Indiana State University Athletics

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- After a nine-game road swing and the Indiana State baseball team returns to Bob Warn Field for a three-game weekend series with Valparaiso starting Friday at 6:30 p.m. Saturday's first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. with the finale set for 1 p.m. Sunday. Fans can catch the action live on ESPN Plus Friday and Sunday while all three games will have audio streaming available at GoSycamores.com.
 
LOOKING AT THE SYCAMORES
The Sycamores have seen their team average drop over the past two weeks, now hitting .269 as a squad. Catcher Max Wright leads the team with a .340 average while five other ISU batters are hitting above .280 on the year. Indiana State has the 12th-best team ERA in collegiate baseball at 3.01 through the first half of the season. 
 
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 24-7. The Sycamores opened the season with seven-straight victories before recording nine-straight to open the month of March. Indiana State is 12-6 on the road, 7-1 at home and 5-0 in neutral site contests this season. Five of Indiana State's seven losses have been by one run. 
 
FREE BASEBALL A TREND FOR THE TREES
Indiana State has gone to extra innings five times this season, with a 2-3 record in those games. four of those games have come over the last eight games. ISU has already matched its total for extra-inning games from 2018 after not playing any in 2017. 
 
LOOKING AT THE CRUSADERS
Valparaiso enters play with a 6-21 overall record and a 1-5 mark in Missouri Valley Conference action. The Crusaders are coming off a 1-2 weekend against MVC foe Illinois State after two midweek games were canceled due to weather. The team is led offensively by Riley Dent (.348, 3 2B, 3 3B, 8 RBI) and Chase Dawson (.321, 2 HR, 14 RBI, .488 SLG). As a club, Valpo is hitting at a .242 clip while the pitching staff holds a 6.89 ERA.
 
ALL-TIME VS VALPO
The Sycamores lead the all-time series with Valparaiso, 42-29-1 after sweeping last season's series at Emory Field. Prior to last year's meeting, the last time the two teams played was in 2012.
 
JUMPING ON TOP AND CLOSING THEM OUT
Indiana State has put up runs consistently this season, averaging six runs a game while outscoring opponents, 186-105. The Sycamores have outscored opponents 34-8 in the first inning of action and 21-4 in the fourth. ISU puts up more runs than opponents in all but three innings this season, including a 30-12 mark in the eighth and ninth innings.
 
PITCHING STRONG FOR THE SYCAMORES
The pitching staff for the Sycamores has been outstanding so far this season, allowing 93 earned runs in 277.2 innings of work. The team 3.01 ERA ranks 12th nationally. Six Sycamores have ERA's lower than 2.60 through 31 games. Starting pitcher Triston Polley has a 1.68 ERA in eight starts and 53.2 innings while Jake Ridgway has a 2.15 ERA in over 17 appearances out of the bullpen.
 
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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.