TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Indiana State baseball team welcomes the Southern Illinois Salukis to Terre Haute this weekend. ISU and SIU will play in a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series with the first pitch being Friday night at 6:30 p.m. at Bob Warn Field at Sycamore Stadium.
Weekend Schedule vs. Purdue and Eastern Illinois
Friday: vs. Southern Illinois, 6:30 p.m. (ET) -- Little League Night – the Sycamores invite all little leaguers to be a part of the excitement of Bob Warn Field. Little Leaguers wearing their uniform tops to the game will receive a free general admission tickets. Others with the Little Leaguer will pay $4 per ticket.
Sycamore Manor Baseball Bingo – all fans can grab their BINGO cards on their way into Bob Warn Field. Fans who play along and win can return the cards to the ticket office to receive their prize, while supplies last.
Saturday: vs. Southern Illinois, 2:00 p.m. (ET)
Sunday: vs. Southern Illinois, 1:00 p.m. (ET) -- Run the Bases – Immediately following the conclusion of the game, all kids eighth grade and under will have an opportunity to run the bases at Bob Warn Field!
Probable Pitchers
Friday: Jeff Degano (5-2, 1.84 ERA, 53.2 IP, 68 K's)
Saturday: Ryan Keaffaber (1-2, 2.41 ERA, 33.2 IP, 19 K's)
Sunday: TBA
A Little History -- Southern Illinois
Indiana State and Southern Illinois have faced 167 times in baseball with the Salukis holding a 92-75 advantage. Over the last five years, the Sycamores have turned the tide of the overall series, going 11-4 in head-to-head matchups since the 2010 season. Over that span, ISU and SIU played in the MVC tournament once, resulting in a 5-0 Sycamore win. That win in the MVC tournament was the sixth-straight victory for the Sycamores over the Salukis, spanning the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
Scouting the Salukis
Southern Illinois enters the weekend with a 5-27 overall record and are 1-5 in the Missouri Valley Conference. SIU started the season at TCU, now ranked No. 4 in the country, and were swept before their first victory against Eastern Kentucky. The Salukis lost seven-in-a-row following that win before beating Northern Illinois. Southern Illinois enters the weekend on a six-game losing streak after two midweek games with Belmont and Arkansas State. The Salukis have a team batting average of .243 while hitting seven homers and scoring 112 runs.
Weekend projected starters for Southern Illinois are Aaron Hauge, Bryce Sablotny, and Kyle Pruemer. Hauge is the starter set for Friday night. On the year, Hauge has a 2-3 record in eight starts including a complete game. Hauge has earned a 2.28 ERA in 51.1 innings pitched, giving up 39 hits, 17 runs, 13 earned, walking 26 and striking out 52. Hauge also earned MVC Pitcher of the Week Honors (Mar. 16) after eight innings of shutout baseball against a Top-25 Illinois squad. Saturday's starter Sablotny has made three starts in 2015, going 0-2 with a 3.71 ERA. Sablotny has thrown in 34.0 innings, giving up 34 hits, 16 runs; 14 earned, walking 11 and striking out 22. Sunday's projected starter is sophomore right-handed pitcher Kyle Pruemer. Pruemer has started six games for the Salukis, going 0-3 in that span. Pruemer has gone 32.2 innings with an 8.54 ERA, while allowing 48 hits, 31 runs, all earned, walking 16 and striking out 19. Opponents are hitting .345 against him. Colten Selvey has served as the closer for SIU, picking up three saves on the year. Selvey has appeared in nine games, with 8.1 innings pitched. He has allowed five hits, four runs; three earned, walked nine and struck out six while holding opponents to a .208 batting average.
