TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State baseball continues its swing through the Sunshine State week as the Sycamores take on Florida Gulf Coast (Tuesday) and Miami (Fla.) (Wednesday) in midweek action.
 
Tuesday's contest against the FGCU Eagles is set for 2 p.m. first pitch in Port Charlotte, Fla. on field C-10 in the Snowbird Baseball Classic. The game will be streamed live on FloSports.com, while live stats will be provided courtesy of FGCU Athletics. The Sycamores make the trip down to Miami to take on the Hurricanes on Wednesday afternoon with first pitch at Alex Rodriguez Park at Mark Light Field set for 6 p.m. The game will be streamed live on ACCNX with live stats courtesy of Miami Athletics.
 
The Sycamores went 1-1 over the opening weekend as ISU fell in extra innings to Iowa, 6-2, in the 2023 season opener this past Friday afternoon, before bouncing back to top Quinnipiac on Saturday, 6-1.
 
In the opener against the Hawkeyes, Iowa took advantage of a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 11th inning to take the 6-2 win over the Sycamores. Indiana State connected on five extra-base hits in the contest, including a pair of Josue Urdaneta and Luis Hernandez doubles, but ISU left 11 batters on base in the contest in the loss. Matt Jachec and Connor Fenlong split the pitching duties for the game for Indiana State with the duo combining to strike out nine while allowing just one walk in the contest.
 
Saturday's 6-1 win over Quinnipiac featured an ISU five-run seventh inning as the Sycamores broke open a pitching duel against the Bobcats. Indiana State sent 11 batters to the plate against QU in the decisive frame drawing four walks and had three batters hit by a pitch in breaking open the 1-0 contest. Josue Urdaneta connected on a pair of singles to lead ISU's offense, while Brayden Lybarger (1-0) picked up his first ISU win following a three-inning scoreless relief stint.
 
Over the opening weekend, the Indiana State pitching staff posted a 3.20 ERA with a 23:3 strikeout-to-walk ratio, while limiting opponents to hitting just .191 from the plate. The strikeout-to-walk ratio puts ISU fifth in the NCAA in the category (7.67) and eighth overall in WHIP (0.81). The pitching staff currently also leads the conference and is seventh in the NCAA Division I in walks allowed per nine innings (1.37).
 
Offensively, Josue Urdaneta continues to thrive in Florida as the redshirt junior infielder has hit safely in his last nine games in the state dating back to the 2022 season. Urdaneta paces the Sycamores and leads the conference with a .571 batting average and is 33rd overall in the NCAA in on-base percentage .700.
 
Scouting the Opposition
Florida Gulf Coast Eagles
Florida Gulf Coast enters the midweek contest with a 4-0 record on the year after sweeping the opening weekend series against Hofstra. The Eagles topped the Pride with a 13-0 (7 inn.) win in the season opener, while adding 7-2, 10-7, and 7-4 victories.
 
Alejandro Figueredo (.467) and Joe Kinker (.467) highlighted the FGCU offense over the opening weekend as the duo combined for 14 hits, six doubles, two home runs, 10 RBI, and 12 runs scored. Florida Gulf Coast hit .322 as a team from the plate with four players hitting .400 or better in the series against the Pride. Pitching-wise, Jason Woodward was the ace on the mound going 6.0 innings in the opening date start, while Mason Miller (3.86 ERA, 4.2 IP) also picked up a win as a starter over the weekend. Overall, 11 different pitchers pitched for the Eagles with the staff posting a 2.81 ERA and a 26:11 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
 
FGCU's roster features a number of key standout returners including preseason All-Americans Alejandro Figueredo and Joe Kinker. Figueredo doubled up as the ASUN Preseason Player of the Year as voted on by the conference office, while teammate Brian Ellis was tabbed the Player of the Year by D1Baseball. The Eagles were selected third in the ASUN preseason rankings as voted on by the coaches.
 
Florida Gulf Coast has not lined up against a current member of the Missouri Valley Conference since the 2021 season when the Sycamores last made the midweek trek to Fort Myers. ISU topped FGCU in the contest, 5-3, in the lone previous matchup. Prior to that, FGCU last took on a MVC team back in the 2018 season when the Eagles swept Evansville on March 9-11, 2018, in a three-game set at Swanson Stadium.
 
