TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Indiana State baseball wraps up a nine-game road trip as the Sycamores return to action Friday night to begin a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series at Southern Illinois. The series opener is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday. Saturday's game will begin at 5 p.m. while the Sunday finale is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start.
Brian Fritz will have the radio call over the weekend via
GoSycamores.com/Watch. Fans can also follow along on Twitter via
@IndStBaseball.
SYCAMORES AT A GLANCE
CJ Huntley (.323, 10 2B, 25 RBI) and
Jarrod Watkins (.310, 11 2B, 12 RBI) lead the Trees at the plate while
Dane Giesler and
Luke Fegen are hitting .307 and .278, respectively. As a team, the Sycamores are hitting .268 and have hit for 69 doubles, nine triples and 35 home runs. The Indiana State pitching staff has struck out 273 batters and holds a combined 4.32 ERA.
LOOKING AT SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
Southern Illinois enter the weekend 24-21 overall and 7-5 in MVC action. SIU is coming off a 9-1 midweek loss to Illinois. The Salukis are hitting .271 on the season led by Connor Kopach at .346 in 45 games. The SIU pitching staff holds a 4.61 combined ERA.
ALL-TIME VS THE SALUKIS
The Salukis lead the all-time series between the two programs, 96-80. Indiana State took two of three games a year ago at Bob Warn Field and have win five of the last six matchups in the series. The Salukis are one of six current MVC programs that ISU holds a winning record against in the Missouri Valley Conference Championships with a 10-4 postseason mark.
WINNING IN TOUGH PLACES
Over the weekend, Indiana State became just the second team in the last three season to go to Louisville and win a non-conference game against the Cardinals. Only Texas Tech and Indiana State have won games inside Jim Patterson Stadium over the last three seasons as the Cardinals are 90-16 during the stretch.
NEW TEAM LEADER
Junior
CJ Huntley put together a monster week at the plate for the Sycamores with nine hits for a .450 batting average and a .700 slugging percentage. Huntley recorded base hits in each game of the Sycamores' weekend series at Louisville, including a team-best three hits in Saturday's game. Huntley has recorded a hit in each of the last nine games for the Trees and has seen his average climb from .167 on March 16 to .323 to lead the team.
MOVING UP THE TOP-10 HOME RUN LIST
Sycamore cleanup man
Dane Giesler leads the Sycamores with 10 home runs this season and now has 28 in his career in blue and white. His three home runs over the last week, including two at Northern Illinois move him into a three-way tie for seventh all-time on the list. One more homer would move him into a tie with Tony Collins for sixth place.
HE DOESN'T GO DOWN EASY
Jarrod Watkins holds a .310 batting average over 41 starts. Another area the junior sits atop the team is in his strikeout numbers or lack thereof. Watkins is the toughest batter to strikeout in the Missouri Valley Conference at a 9.9 at bats per strikeout rating. In 168 at bats, Watkins has struck out just 17 times.
More…
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.