Greg Lambert holds the highest batting average on the SIU squad. Lambert is hitting for a .297 (35-for-118) in 29 games during 2015. Lambert has hit five doubles, with one home run and a team-high 16 RBI. Logan Blackfan has earned the second-highest slugging percentage (.358) for SIU. Blackfan has a .242 (23-for-95) average while hitting eight doubles and one home run while adding 13 RBI, second-most on the team behind Lambert. Another offensive threat for Southern Illinois is freshman infielder Chase Slone. Slone has a .278 (35-for-126) average while starting in all 32 games for the Salukis. Sloan has scored a team-high 14 runs with four extra-base hits and has knocked in 11 RBI.
Let There Be Light
This week has seen the Sycamores drop their two midweek matchups with Purdue and Eastern Illinois. The game against Eastern Illinois featured an hour and 33 minute rain delay before the game was called in the eighth inning because of the lack of lights at Coaches Stadium in Charleston, Ill.
MVC Player of the Week
Junior third baseman Andy Young earned Missouri Valley Player of the Week Honors during the week of Mar. 30th-Apr. 5th. During that week, Young hit for a .556 average with four multi-hit performances in five games, and a team-high eight RBI. During the second game against Wichita State, Young led off the eighth inning with a solo home run. After ISU batted around, Young hit his second home run of the inning and the Sycamores erased a four-run ninth inning deficit for the come-from-behind victory.
Midweek Sweep
During the week of Mar. 29th,, the Sycamores played their first midweek games since playing Nebraska on Mar. 17th and 18th, a pair of one run losses. Against Butler and Ball State, the Sycamores were 2-0. Both games were played at Bob Warn Field. ISU outscored their opponents 22-10.
Young's Yahtzee's
Andy Young did something Saturday Apr. 4th that is extremely rare in baseball. Not only is it rare to come up to bat in the same inning, but Andy Young hit two-home runs in the ninth inning of the second game against Wichita State. The first home run sparked an eight-run comeback which saw the Sycamores erase a four-run deficit. Young's second homer was the exclamation point on the inning which put the Sycamores up by four entering the bottom half of the final frame.
Curry and Ice
Sycamore centerfielder Landon Curry was hit by the 50th pitch of his career against Ball State (Apr. 1). Kevin Egli held the record before the season started, getting hit 43 times in his career from 2000-03. Curry also needs 10 stolen bases this season to etch his name into the ISU record book and tie him for sixth-most all-time.
Good Company
Redshirt Junior Jeff Degano currently has a streak of seven consecutive quality starts for the Sycamores. It is the longest such streak since Sean Manaea had seven-straight quality starts in 2013. After Manaea's 2013 campaign in which he finished 5-4 with a 1.47 ERA, he was taken in the first round of the June Amateur draft by the Kansas City Royals. Manaea is currently ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the Royals minor league system.
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 a couple innings. Keaffaber has a 2.41 ERA while striking out 19 hitters in 33.2 innings pitched.
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 .333 (36-for-108) 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 53.2 innings, allowing 15 runs; 11 earned, 37 hits, and struck out a team-high 68, including 10 in three-straight appearances against Youngstown State, Canisius and Missouri State. Against Wichita State, Degano posted a career-high 12 strikeouts and is currently sixth in the nation for strikeouts this season, and tied for the 64th lowest ERA. Degano has also recorded seven quality starts in a row. A quality start is 6.0 innings pitched, allowing three or fewer earned runs.
Extra Credit
During the Indiana State Tournament, the Sycamores belted 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 was 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.
Sycamores against the Big 10
Indiana State has accrued a 1-3 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 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. ISU dropped a midweek game against Purdue on 4/7, 10-6 in Terre Haute.
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 189 and played in 192 of the 194 games for the Sycamores since arriving in the 2012 season. Curry has a career .283 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 173 times of his 189 games started. 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 has also set a school record after getting reaching base via hit-by-pitch against Ball State. It was the 50th time Curry has reached on a hit-by-pitch. Landon has since added to his career total, with 51 hit-by-pitches.
Return to Action
The Sycamores are scheduled to return to action on Tuesday April, 14th as they host the Hoosiers of Indiana University at 6:00 p.m.
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.
