DALLAS – A five-run ninth inning led No. 19 Indiana State to a 7-5 victory over Dallas Baptist Sunday afternoon at Horner Ballpark in Dallas. With the win, the Sycamores avoided the weekend sweep and moved to 21-11 overall and 8-4 in Missouri Valley Conference action. DBU fell to 22-10 and 7-1 in League play.
 
Senior Mitch Barrow played the hero in the top of the ninth as he came to the plate as a pinch-hitter with one out on the scoreboard. Barrow, a left-handed batter, powered a 2-1 pitch over the wall in right field to tie the game at three runs.
 
Indiana State carried the momentum forward as Jordan Schaffer sent a bloop single to left and Aaron Beck doubled down the line in left to put two runners in scoring position with one out. The Patriots elected to load the bases after intentionally walking Max Wright but that move would come back to bite DBU as Luke Trahan hit Ellison Hanna II to walk in the go-ahead run.
 
Trahan would walk Brian Fuentes to plate another run before a wild pitch allowed Wright to score from third. Josue Urdaneta singled up the middle to score the fifth run of the inning but a rundown between third and home would end the rally.
 
Dallas Baptist did not go away easily as Andres Sosa led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk before Cole Moore sent a ball over the wall in left to pull the Pats within two runs at 7-5. With a 3-2 count, Connor Fenlong would get the first out of the inning on a swinging strikeout before rolling a ground ball back to the mound and eventually a fly ball to right to end the game.
 
DBU jumped out to an early lead on three hits in the second inning, including two doubles to go ahead 2-0. The Sycamores would answer back in the fifth and sixth innings with a run each. Grant Magill came home on a wild pitch in the fifth before Fuentes recorded a sacrifice fly to score Hanna an inning later.
 
Andrew Benefield put the Pats back out in front with a two-out solo home run in the sixth.
 
Zach Frey made his first start of the season for the Sycamores on the mound. The right-hander struck out four and allowed two earned runs in three innings. Javin Drake retired a pair of Patriots on punchouts over 2.2 innings while Cam Edmonson allowed just one run in relief.
 
Fenlong came away with the victory for the Sycamores, improving to 3-0 on the season. The right-hander allowed one hit and struck out one.
 
Beck again led ISU at the plate with a three-hit day while six other Sycamores recorded base hits.
 
Eight Patriots saw the mound during the finale. Luke Eldrew (2-2) struck out four over four innings. Kragen Kechely took the loss after allowing the go-ahead run in the ninth. Trahan also allowed three earned runs over a third of an inning.
 
In total, ISU outhit DBU 9-6, but also stranded nine baserunners including a 1-for-14 (.071) mark with runners in scoring position.
 
UP NEXT
The Sycamores will play host to Bradley in a four-game series beginning on Friday. All four games will be available on The Valley On ESPN.
 
For the latest information on Sycamore Baseball, visit GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.