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Indiana State University Athletics

watson_walkoff
6
Evansville UE 19-17, 4-3 MVC
7
Winner Indiana State INS 21-9, 6-1 MVC
Evansville UE
19-17, 4-3 MVC
6
Final
7
Indiana State INS
21-9, 6-1 MVC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Evansville UE 0 1 0 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 6 10 0
Indiana State INS 0 0 1 2 0 1 2 0 0 1 7 14 1

W: Hurth, Joey (5-2) L: Hardman, Nate (1-3)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Seth Montgomery | GoSycamores.com

Watson walks off in Sycamores’ series-opening win over Evansville

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – It took Keegan Watson two pitches to send the Sycamores spilling out of the dugout and onto the field as Indiana State topped visiting Evansville in extra innings on Friday night at Bob Warn Field, 7-6.
 
Watson looked at a first-pitch strike to lead off the bottom of the 10th inning from Evansville (19-17, 4-3 MVC) reliever Nate Hardman (1-3) before crushing the 0-1 offering deep over the left field wall for the walk-off home run to give Indiana State (21-9, 6-1 MVC) the 1-0 advantage in the weekend series. Watson added the game-tying RBI double in the bottom of the seventh inning to highlight his 3-for-4 day from the plate with a pair of runs scored.
 
Randall Diaz also homered for the Sycamores as the freshman continued his torrid streak over the last four games. Diaz's solo home run in the bottom of the seventh marked his eighth extra-base hit over the last four contests and his team-leading fifth home run of the year.
 
Aaron Beck added a 3-for-4 day from the plate with a team-high three runs scored, while Seth Gergely added three hits and a pair of RBI as the Sycamores offense came to life with 14 hits in the game in an unexpected high-scoring affair at Bob Warn Field.
 
Joey Hurth (5-2) picked up his fifth win of the season out of the bullpen after going two scoreless innings including striking out a pair. Matt Jachec went 7.0 innings allowing eight hits and six runs (five earned), while striking out four in his first no-decision of the season. Connor Fenlong added a shutout inning with a strike out in the eighth.
 
Tanner Craig put Evansville in prime position to take the first game of the series with a three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning to highlight the Purple Aces offense on the day. Ty Rumsey added two hits, including a double, while Mark Shallenberger was 2-for-4 on the day for the Aces in the contest.
 
Shane Gray went 9.0 innings in a near-complete game effort on the evening. The Evansville right-hander surrendered 13 hits and six runs while striking out three in taking the no-decision in the contest.
 
How They Scored
  • Evansville took the early 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning as Brent Widder scored on Evan Berkey's RBI groundout.
  • The Sycamores evened it up at 1-1 in the bottom of the third as Josue Urdaneta singled home Seth Gergely.
  • Seth Gergely's RBI double and Grant Magill's RBI single gave the Sycamores the 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth as Aaron Beck and Keegan Watson came around to score in the inning.
  • Mark Shallenberger singled home Brendan Hord and Ty Rumsey scored on a wild pitch to even the game back up at 3-3 in the top of the fifth inning.
  • Gergely dropped a RBI bunt down the first base line scoring Beck in the bottom of the sixth inning to give the Sycamores the 4-3 lead.
  • Tanner Craig connected on a three-run home run over the left field wall in the top of the seventh inning scoring Rumsey and Shallenberger to give Evansville the 6-4 lead.
  • Randall Diaz drilled a solo home run and Watson doubled home Beck to tie the game back up in the bottom of the seventh inning at 6-6.
  • Watson connected on the no-doubter walk-off home run to lead off the bottom of the 10th and give the Sycamores the 7-6 victory.
Watson Walks It Off
News & Notes
  • Indiana State improved to 2-0 in extra-inning games on the season as the Sycamores topped the Aces on Friday night. ISU previously won 10-6 in the 10th inning earlier this season at Purdue on April 6.
  • The Sycamores improved to 10-3 overall at home at Bob Warn Field with the win.
  • Indiana State has won 10 of its last 12 games dating back to March 20.
  • The Sycamores' 14 hits marked ISU's 19th double-digit hit game of the season and seventh in the last eight games.
  • ISU boosted it's Missouri Valley-leading team batting average to .317 following the contest.
  • The Sycamores continued their doubles streak marking 18th consecutive games with at least one player connecting on a double and ninth consecutive game with multiple doubles after Seth Gergely, Aaron Beck, and Keegan Watson all reached second base on a hit.
  • Randall Diaz has homered in three consecutive games and has posted eight extra-base hits over his last four contests dating back to April 10 against Valparaiso.
  • Diaz's solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning was his team-leading fifth home run of the season breaking the tie with both Sean Ross (4) and Josue Urdaneta (4)
  • Sean Ross ran his hitting streak to 13 consecutive games following his one-out single in the ninth inning.
  • Josue Urdaneta ran his hitting streak to eight consecutive games following his single in the bottom of the third inning.
  • Aaron Beck had reached base in eight consecutive plate appearances this week prior to his groundout in the bottom of the ninth. Beck was 5-for-5 during the stretch with a trio of walks while adding five runs scored and a RBI in the games against Indiana and Evansville.
  • Keegan Watson's solo home run marked his second homer of the 2022 season after previously leaving the ballpark on April 10 against Valparaiso.
  • Grant Magill threw out his eighth baserunner of the 2022 season with a caught stealing in the top of the eighth inning.
  • Aaron Beck posted his fifth multi-hit game and first three-hit game of the 2022 campaign.
  • Keegan Watson recorded the first three-hit game of his ISU career and third multi-hit game of the season.
  • Seth Gergely added his second three-hit game of the year and eighth multi-hit game of 2022.
  • Matt Jachec went at least 7.0 innings in his sixth consecutive start and seventh time in the 2022 season. Jachec failed to record a decision for the first time this year. 
Up Next
Indiana State and Evansville are back on the field tomorrow afternoon with first pitch in Saturday's game set for 2 p.m. ET. The contest will be carried live on ESPN3 and 105.5 The Legend.
 
Follow the Sycamores
For the latest information on the Sycamore Baseball team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  Fans can also receive updates on Sycamore Athletics by downloading the March On App from both the App Store and the Google Play Store.
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