TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State wraps up the 2022 regular season this upcoming weekend as the Sycamores welcome Dallas Baptist to Bob Warn Field for both Senior Weekend and Alumni Weekend. The three-game series is set to run from May 19-21.
 
Thursday and Friday's contests will be set for 6:30 p.m. first pitches, while Saturday's Senior Day will feature a noon start time. All three contests will be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
Senior Recognition
Indiana State will recognize 2022 seniors Aaron Beck, Lane Miller, Jack Parisi, Raine Richter, Jake Ridgway, Sean Ross, Jordan Schaffer, and Keegan Watson over the weekend with the Senior Day festivities scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 21. All eight of the Sycamores will be recognized in a pre-game ceremony at Bob Warn Field prior to the noon first pitch.
 
Southern Illinois Recap
Indiana State struggled on the road this past weekend as the Sycamores fell in all three contests to the host Salukis at Itchy Jones Stadium in Carbondale. The Sycamores dropped 5-3, 14-3, and 7-3 decisions to extend their six-game losing streak over the weekend.
 
The Sycamores battled through the first game of the weekend series against the Salukis with ISU keeping the game tied at 3-3 through the first six innings, before a late two-run rally by SIU gave the home team the win. Seth Gergely, Luis Hernandez, and Randall Diaz posted multi-hit games in support of Matt Jachec's 12th 6.0+ inning outing of the season, but ISU was unable to get the clutch hit against the SIU bullpen in the first loss.
 
Indiana State was unable to contain the Southern Illinois offense on Saturday afternoon as the Salukis took advantage of eight ISU walks in scoring 14 runs in the seven-inning win. Seth Gergely and Isaiah Thompson reached in all six of their plate appearances in the contest, while Joe Kido continued his strong hitting on the weekend with a two-hit day in the Sycamore loss.
 
The Sycamores mounted a ninth inning rally in the series finale against the Salukis on Sunday afternoon, but ISU's rally fell just short with the tying run at the plate in the 7-3 loss. Joe Kido recorded his first collegiate three-hit game in the loss, while Keegan Watson and Randall Diaz both doubled to highlight the Sycamores at the plate.
 
For the weekend, Gergely posted a trio of multi-hit games, while Kido reached base safely in all three contests to pace the Sycamores offense. ISU recorded double-digit hits in two of the three games.
 
Scouting Dallas Baptist
Missouri Valley preseason favorite Dallas Baptist comes to Bob Warn Field for the final weekend of the 2022 regular season. The Patriots received all eight first-place votes and picked up 64 points on their way to taking the preseason recognition. DBU welcomed back six position players and seven pitchers from last season after finishing with a 41-18 overall record and advancing to the Columbia Super Regional.
Dallas Baptist (33-18, 11-7 MVC) enters the weekend series sitting third overall in the conference standings with three games to play. The Patriots could potentially reach the two-seed in next weekend's tournament with a good weekend in Terre Haute, in an up-and-down season for DBU.
 
The Patriots have been stronger at home (20-9) than on the road (12-9) this season and have struggled in Missouri Valley play dropping series at Bradley and Illinois State, while also falling in two of the three games against Southern Illinois. DBU appears to be hitting its stride late in the season with the Patriots entering the weekend winning eight of their last nine games, including midweek contests against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
 
Cole Moore (.349) and Luke Heefner (.316) have been the Patriots top hitters by average from the plate, while Ryan Wrobleski (.381) is back in action after an early season injury left him unable to play until late March. Blayne Jones (12) and Nate Rombach (10) have both hit double-digit home runs on the season, while Wrobleski (8) has come on strong with home runs in each of DBU's last four series. Moore leads the team with 19 doubles, while Jace Grady is the speedster on the base paths with 53 runs scored while going 23-of-25 in stolen base attempts.
 
