Indiana State University Athletics

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- The Indiana State baseball team will travel to Nashville for a midweek matchup with No. 6 Vanderbilt Tuesday evening at Hawkins Field. First pitch with the Commodores is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network Plus.
 
LOOKING AT THE SYCAMORES
The Sycamores come into play at 27-7 on the season and 4-2 in MVC play. ISU is hitting .274 as a squad. Shortstop Clay Dungan (.333, 5 2B, 6 HR, 21 RBI, .538 SLG) and catcher Max Wright (.324, 6 2B, 3 HR, 21 RBI) lead the team while five other ISU batters are hitting above .270 on the year. Indiana State has the 11th-best team ERA in collegiate baseball at 2.97 through the first half of the season. 

SYCAMORES OFF TO BEST START IN PROGRAM HISTORY
Indiana State is off to the best start in program history at 27-7. 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, 10-1 at home and 5-0 in neutral site contests this season. Five of Indiana State's seven losses have been by one run. 
 
PITCHING STRONG FOR THE SYCAMORES
The pitching staff for the Sycamores has been outstanding so far this season, allowing 100 earned runs in 302.2 innings of work. The team 2.97 ERA ranks 11th nationally. Seven Sycamores have ERA's lower than 2.60 through 34 games. Starting pitcher Triston Polley has a 1.78 ERA in nine starts and 60.2 innings while Jake Ridgway has a 2.15 ERA in over 17 appearances out of the bullpen.
 
LOOKING AT THE COMMODORES
No. 6-ranked Vanderbilt enters play with a 27-9 overall record and a 9-6 mark in SEC action. The Commodores are coming off a 2-1 weekend against nationally ranked Arkansas. The team is led offensively by Austin Martin (.421, 7 2B, 4 3B, 4 HR, 18 RBI) and JJ Bleday (.360, 15 HR, 46 RBI, .734 SLG). As a club, Vanderbilt is hitting at a .307 clip while the pitching staff holds a 3.84 ERA.
 
ALL-TIME VS VANDERBILT
Vanderbilt leads the all-time series with Indiana State, 5-3. The Sycamores met in 2018 in Nashville with the Commodores winning 8-5. The two teams played a three-game series in 2015 -- Vanderbilt took the series 2-1, but Indiana State won the Saturday contest, 8-1. 
 
WHAT A WEEKEND FOR WATKINS
Senior Jarrod Watkins saw his average jump 30 points to .279 during a three-game sweep of Valparaiso. The second baseman collected seven hits during the weekend including his first career home run in a Sycamore uniform. Watkins finished just a triple short of the cycle in the series finale during a 4-for-5 outing that included four RBI and three runs scored. 
 
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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.