FGCU Player Watch
Alejandro Figueredo lived up to his preseason billing as the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper preseason All-American and ASUN Preseason Player of the Year hit a robust .467 in the series against Hofstra. He was the ASUN batting champion in 2022 with a .392 batting average while posting 13 home runs, 21 doubles and 62 RBI last season. This year, the third baseman is off to another hot start with two doubles, a home run, and five RBI over the opening series sweep over the Pride.
 
Indiana State – Iowa Series History
March 9, 2021 – W, 5-3 (Ft. Myers, Fla.)
Indiana State and Florida Gulf Coast have only faced off once in their respective histories as the teams competed in a midweek contest back in 2021. The Sycamores jumped out to an early 5-1 lead thanks to a pair of three-hit games by Josue Urdaneta and Sean Ross, while Miguel Rivera drove in a pair of runs in the win. Joey Hurth picked up his first win of the season with a 4.0-inning start, while Zach Frey, Connor Fenlong, and Tyler Grauer shut the door for the Sycamores bullpen.
 
Miami (Fla.) Hurricanes
Miami enters the week with a 2-1 overall record after their season-opening series against Penn State. The Hurricanes fell in the season opener to the Nittany Lions, 9-5, before taking the final two games of the series, 10-2 and 3-2. Miami will play a Tuesday night game against Stetson before hosting the Sycamores on Wednesday.
 
Zach Levenson (.500) was the standout at the plate for Miami over the opening weekend with three of his five hits leaving the ballpark against Penn State. Blake Cyr added a .400 average, while Dominic Pitelli hit .333 as the Hurricanes hit .242 as a team over the opening weekend. Pitching-wise, Miami utilized 12 pitchers on the mound in posting a 4.00 team ERA and a 31:14 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Rafe Schlesinger was the lone Miami player to make multiple appearances while posting a 0.00 ERA.
 
The Hurricanes are looking to get back to the postseason this season after seeing their tournament dreams dashed in the NCAA Regional last year. Miami went 40-20 overall with a 20-10 mark in ACC play in 2022 on their way to earning the No. 6 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Hurricanes returne CJ Kayfus (.366 average), pitcher Gage Ziehl, and All-American closer Andrew Walters (1.65 ERA, 14 SV). The Hurricanes boasted five players on the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award watch list with Ian Farrow, Dario Gomez, Kayfus, Zach Levenson, and Yohandy Morales all garnering recognition.
 
Miami has not faced a team from the Missouri Valley Conference since the 2013 season when the Hurricanes hosted Illinois State in a Tuesday-Wednesday midweek series. Illinois State took the series opener against UM, 17-6, while Miami won the rematch, 9-2, over the March 12-13 series.
 
Miami Player Watch
Yohandy Morales is the player to watch for the Hurricanes this season as the infielder hit .329 with a team-high 18 home runs and 59 RBI in 2022. Morales struggled in the opening weekend against Penn State hitting .231 from the plate with a pair of RBI, but the junior infielder hit safely in all three contest with RBI in the first two games against the Nittany Lions.
 
Indiana State – Miami (Fla.) Series History
This is the sixth matchup all-time in the series between the Sycamores and the Hurricanes dating back to 1980. Miami has won all five contests played down in Miami, Fla. including a weekend sweep in the 1981 season.

Indiana State Opening Week Notes
They Get Plunked
One year after leading the Missouri Valley in getting hit by pitches, the Sycamores are once again on top of the standings through their first two games of the year. The Sycamores were hit five times over their opening games against Iowa and Quinnipiac, including three times during a five-run rally in the win over Quinnipiac. Luis Hernandez has been hit twice on the year to lead the Sycamores, while three other players have all been hit by a pitch this season. Jordan Schaffer led ISU last season after getting hit 23 times.
 
They Don't Walk
Both Indiana State starting pitchers over the opening weekend did not allow a walk as both Matt Jachec and Zach Davidson did not surrender freebies against Iowa and Quinnipiac. The Sycamore starters combined to post a 10:0 strikeout-to walk ratio over a combined eight innings while allowing just six hits and two runs.

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