TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State baseball will begin its final regular season homestand on Friday as the team opens a four-game series with Missouri Valley Conference foe Southern Illinois at Bob Warn Field. The Sycamores open the series Friday at 3 p.m. before playing a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. with game three following soon after. The teams will wrap up the series on Sunday at 1 p.m. Senior Day ceremonies will begin at approximately 12:40 p.m. on Sunday.
All four games will be available on ESPN3 with Luke Martin and Tyler Ward calling the action. The series will also be available on GoSycamores.com/Listen worldwide with Brian Fritz on the radio call with Saturday and Sunday as well as on 97.9 FM // WIBQ 1230 AM in the Wabash Valley. Fans can also follow along on the go via the Indiana State Athletics March On App, live stats or at @IndStBaseball on Twitter.
FAN ATTENDANCE & TICKETING POLICY
Attendance will be limited to 500 (25% of 2000 seat capacity), with 140 on the ISU pass list and 60 on visiting team pass list. A total of 250 general admission tickets will be on sale for a price of $10. A total of 50 ISU students will be admitted for free (ISU student ID required) on a first come first serve basis once gates are open (30 minutes prior to first pitch).
The ticket window will open one hour prior to game time, 30 minutes before gates open. Fans will not be allowed along the first and third base lines to maintain social distancing from student-athletes.
For the health and safety of the Indiana State community, those in attendance will be required to follow campus policies such as wearing a mask, practicing physical distancing, etc. The University will continue to monitor the conditions and evaluate the possibility of welcoming additional audiences.
For more information on the Spring Attendance Policy, click HERE.
THE SYCAMORE WEEKEND ROTATION
Game One - LHP Geremy Guerrero (8-1, 1.66 ERA, 70.1 IP, 80 K, 12 BB)
Game Two - LHP Tyler Grauer (2-1, 4.78 ERA, 26.1 IP, 27 K, 4 BB)
Game Three - LHP Tristan Weaver (3-3, 5.87 ERA, 38.1 IP, 37 K, 19 BB)
Game Four - TBA
NEWS & NOTEWORTHY
» The Sycamores come into play at 24-12 overall and 11-5 in Missouri Valley Conference play. ISU is hitting .273 as a squad led by Max Wright (.307, 7 2B, 10 HR, 26 RBI, .598 SLG) and Jordan Schaffer (.301, 7 2B, 2 HR, 22 RBI, 32 R, .390 SLG) while four other ISU batters are hitting above .270 on the year. ISU's Aaron Beck has jumped onto the scene with a .403 average with 29 hits in 26 games played (16 starts). Ellison Hanna II is also hitting .350 in 19 games (12 starts) with seven extra-base hits, including two home runs. Indiana State boasts the top team ERA in the MVC at 3.89. ISU's .977 fielding percentage ranks 30th nationally and second in the MVC.
» Indiana State sits at No. 19 in the current RPI ranking, according to WarrenNolan.com. ISU has wins over Pittsburgh (#28), Tennessee (#8), Florida Gulf Coast (#62) as well as a sweep of FIU (#148). ISU also took two of three games at nationally ranked FAU (#73). Currently, Indiana State's nonconference strength of schedule ranks 70th nationally while the Sycamores boast 10 wins over RPI quadrant 1 & 2 teams.
» Southern Illinois leads the all-time series between the two programs, 98-89. The Sycamores have had success recently -- winning 21 of the last 27 games -- including seven of the last eight series since 2012.
» Last weekend, Indiana State claimed its first road series against Missouri State since 2007 after winning three games at Hammons Field over the weekend. Entering the series, ISU was just 8-16 at Hammons Field. The Sycamores outscored the Bears 28-10 over four games while also staying patient at the plate to draw 26 walks.
» Jordan Schaffer led Indiana State at the plate at Missouri State. Schaffer hit for a team high .438 average (7-for-16) while also accounting for a .526 on-base percentage as he was hit-by-pitch twice and drew a walk. The Wabash Valley slugged .688 over the series after connecting on his second home run of the season while also driving in six runs and scoring three times. Schaffer tallied a hit in every game, including three hits in during the third game of the series.
» Right-hander Javin Drake took a shutout into the ninth inning during the series finale at Missouri State. Drake faced the minimum and retired 13-straight Missouri State batters before issuing a walk in the fifth inning. Drake, a Wilton, Iowa native, tossed a season high 8.1 innings and struck out five. The Bears were able to spray just four hits on the hurler before he exited the game in the ninth.
» The Indiana State pitching staff has been strong this season, combining for a 3.89 team ERA which ranks 34th nationally and best in the MVC. As a team, ISU also ranks 14th in walks allowed per nine innings (2.99), 22nd in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.99) and 15th nationally in WHIP (1.23). Five Sycamores who have pitched at least an inning have ERA's under 4.00 through 36 games.
» Geremy Guerrero has earned a pair of MVC Pitcher of the Week honors this season. He is 8-1 on the season with an ERA of 1.66 and leads the nation in WHIP (0.71). On the year, the southpaw has pitched 70.1 innings and struck out 80 while issuing only 12 walks while holding opponents to a .157 average against. Overall, Guerrero ranks first in the MVC and 16th nationally in ERA (1.66), complete games, strikeout-to-walk ratio, hits per nine, WHIP and walks per nine. He ranks third in the League in strikeouts.
» Guerrero was named to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watch List by USA Baseball on April 14. Guerrero tied for second-most strikeouts in a single game during the series opener at FIU on March 5. The 15-strikeout performance was one shy of Dan Lazar's 16-strikeout game in 1965 while tying Blaise Ilsley's mark in 1984. The last Sycamores to be named to the watch list was left-hander Sean Manaea during the 2013 season.
» Guerrero enters this weekend leading the MVC with an ERA of 1.66. Only two other ISU pitchers have ever finished a season leading The Valley in ERA. In 1983, Paul Quinzer led the MVC with a 2.04 ERA and in 2013 current Oakland A's pitcher Sean Manaea paced the league with an ERA of 1.47.
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.