Pitching-wise, Jacob Meador, Chandler Arnold, and Luke Eldred are all expected to see time on the mound this weekend. Meador has posted a team-high 65.0 innings with a 7-2 record and 4.02 ERA, while Eldred is close behind at 62.2 innings and a 4.60 ERA. Arnold made the transition from bullpen star to weekend starter and boasts a 2.63 ERA with a 2-2 record on the mound.   
 
Patriots Top Players
Jace Grady is the standout for the DBU lineup as the freshman All-American has continued his success this season. The sophomore outfielder is one of three Patriot players to start all 51 games and he leads the team with 53 runs scored, while adding 12 doubles, two triples, and eight home runs. His 33 RBI are also among the team leaders, but his speed on the base paths makes him truly stand out. His 23 stolen bases are nine more than the closest player in the MVC and he has reached base in eight of the last nine games to provide him plenty of opportunities.
 
Opponent History
Indiana State and Dallas Baptist first met back in 2011 and the two teams have played annually since DBU joined the MVC in 2014. Dallas Baptist won the first four contests in the series before ISU picked up its first win at home back on April 21, 2012, 6-3. Indiana State is 10-26 all-time against DBU with the Sycamores falling to the Patriots in five of the six contests played between the two teams last season. ISU's lone series win against DBU came back in the 2014 season with the Sycamores winning the first and last games in the weekend series at Bob Warn Field.
 
Last Time against Dallas Baptist
Indiana State fell in five of the six meetings between the two teams last season with the Sycamores picking up their lone win in the series finale in Dallas, Texas on April 25 behind a five-run ninth inning in taking the 7-5 victory. DBU picked up both wins between the two teams in the MVC Tournament with the Patriots eliminating the Sycamores in the championship game.
 
Non-Conference Round-Up
Indiana State finished non-conference play with a 15-10 overall record following their loss at Vanderbilt. The Sycamores posted a 6-3 record in neutral site contests and a 7-2 home mark at Bob Warn Field against non-MVC opponents this season, while sitting 2-5 in true road non-conference 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 fifth place in the Missouri Valley regular season standings with an 8-10 mark on the year. The Sycamores sit one game back of Bradley (9-9) for the final bye in the MVC Tournament, and one game ahead of Missouri State (7-11). Southern Illinois (14-4) leads the conference heading into the final weekend, while Evansville (13-5) and Dallas Baptist (11-7) sit second and third in the standings. Illinois State (6-12) and Valparaiso (4-14) round out the conference standings.
 
There are still several tiebreaker scenarios in play heading into the final weekend with Indiana State holding the ability to move all the up to third or finish in seventh.
 
MVC Weekend Schedule (May 19-21)
Southern Illinois at Illinois State
Missouri State at Bradley
Valparaiso at Evansville
Dallas Baptist at Indiana State
 
Returning Home
Indiana State has posted an 11-7 overall record at home in 2022 and a 4-5 mark in Missouri Valley play heading into the final regular season weekend. The Sycamores have posted series wins over Kansas, Memphis, and Illinois State, while falling in series against Evansville and Missouri State. ISU has also posted midweek home weeks against SEMO (twice) and Illinois.
 
The Sycamores lineup boasts multiple players that have posted success at home led by Aaron Beck's team-leading .433 batting average with four doubles and three home runs at Bob Warn. Grant Magill (.368) has also been among the team batting leaders with five doubles and 14 RBI, while Randall Diaz (.303) leads the team with five home runs and 16 RBI at home this season. Seth Gergely (.323) has also posted a strong resume at home with eight doubles and 13 RBI over the 18 games played.
 
Matt Jachec (3-0, 2.95 ERA) leads the Sycamores on the mound over his five starts at home in the 2022 season. The redshirt sophomore has posted 36.2 innings with a 31:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio at home. Jake Ridgway (1-1, 3.52 ERA) and Luke Patzner (2-1, 3.77 ERA) have also recorded strong numbers at home, while Joey Hurth has made a team-high 11 appearances out of the bullpen.

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.