TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Indiana State baseball wraps up a five-game homestand Tuesday afternoon when the Sycamores welcome the Indiana to town. First pitch with the Hoosiers is scheduled for 4 p.m. from Bob Warn Field. Fans can catch the action live on ESPN+, listen to the action on GoSycamores.com with
Luke Martin and
Brian Fritz on the call or follow along on Twitter (
@IndStBaseball). For ticket information, call (812) 237-3737 or order tickets online
HERE.
SYCAMORES OFF TO BEST START IN PROGRAM HISTORY
Sixth year head coach
Mitch Hannahs has his squad off to the best start in program history at 16-1. The Sycamores opened the season with seven-straight victories and are currently riding a nine-game streak after a weekend sweep of The Citadel. In 1990, the Sycamores opened the season 13-1.
SCOUTING INDIANA STATE
The Sycamores have seen their team average slowly climb this season, now hitting .287 as a squad.
Max Wright leads the Sycamores with a.426 average while four other ISU batters are hitting above .300 on the year. Indiana State has the 10th-best team ERA in collegiate baseball at 2.53 through the first third of the season. Sophomore
Jake Ridgway holds the best ERA on the team at 0.95 after nine appearances out of the bullpen. All three Indiana State weekend starters have ERA's under 2.25.
LOOKING AT THE HOOSIERS
Indiana enters play at 11-8 on the year and winners of their last four contests following a weekend sweep of Canisius in Bloomington. The Hoosiers are led by Matt Gorski who holds a .354 batting average in 16 starts. Matt Lloyd joins Gorski as the only other IU player batting over .300 with a .303 average in 18 games. Pauly Milto anchors the pitching staff with a 4-1 record and a 2.57 ERA. Right-hander Grant Sloan has appeared in seven games out of the bullpen and holds a 2.57 ERA. As a team, IU holds a 3.29 ERA.
ALL-TIME VS INDIANA
Indiana leads the all-time series with the Indiana State 62-45-1 after the nationally ranked Hoosiers swept the midweek series in 2018 taking one game in Bloomington and another in Terre Haute.
FOUR WEEKEND SWEEPS IN 2019
Indiana State has recorded four weekend sweeps, including three road sweeps (at Jacksonville, at UNCW Tournament, at Mercer and The Citadel) in 2019. The 2018 Sycamores recorded just two road sweeps (at The Citadel and Valparaiso). The Sycamores did take two games from Austin Peay to open the home slate in 2019, but the finale was canceled due to weather.
PITCHING STRONG FOR THE SYCAMORES
The pitching staff for the Sycamores has been outstanding through the first 17 games this season, allowing 43 earned runs in 153 innings of work. The team 2.53 ERA ranks 10th nationally. Six different Sycamores have ERA's lower than 2.70 entering the fifth week of the season. Starting pitcher
Tyler Whitbread has a 1.82 ERA in four starts and 24.2 innings while right-handed reliever
Jake Ridgway has a 0.95 ERA in nine appearances.
JUMPING ON TOP AND CLOSING THEM OUT
Indiana State has put up runs consistently this season, averaging 7.05 runs a game and has outscored opponents, 120-49. ISU has outscored opponents 17-2 in the first inning and 23-8 in the second. The Sycamores put up more than opponents in all but one inning this season, including a 43-18 mark in the final four innings of games.
WHEN IT'S WRIGHT, IT'S WRIGHT
Junior
Max Wright has hit the ball exceptionally well to open the 2019 season for Indiana State. The catcher leads the team and the Missouri Valley Conference with a .426 average. He has recorded 23 base hits -- including five doubles and a pair of home runs while his .630 slugging percentage and .500 on-base percentage also lead the team. Wright has eight multi-hit games in 15 starts.
THE 300 CLUB
Five Indiana State everyday batters currently hold averages above .300 in 17 games this season led by junior
Max Wright at .426.
Roby Enriquez (.347),
Hunter Lewis (.333),
Luke Fegen (.315) and
Jake Means (.300) sit above the mark. All five have also driven in eight or more RBIs.
YOU CAN RUN -- BUT I WOULDN'T
Sycamore catcher
Max Wright is one of the best behind the plate in the MVC. The sophomore has had just 22 opponents look to swipe a base with 12 of those runners being thrown out in 2018. He was the top defensive catcher in the MVC with the next best starting catcher being challenged is Matt Duce of DBU with 31 steal attempts against. This season, opponents are 9-of-17 stealing on Wright.
FEGEN WITH A STRONG WEEK
Outfielder
Luke Fegen led the Sycamores at the plate over the last week with a .500 average in four starts. Fegen recorded seven base hits, including three doubles for a .714 slugging percentage. The senior scored twice and drove in a run. He was perfect in the field on nine fielding chances and finished the week with a .533 on-base percentage.
NOT AFRAID TO WEAR IT
Indiana State ranks 11th in the nation in hit-by-pitches, taking 38 HBP's in 18 games. Sycamore infielder
Jake Means lead the team with seven HBP's while outfielder Roberto Enriquez has been hit-by-pitch six times this season. Eight different players have been hit-by-pitch more than once.
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.
