TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Indiana State University baseball team begins its regular season at the Snowbird Baseball Classic in Port Charlotte, Florida. The Sycamores face Pittsburgh on Friday at 12 p.m., Kent State on Saturday at 12 p.m., and No. 24 Ohio State on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. All three games will be played at the North Charlotte Region Park and will be available via FloSports, a subscription based streaming service.
NEWS & NOTEWORTHY
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE WEEKEND OPPONENTS
It will mark the first meeting all-time with Pittsburgh when Indiana State kicks off the 2020 season Friday. Right-hander
Collin Liberatore will make the opening day start against the Panthers after playing his first two seasons with Pitt in 2016 & 2017 (Did not see action). The Sycamores are 0-1 all-time against Kent State with the lone meeting coming in 2007. ISU holds a 3-0 record against Ohio State. The Sycamores first two meetings with the Buckeyes came in 2014 at the Snowbird Classic in Florida. The last meeting came last season at the NCAA Nashville Regional when ISU ended Ohio State's season with a 10-5 victory.
A GLANCE AT THE SYCAMORES
Indiana State returns one position starter and five key pitchers from its 2019 team that finished 43-18, earning the MVC tournament crown and most wins in a season for the Sycamores since 1990. ISU's season ended in the NCAA Nashville Regional with a loss to eventual national champion Vanderbilt in the regional final.
A LONE RETURNER ON THE OFFENSIVE SIDE OF THE BALL
Senior catcher
Max Wright will be the lone Sycamore position player back from the 2019 squad. Wright finished with a .296 batting average to go with eight doubles, four home runs and 36 RBI. Wright also caught 17 runners on the base paths while fielding .988 behind the plate.
LIBERATORE LOOKING TO CONTINUE DOMINANCE ON THE MOUND
Collin Liberatore, the reigning Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year and a 2020 Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, returns for the Sycamores after a superb redshirt junior season in 2019. The Greensburg, Pennsylvania native made 16 starts for the Sycamores last season and compiled a 10-2 record with a 2.96 ERA. The right-hander struck out 80 batters and held opponents to a .208 average against over 103.1 innings on the mound. Consistent throughout the season, Liberatore went at least five innings in 15 of his 16 starts. Liberatore dominated the month of April on the mound for Indiana State. In four starts, he allowed just four runs in 32.2 innings for a 1.10 ERA. The right-hander struck out 19 and walked just seven while allowing just 16 hits and holding opponents to a .147 average against during the stretch.
INDIANA STATE HEAD COACH MITCH HANNAHS
ISU head coach
Mitch Hannahs enters his seventh season at the helm of the Sycamores. He holds a 201-133 overall record as is coming off a 43-win campaign in 2019. Hannahs, who is one of the most decorated student-athletes in program history, entered the Indiana State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2010 and has been a part of six of the programs 10 trips to the NCAA Postseason Tournament as a player or coach ('86, '87, '89, '95, '14, '19). Since taking over the program in 2013, Hannahs has led the Sycamores to over 200 wins, a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances and five top-3 finishes in the Missouri Valley Conference. He sits second all-time in career wins behind legendary head coach and ISU Hall of Famer Bob Warn who guided the program to 1,070 wins from 1976-2006.
GRAUER, LIBERATORE AND WRIGHT NAMED PRESEASON ALL-MVC
Tyler Grauer,
Collin Liberatore and
Max Wright were named to the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Team by a vote of the League's head coaches. Grauer returns for the Sycamores after appearing in 22 games out of the bullpen for the Trees. He was 2-3 with a 1.91 ERA over 37.2 innings. His nine saves placed him tied for seventh in program history in single season saves. Liberatore started 16 games and was 10-2 with a 2.96 ERA over 103.1 innings en route to MVC Newcomer of the Year accolades. Wright started in 57-of-59 games for the Sycamores behind the plate and went for a .296 average in 203 at bats. He tallied 60 base hits, eight doubles, four home runs and 36 RBIs at the plate while slugging .394 with a .380 on-base percentage.
SYCAMORES PICKED FOURTH IN MVC PRESEASON POLL
Indiana State baseball was picked to finish fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll, as determined by a vote of the League's head coaches. Dallas Baptist has been tabbed as the league favorite in the annual coaches' preseason poll, receiving five of eight first-place votes. The Patriots tallied 61 points and were named the favorite over second-place pick Missouri State (51 points), as the Bears tallied one first-place vote. Illinois State (49 points) finished third, while the Sycamores finished fourth with 40 points and one first place vote. Bradley was selected in fifth place with 38 points and one first place vote, followed by Evansville (21 points) in the sixth slot, Southern Illinois (18 points) in the seventh slot and Valparaiso eighth (10 points).
ON THE MOUND DURING OPENING WEEKEND
Two of the scheduled starting pitchers for the Sycamores during opening weekend will be making their first appearances since the 2018 season. Both
Tristan Weaver and
Connor Cline sat out the 2019 season due to injury. Weaver started 13 games his first season on campus, finishing with a 3-5 record and a 4.75 ERA. The lefty struck out 41 batters in 66.1 innings. Cline was 3-2 with a 3.97 ERA in 2018 at St. Louis CC. He pitched 34 innings and retired 58 batters on strikeouts, averaging 15.35 strikeouts per nine innings.
