TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State baseball will make the trek to North Carolina for a three-game series with Elon. First pitch from Latham Park is set for 4 p.m. Friday before returning to the diamond Saturday at 2 p.m. The two squads will wrap up the weekend tilt Sunday at noon. All three games will be available via
FloSports, a subscription based streaming service. Live stats will be available via
GoSycamores.com.
SERIES HISTORY VS. ELON
Friday's series opener with Elon will mark just the third meeting all-time between the two programs and the first since the 1958 season when ISU went 1-1 against the Phoenix in the NAIA National Tournament. The Sycamores dropped the first meeting of the day 10-8 before taking the nightcap 12-6.
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 is 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.
SYCAMORES ENJOYING WEAVER AFTER YEAR LONG HIATUS
Redshirt junior
Tristan Weaver spent the 2019 season recovering from an injury and has immediately made his mark in the weekend rotation during his first two starts. He's put together two no-decision efforts while allowing just one earned run in 12.2 innings. The left-hander is holding opponents to a .079 average against while retiring 19 batters on strikeouts and walking only four.
CUSUMANO OFF TO A GOOD START
Redshirt freshman
Dominic Cusumano leads the Sycamores at the plate over the first seven games of the year. The utility man has started each game, playing both second base and the outfield. On the year, Cusumano is hitting .385 with 10 hits, including two doubles. He also holds a .462 slugging percentage and a .448 on-base percentage to lead the team.
EDMONSON FILTHY IN THREE APPEARANCES
Cameron Edmonson made his mark in his last appearance out of the bullpen. A true freshman, Edmonson went four and two-third innings while striking out a career high nine of the 15 batters he faced. In three appearances in relief, the southpaw holds a 1.29 ERA over seven innings while striking out 15 and walking just one.
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.
LIBERATORE LOOKING TO BUILD ON 2019 SUCCESS
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 righty struck out 19 and walked just seven while allowing just 16 hits and holding opponents to a .147 average against during the stretch.
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).
INDIANA STATE HEAD COACH MITCH HANNAHS
ISU head coach
Mitch Hannahs enters his seventh season at the helm of the Sycamores. He holds a 203-138 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.
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.
