TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State closes out its final road trip of the 2022 regular season this weekend as the Sycamores make the trip to Carbondale, Ill. and Itchy Jones Stadium for a three-game series at Southern Illinois University on May 13-15.
 
Friday's game will be carried live on ESPNU with first pitch set for 4 p.m. ET. Saturday and Sunday will be streamed on ESPN3. All three contests will also be streamed via 105.5 The Legend.
 
Celebrate the Season at Terre Haute Buffalo Wild Wings
The Indiana State Athletic Department has teamed up with the Terre Haute Buffalo Wild Wings to help celebrate the season with the Sycamores on Friday, May 13, at 4 p.m. The event will held in conjunction with Indiana State baseball's nationally televised baseball game against Southern Illinois on ESPNU.
 
In addition to watching the game, fans will have the opportunity to meet members of the ISU athletic administration and coaching staffs throughout the two-hour event. Sycamore Sam will also be on hand with Indiana State athletic giveaways. Fans will also have the opportunity to purchase or renew their 2022 football season tickets on site.
 
To register, click the link here.
 
Vanderbilt Recap
No. 24 Vanderbilt took advantage of a pair of Indiana State errors in the bottom of the 11th inning as the Sycamores fell at Hawkins Field in extra-innings, 8-7.
 
Indiana State loaded the bases in the top of the 10th inning and threatened to break the contest open, but a key defensive stop by Vanderbilt first baseman Parker Noland kept the Sycamores off the scoreboard in the frame.
 
A pair of Sycamore errors led to Vanderbilt's Enrique Bradfield Jr. sitting on third base with two outs in the bottom of the 12th. VU's Spencer Jones came through in the clutch against ISU reliever Jared Spencer (1-3) with his sixth hit of the ball game bringing Bradfield home for the walk-off.
 
Josue Urdaneta drove in four RBI and homered for the Sycamores as Indiana State fell in extra innings for the first time in the 2022 season. Urdaneta homered in the first, added a two-run double off the left field wall in the second, and then connected on a run-scoring single in the top of the ninth to highlight the ISU offense.
 
Jake Ridgway went 5.0 innings in a masterful relief appearance on the mound for the Sycamores in support of starter Brennyn Cutts. Ridgway surrendered four hits and three runs while striking out five in his longest relief outing of the 2022 season. Spencer went the final 2.1 innings allowing three hits and one unearned run in taking the loss.
 
Scouting Southern Illinois
Southern Illinois opens up the weekend series with a 35-13 overall record, 11-4 mark in Missouri Valley play with two conference weekends to go. The Salukis have won four consecutive games following last weekend's sweep of Missouri State, while topping SIU-Edwardsville on Tuesday night, 22-10.
 
The Salukis have been effective at home with a 20-7 overall record at Itchy Jones Stadium. Highlighting their home wins this year include series wins over Central Arkansas, Western Michigan, Illinois, Bradley, SIUE, and Valparaiso. Southern Illinois also boasts conference series wins at Evansville and Dallas Baptist among their victories on the season.
 
SIU was tied for third in the MVC's preseason coaches poll with Illinois State. The Salukis received 39 total points after a record-setting season that included a school-record 84 home runs and a 40-20 record in 2020. Highlighting the returners on the roster were preseason selections Cody Cleveland and JT Weber.
 
In addition to the aforementioned names, Kaeber Rog has been among SIU's hitting leaders on the season with a team-best .376 batting average with 76 hits and 41 runs, while adding 18 doubles, 12 home runs, and 46 RBI. Weber continues to be the power bat in the lineup with a .372 average with 18 home runs and 51 RBI, while Nathan Bandy (13-for-15) and Cody Cleveland (10-for-12) lead SIU's stolen base efforts on the year.
 
Noah Farmer (5-1, 4.04 ERA) has been the Salukis most consistent pitcher on the mound with a team-high 13 starts and 62.1 innings pitched on the year. Seven different pitchers have earned starts on the season with Tanner Lewis (4-1, 5.58 ERA) expected to be in the weekend rotation for the Salukis.
 
