the MVC with a 3.34 ERA and placed second with 17 saves in 2014.  The pitchers also controlled the running game from the mound, picking off 18 runners.  Continuing the pitching prowess, the Sycamores were first in runs allowed (222) and tied for first in the MVC in hits allowed (417) during the 2014 season.

Return to Action

The Sycamores are scheduled to return to action on April 3rd-5th when they travel to Wichita, Kan. to take on the Shockers in the third Missouri Valley Conference series of the season. 

For the latest information on the Sycamore Baseball team, make sure to visit GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook and Twitter.