Ashley Dickerson
GoSycamores.com
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – The Indiana State Baseball squad (4-1, 0-0 MVC) swung their way to their first win of the weekend in Florida against the Hawkeyes of Iowa (0-4, 0-0 Big Ten). The Sycamores recorded 13 hits in their 11-3 victory over the Hawks, led by junior Tony Rosselli. Rosselli was a homerun shy of hitting for the cycle, scored three of the Sycamores' ten runs, and recorded three RBIs.
After getting only one on base in the first inning, the Hawkeyes held the Sycamores scoreless. The Sycamores showed some grit on defense as junior Austin Conway pitched out of a bases-loaded jam. After that, Conway found a groove and kept the Hawkeyes at bay, striking out six batters throughout his four-inning appearance while holding Iowa to one run.
The Sycamores started things off in the top of the third inning, after trailing 1-0 in the third, when Rosselli singled, senior Andrew Gutierrez moved him into scoring position, and then sophomore Tyler Friis stroked a single to the right side to score Rosselli and tie it all up, 1-1.
The Sycamores struck again in the fourth, scoring four runs on a Rosselli double that plated two, a sacrifice hit from Gutierrez that scored one, and a single from senior Andy Young that knocked in another run. The Sycamores went up on the Hawkeyes 5-1 after four complete innings of play.
While holding the Hawkeyes to one, the Sycamore lineup continued to do damage. In the fifth inning, senior Jeff Zahn lead the team off with a single, while senior Kaden Moore followed behind him with a single, and freshman Clay Dungan showed discipline at the plate as he was walked on a 3-2 count. The bases were loaded for senior Andy DeJesus who drove in Zahn on a sacrifice hit. The Sycamores were not satisfied with scoring just one run as Moore scored on a passed ball then Rosselli tripled to score one more. Rosselli would then score, himself, on a sacrifice fly from Gutierrez.
Throughout the next three innings, the Sycamores were relatively quiet on offense, while the Hawkeyes managed to sneak another run across during the seventh and eighth innings. Despite the three quiet innings, the Sycamores came back up in the ninth to score two more runs, putting them up 11-3.
In the bottom of the ninth, with one on and two outs, Friis dove for a ball at short, flipping it to DeJesus who would touch second then gun down the runner at first to top off the game in double play fashion.
Freshman Tyler Ward (1-0) recorded the win on the mound, while Rosselli went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBIs. Moore finished the game 2-for-4 with three runs scored.
The Sycamores will return to action tomorrow with a double header against Boston College at 2:00 p.m. and Chicago State following as they continue their weekend in Port Charlotte, Florida. Be sure to follow the Sycamores on social media for live updates and live stat links.