Salukis Top Players
Southern Illinois' offense will go as far as J.T. Weber will carry them as the senior outfielder remains one of the most dangerous hitters in the Missouri Valley Conference. Weber is the conference leader in slugging percentage (.704), runs scored (56), and RBI (51), while sitting second in hits (73) and home runs (18). He also sits among the NCAA leaders in each category, including in the top 30 in hits, hits per game, home runs, runs, and total bases.
 
Opponent History
Southern Illinois leads the all-time series 100-91 dating back to the first contest back in 1967. SIU started the series on a 12-game winning streak before Indiana State took its first win in the 1971 season. The Sycamores have won four consecutive series in Carbondale dating back to the 2010 season when ISU and SIU split the two games played. The Sycamores are 7-2 against SIU under the helm of head coach Mitch Hannahs with ISU's two losses both coming in series openers in both 2014 and 2018. SIU won three of the four regular season contests last year at Bob Warn Field snapping Indiana State's four series winning streak dating back to 2015.
 
Last Time against Southern Illinois
The Sycamores and Salukis met up six times in the 2021 season with four games at Bob Warn Field in the regular season, while two more contests came in the MVC Tournament. Southern Illinois took the regular season series winning three of the four games, while Indiana State bounced back to top the Salukis twice in the postseason, including an elimination game that ended SIU's season.
Non-Conference Round-Up
Indiana State has posted a 15-10 overall record in non-conference play following their midweek loss at Vanderbilt. The Sycamores have posted a 6-3 record in neutral site contests and a 7-2 home mark at Bob Warn Field this season, while sitting 2-5 in true road non-conference games games. Highlighting Indiana State's non-conference schedule includes wins over BYU, Marshall, Merrimack, Minnesota (twice), Michigan, Wright State, SEMO (twice), Kansas (twice), Memphis (twice), Purdue, and Illinois.
 
Sycamores in the MVC
Indiana State enters the week sitting in sole possession of fourth place in the Missouri Valley regular season standings with an 8-7 mark on the year. The Sycamores sit four games back of leader Evansville (12-3) and three games behind Southern Illinois (11-4). Dallas Baptist (9-6) is a game ahead of Indiana State, while Bradley (7-8) moved up to one game behind the Sycamores following their series win over the weekend.
 
Missouri State and Illinois State are both 5-10 in conference play with two series to go, while Valparaiso sits eighth with a 3-12 mark. Missouri State, Illinois State, and Bradley all sit in a three-way tie for fifth at 5-7 on the year. Valparaiso is currently eighth in the standings with a 3-9 mark. The Sycamores still have weekend series at Southern Illinois (May 13-15) and a home series against Dallas Baptist (May 18-20) left in the regular season schedule.
 
Back on the Road
Indiana State currently has a 6-7 record in true road games this season and a 6-3 mark in neutral site contests since the beginning of the 2022 season. The Sycamores have dropped four of their last five games on the road following trips to Illinois, Bradley, and Vanderbilt. ISU's lone win during the stretch came last Saturday opener with the Sycamores taking the 8-5 victory in 12 innings over the Braves.
 
Indiana State is hitting .290 on the road with six different players hitting .300 or better on the road. Isaiah Thompson (.412) has been the team leader at the plate with seven hits in 17 at-bats, while Josue Urdaneta (.393) and Sean Ross (.364) have also been dominant at the plate on the road. Ross leads the Sycamores with eight extra-base hits, including two home runs, while adding a team-high 18 RBI in road games this season. Josue Urdaneta (7 XBHs, 13 RBI) is coming off a four-RBI performance with his first road homer of the season this past Tuesday against Vanderbilt.
 
From a pitching standpoint, Matt Jachec (2-1, 3.67 ERA) continues to be the standard on the mound by pacing the Sycamores in innings pitched (27.0). Joey Hurth (1-2, 3.09 ERA) has two saves and has allowed batters to hit just .256 from the plate, while Jake Ridgway (three), Luke Patzner (two), Jack Parisi, Connor Fenlong, and Brennyn Cutts (twice) have all drawn starts on the road. Jared Spencer has also turned in several strong road performances and posts a 1.23 ERA and 1-1 record on the mound.

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.