Collin Liberatore will move into the Friday night role after coming off a 10-2 year in which he held opponents to a 2.96 ERA.
PITCHING STRONG FOR THE SYCAMORES IN 2019
The starting rotation of
Triston Polley,
Collin Liberatore and
Tyler Whitbread finished the season with a combined record of 27-5. As a staff, ISU combined for a 3.76 team ERA which was 28th-best nationally. ISU also ranked in the top-30 in the nation throughout the season WHIP, hits allowed per nine innings and walks issued per nine innings.
GRAUER GREAT LATE
Reliever
Tyler Grauer held down the Sycamore bullpen in 2019, appearing in 22 games. His nine saves tied for seventh best in program history in a single season. The southpaw finished the season with a team-best 1.91 ERA over 37.2 innings, allowing just eight earned runs. One of the best strikeout-to-walk arms in the MVC, he fanned 48 while issuing just eight free passes.
NOT AFRAID TO WEAR IT
Indiana State finished 2019 ranked 10th in the nation in hit-by-pitches, taking 94 HBP's overall.
Jake Means led the Sycamores after being hit 17 times.
Roby Enriquez was hit 14 times and
Max Wright was beaned on 13 occasions. Ten different batters have been hit-by-pitch more than once in 2019.
SEVEN WEEKEND SWEEPS IN 2019
Indiana State recorded seven weekend sweeps during the 2019 season, including four sweeps away from home (Jacksonville, UNCW Tournament, Mercer and Rutgers). ISU swept The Citadel, Valparaiso and Southern Illinois at home. The 2018 Sycamores recorded just two road sweeps (The Citadel and Valparaiso).
WINS OVER THE POWER FIVE
Indiana State led the Missouri Valley Conference in Power Five wins, including an 9-4 mark vs. the Big Ten. The Sycamores claimed victories against Purdue, Illinois, Rutgers, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State.
IN THE POLLS
The Sycamores entered the national ranking in three different polls last spring, coming in at No. 23 in both D1Baseball.com and Perfect Game and at No. 25 in the Baseball America poll. The last time the Sycamores were nationally ranked was at the conclusion of the 1989 season when ranked 22nd by Collegiate Baseball. ISU was also ranked in 1986 during the CWS run (7th by Collegiate Baseball and 15th by Baseball America). The Sycamores were also ranked during the 1979 (18th), 1983 (30th) and 1984 (30th) seasons.
QUICK HITS
• Indiana State secured its 11th-straight winning season in 2019. The Sycamores have also finished in the top-100 in RPI for the seventh-straight season.
• The Sycamores finished 2019 with a 43-18 overall record -- the most wins in a season since 1990.
• ISU was 15-2 at Bob Warn Field, 12-3 in neutral site games and 16-13 on the road.
• The team traveled over 4,500 miles during the first four weekends of 2019 and drove over 11,000 miles on a bus throughout the season.
• The Sycamores thrived in doubleheaders this season with an 12-2 record on such days. The two losses during doubleheader action came at Missouri State when the Bears walked off the Sycamores in extra innings and against No. 2 Vanderbilt to end the season in the NCAA Nashville Regional.
• Sixth year head coach
Mitch Hannahs collected his 200th career win in 2019 after leading the Sycamores to victory against McNeese to open the NCAA Tournament.
• The Sycamores finished the season with the 23rd-best RBI in the nation and the best mark in the MVC.
• The Missouri Valley Conference ranked No. 6 amongst 31 leagues in conference RPI. Four of the Power-Five conferences (SEC, Big 12, ACC, Pac-12) hold four of the top five positions, while the American sits fifth just ahead of The Valley.
RECAPPING THE 2019 MVC TOURNAMENT
• Indiana State is coming off its seventh MVC Tournament title and the first since 1995 after defeating No. 25 Dallas Baptist twice on the final day of play.
• Indiana State is now 74-62 in MVC Tournament games, which is the most wins in tournament history by any current member.
• Indiana State's first MVC Tournament came in 1979 under head coach Bob Warn and were led by Tournament MVP Wallace Johnson. The Sycamores needed to beat Tulsa twice to win the title.
• 2019 Tournament Championship was the third time Indiana State won five games in MVC Tournament (1979, 1986).
•
Chris Ayers was named the Tournament MVP while
Tyler Whitbread,
CJ Huntley and
Jarrod Watkins earned All-Tournament accolades.
• Ayers was ready when called upon and the senior delivered a storybook finish with three home runs, including a grand slam while recording eight RBI during the MVC Championship.
ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT & ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN FOR WRIGHT
Indiana State junior
Max Wright was recognized for his success on the field and in the classroom last spring as he earned Google Cloud Academic All-American honors -- becoming just the fourth player in program history to achieve the feat. Earlier in the spring Wright earned a spot on the Google Cloud Academic All-District Team. In the classroom, Wright held a 3.70 grade point average in criminology and criminal justice.
Season tickets are available for purchase for as little as $65 by calling 877-ISU-TIXS, visiting the Hulman Center Ticket Office or by clicking
HERE.
For the latest information on the Sycamore Football team, make sure to check out
GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including
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Twitter and
Instagram.
