PEORIA, Ill. – Indiana State baseball dropped its series finale with Bradley Sunday afternoon as the Braves rallied to score three runs in the eighth inning en route to a 7-6 series clinching victory at Dozer Park.
 
Indiana State (16-10, 2-4 MVC) entered the eighth inning leading 6-4 over Bradley before the Braves put the first two batters of the frame on base with a leadoff walk and a single to left. BU would push both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt before Luke Shadid would take a pitch to the back to load the bases.
 
The Sycamores would go to the bullpen in southpaw Tyler Grauer but Luke Mangeri would not be phased as he took a 2-0 pitch to right field to tie the ballgame and setup runners at the corners with one out. Bradley's Andrew Ivelia would put the Braves on top for the first time since the third inning on a sacrifice fly to center and that was all the Braves would need as Alex Gray shut the door in the ninth.
 
Both team battled early as the Braves (17-8, 4-2 MVC) jumped out in front early with a 2-0 lead before Jake Means tied the team lead with his fifth home run of the season on a two-run blast to left field to knot the game.
 
Bradley regained the lead in the bottom of the second with an RBI groundout from Keaton Rice to put the Braves on top 3-2.
 
Chris Ayers would put the Trees back on top with a two-run triple to the gap in right in the third, before Luke Fegen drove in the third run of the inning on an RBI groundout. Brandt Nowaskie would make it a 6-4 advantage for the Sycamores in the seventh after stealing third and going home on an error from the catcher.
 
Bradley outhit the Sycamores 11-9 in the contest. Eli Rawlinson led the Braves with a trio of hits while Mangeri added two hits. Clay Dungan was the lone Sycamore to record double-digit hits in the game.
 
Donnie Ames made his first career start on the mound for the Sycamores, going three and a third innings and striking out two. Ethan Larrison (1-2) took the loss after surrendering four runs in four innings of work.
 
Bradley Reliever Alex Gray recorded the win with a six-inning effort to move to 5-0 on the season. He struck out seven Sycamores in his outing while BU starting pitcher Ryan Hodgett struck out four in three innings. Hodgett gave up five runs in five base hits in the no decision.
 
The Sycamores will make the trip to Bloomington Tuesday to take on nationally ranked Indiana. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. ET from Bart Kaufman Field.
 
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.