TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Indiana State baseball heads to Evansville to take on the Missouri Valley Conference leading Aces in a three-game weekend series. Due to weather, the series will begin Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. Sunday will feature a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. ET with game two following approximately 45 minutes afterwards. Fans can catch the action all weekend on ESPN Plus or on GoSycamores.com with
Luke Martin and
Brian Fritz on the call.
LOOKING AT THE SYCAMORES
The Sycamores come into play at 27-8 on the season and 4-2 in MVC play. ISU is hitting .270 as a squad. Catcher
Max Wright (.333, 6 2B, 3 HR, 22 RBI, .425 OBP) and shortstop
Clay Dungan (.324, 5 2B, 6 HR, 22 RBI, .522 SLG) lead the team while four other ISU batters are hitting above .270 on the year. Indiana State also boasts the 11th-best team ERA in collegiate baseball at 3.10.
PITCHING STRONG FOR THE SYCAMORES
The pitching staff for the Sycamores has been outstanding so far this season, allowing 107 earned runs in 310.2 innings of work. The team 3.10 ERA ranks 11th nationally. Six 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 2.40 ERA in over 18 appearances out of the bullpen.
SYCAMORES OFF TO BEST START IN PROGRAM HISTORY
Indiana State is off to the best start in program history at 27-8. The Sycamores opened the season with seven-straight victories before recording nine-straight to open the month of March. Indiana State is 12-7 on the road, 10-1 at home and 5-0 in neutral site contests this season. Five of Indiana State's eight losses have been by one run.
LOOKING AT EVANSVILLE
Evansville enters play with a 18-15 overall record and a 5-1 mark in MVC action. The Aces are coming off a 16-12 midweek victory over Murray State. The team is led offensively by Nate Reeder (.345, 9 2B, 4 HR, 26 RBI) and Craig Shepherd (.283, 7 2B, 17 RBI). As a club, Evansville is hitting at a .242 clip while the pitching staff holds a 4.51 ERA.
ALL-TIME VS THE ACES
The Sycamores lead the all-time series with Evansville, 105-64. Indiana State took two of three games at Bob Warn Field a year ago. In 2017, ISU also took two of three from UE in Evansville.
SIX WEEKEND SWEEPS IN 2019
Indiana State has recorded six weekend sweeps during the 2019 season, including four sweeps away from home (at Jacksonville, at UNCW Tournament, at Mercer and against Rutgers in Fort Myers). The 2018 Sycamores recorded just two road sweeps (at The Citadel and Valparaiso). ISU has swept The Citadel and most recently Valparaiso at Bob Warn Field.
JUMPING ON TOP AND CLOSING THEM OUT
Indiana State has put up runs consistently this season, averaging six runs a game while outscoring opponents, 219-119. The Sycamores have outscored opponents 44-12 in the first inning of action and 23-4 in the fourth. ISU puts up more runs than opponents in all but three innings this season, including a 33-12 mark in the eighth and ninth innings.
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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
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Instagram.
