Box Score CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The Indiana State baseball team fell to Illinois State, 17-7 in a nonconference matchup Friday afternoon in the teams' season opener at the Austin Peay Invitational.
 
The Sycamores (0-1) jumped out to an early lead after junior Tyler Friis sent the first pitch he saw over the fence to give the ISU a 1-0 lead. First baseman Jeff Zahn added to that lead five batters later when he hammered a 3-run shot over the right field wall to put the Sycamores on top 4-0.
 
Illinois State (1-0) would bounce right back in the bottom of the frame, scoring a trio of runs. The Redbirds strung together three hits and were aided by an errant throw. The third run of the inning came on a wild pitch that allowed the runner from third to score.
 
The Redbird bats continued to keep their offense on base as they tacked on 10 runs over the next two innings. After the Redbirds picked up an RBI double from Ryan Hutchison tied the game at five, Nick Zouras sent a ball over the right field fence for the first grand slam of the 2017 season.
 
Illinois State added five more runs in the third after to take a commanding lead. It wasn't until the fourth inning until Indiana State would strike again as Clay Dungan drove in Friis from second on a single through the right side.
 
Indiana State had no answer for the Redbirds through the first three innings. It wasn't until the fourth inning that the Redbirds were held without a run. Evan Giles shut out ILS in two innings of work, holding the Redbirds to just one hit.
 
ISU added two more runs in the fifth when CJ Huntley sent a 2-run shot to left center for the Sycamores third homer of the day, but that would be it for the offense for the day.
 
Illinois State added four runs in the eighth to push their lead to 17-7.
 
In total, the Trees put eight pitchers on the mound with Giles going a team-best two innings. Right-hander Will Kincanon was charged with the loss after giving up seven earned runs in one and two-third innings. Kincanon struck out four of the 16 batters he faced.
 
The story of the afternoon was Illinois State's ability to hit with runners on base. ILS recorded 10 hits in 24 opportunities with runners on and eight of their 15 chances with runners in scoring position. The Sycamores were just 2-of-11 with runners on and 4-of-21 with runners in scoring position.
 
Chris Ayers, Dominic Bifano, Friis and Zahn each recorded two hits for the Sycamores. Zahn, a Newburgh, Indiana native, drove in three runs to lead the team.
 
Colton Johnson picked up the win for Illinois State after two innings of relief work. Bryce Grimm led ILS with three hits on the afternoon. Zouras had five RBI in the game.
 
The Sycamores return to action Saturday as they faceoff with Youngstown State at 4:30 p.m. ET. Sophomore right-hander Tyler Ward will get the start for Indiana State.
 
For the latest information on the Sycamore Baseball team, be sure to visit GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.