TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State continues its final road trip of the 2022 season as the Sycamores make the trip down to Hawkins Field on Tuesday night for a midweek clash against No. 24 Vanderbilt. First pitch between the two teams is set for 7 p.m. ET and will be carried live on SEC+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
Bradley Recap
Indiana State fell in two of the three contests against the Braves this past weekend in Peoria as the Sycamores moved into fourth in the Missouri Valley standings with two weekends to play. ISU took the opening contest, 8-5, in a 12-inning affair, while the Sycamores dropped the final two games by 4-3 and 5-3 margins.
 
Pitching was the name of the game for the Sycamores over the weekend as ISU's staff combined for 37 strikeouts in the three contests against the Braves. Matt Jachec (10) and Luke Patzner (11) both recorded the first double-digit strikeout games of their collegiate careers, while Jack Parisi added an eight-strikeout relief appearance to highlight the weekend series.
 
Seth Gergely scored the go-ahead run in the top of the 12th inning, while Sean Ross added a two-run single as the Sycamores rallied to take the opening contest in Saturday's doubleheader, 8-5. Parisi went the final 5.2 innings in shutout relief to pick up his fourth win of the season, while Luis Hernandez homered in the Sycamore win.
 
Bradley utilized an eighth-inning sacrifice fly off Carson Husmann's bat to take the second game of Saturday's doubleheader against the Sycamores, 4-3. Josue Urdaneta and Sean Ross gave the Sycamores the early lead with a pair of RBI singles and Connor Fenlong went a career-long 7.0 innings in taking the no-decision. However, every run ISU scored, Bradley had an answer for in evening the series.
 
The final game of the series played out similar to the second game with Husmann again coming through with the big hit in Bradley's 5-3 win. Husmann connected on a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to offset another strong ISU pitching performance. Luke Patzner struck out a career-high 11 batters, while Parker Stinson scored twice to highlight the Sycamores in the series finale.
 
Scouting Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt enters the midweek contest ranked in all the major NCAA baseball polls with the Commodores sitting No. 24 in the D1Baseball poll, 25 in the BaseballAmerica poll, 16 in the Collegiate Baseball poll, and No. 21 in the USA Today poll. At the time of this writing, the NCBWA poll had not been updated. Vandy boasts a 31-15 overall record and a 12-12 mark in SEC play on the season.
 
The Commodores were selected first in the SEC East Division receiving nine first place votes and 87 total points. Vanderbilt enters the week sitting third overall in the East trailing Tennessee (42-6, 20-4 SEC) and Georgia (32-16, 13-11 SEC) on the year. Vanderbilt is also 19-9 at Hawkins Field this season with series wins over Army, Wagner, Missouri, and Florida. Vanderbilt is currently 1-0 against the Missouri Valley this season with a February 23 9-0 win over Evansville earlier this year.
 
Dominic Keegan paces Vanderbilt's offense at the plate in the 2022 season as the senior designated hitter boasts a .398 batting average with a team-high 68 hits, 11 home runs and 50 RBI. Spencer Jones (.364) is also among the team's hitting leaders on the year with a team-high 17 doubles to his credit. Enrique Bradfield Jr. is one of the most adept base stealers in the country this season and is a perfect 32-for-32 in attempts on the year.
 
Vanderbilt has fallen in just one midweek contest in 2022 with the Commodores dropping a 1-0 decision to Louisville at Hawkins Field last Tuesday. The Commodores have utilized nine different starting pitchers in the 2022 season with all nine boasting sub-5.00 ERAs on the year. Patrick Reilly (2-3, 3.29 ERA), Bryce Cunningham (2-1, 3.95 ERA), and Nick Maldonado (2-1, 3.47 ERA) have all drawn multiple starts on the season and could be in the mix to be on the mound in the midweek contest.
 
Vanderbilt Top Players
Two Vanderbilt players were recognized on the SEC Preseason team with Dominic Keegan and Enrique Bradfield Jr. both receiving First Team honors as voted on by the league's head coaches. Keegan currently sits second overall in the SEC in team batting average (.398), while Bradfield Jr. has been among the SEC's best and national leaders in multiple categories including runs (51), stolen bases (32), and triples (5).
 
Opponent History
Indiana State is 3-8 all-time against Vanderbilt in the all-time series dating back to the first matchup back on March 12, 1987. The Sycamores won the inaugural matchup, 10-7, in Nashville and followed up with a 13-8 win in the second contest in 1990. Eight of the 11 games in the series have been played in Tennessee. Indiana State and Vanderbilt have also met three times back in 2015 in Port Charlotte, Fla. with the Sycamores picking up their last win in the series back on February 21, 2015.
 
The Sycamores will be making a familiar trip to Hawkins Field this weekend. Indiana State's last two trips to the NCAA Tournament in both 2019 and 2021 saw the Sycamores sent to the Nashville Regional. ISU fell to Vanderbilt twice in the 2019 postseason, while Indiana State did not play the Commodores this past NCAA Tournament.
 
Last Time against Vanderbilt
Indiana State fell twice in the 2019 NCAA Tournament to host Vanderbilt in the last matchup between the two teams. The Sycamores took their first loss to the Commodores in the winner's bracket, 8-5, before falling to host Vanderbilt in the regional final, 12-1. Vanderbilt held off a late Indiana State rally in the first game as the Sycamores scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth, but it wasn't enough to complete the comeback. Roby Enriquez homered in the finale against the Commodores in the 12-1 loss.
 
Non-Conference Round-Up
Indiana State has posted a 15-9 overall record in non-conference play following their midweek loss at Illinois. 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 2-4 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 6-6record 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 three of their last four games on the road following trips to Illinois and Bradley. ISU's lone win during the stretch came in Saturday's opener with the Sycamores taking the 8-5 victory in 12 innings over the Braves.
 
Indiana State is hitting .296 on the road with seven 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 Sean Ross (.392) and Josue Urdaneta (.382) have also been dominant at the plate on the season. Ross in particular leads the Sycamores with eight extra-base hits including two home runs, while adding a team-high 18 RBI in road games this season.
 
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, 2.38 ERA) has two saves and has allowed batters to hit just .237 from the plate, while Jake Ridgway (three), Luke Patzner (two), Jack Parisi, Connor Fenlong, and Brennyn Cutts have all drawn starts on the road.

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