TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State baseball continues on the road as the Sycamores get set to embark on a nine-day road trip to Kentucky, Southeast Missouri State, and Memphis starting with a three-game series in Lexington, Ky.
 
The Sycamores will open the road trip with a three-game set against the Wildcats at Kentucky Proud Park as Indiana State makes its first trip to UK since the 2009 season. Friday's opener is set for a 4 p.m. start, while Saturday and Sunday will both feature 1 p.m. first pitches. All three games will be streamed live on the SEC Network Plus.
 
ISU continues its season-opening road trip to start 2023 as the Sycamores first 16 games will occur away from the friendly confines of Bob Warn Field. ISU opened up the year competing at the Snowbird Baseball Classic against Iowa, Quinnipiac, Florida Gulf Coast and Northeastern, while also making a trip to Miami (Fla.) for a midweek contest.
 
The Sycamores enter the weekend series against the Wildcats on a four-game skid after falling at then No. 22-ranked Miami, while dropping a three-game set against Northeastern this past weekend in Port Charlotte. ISU fell in the midweek, 9-3, while dropping the three games against the Huskies, 9-5, 15-10, and 8-7 (11).
 
Randal Diaz was the top Indiana State hitter over the weekend series against Northeastern as the sophomore broke out of an early slump. The Toa Alta, Puerto Rico native hit .556 from the plate with five hits and two triples, while driving in two RBI. He posted a .714 on-base percentage over the three-game set adding two walks while getting hit by three pitches.
 
Mike Sears, Alex Marx, Adam Pottinger, and Seth Gergely all homered against the Huskies to provide the power bats for ISU as the Sycamores hit .286 in the series.
 
The Sycamore pitching staff enters the weekend posting a 7.54 ERA on the season and has a 69:28 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Brayden Lybarger (1.93 ERA), Cameron Holycross (3.00 ERA), and Aaron Moss (3.86 ERA) have all stood out on the mound early in the 2023 season, while Matt Jachec and Zach Davidson have both posted multiple starts on the season.
 
Indiana State's defense has been strong early in the season with the Sycamores entering the week 16th overall in the NCAA and leading the Missouri Valley Conference with a .989 fielding percentage. The Sycamores posted a four-game errorless streak this season.

Kentucky Wildcats
Kentucky enters the weekend with a 6-2 record following their midweek 15-1 win over Morehead State. The Wildcats have won both of their weekend series to start the season taking two of three over Elon and Wright State, while adding a midweek win over Evansville. Kentucky is 4-1 overall at home this season with their lone loss coming this past Saturday against Wright State.
 
Emilien Pitre (.448) is Kentucky's leader at the plate through the first eight games of the season. The sophomore infielder is one of three Kentucky players hitting above .300 on the season joining Jackson Gray (.417) and Devin Burkes (.375). Burkes leads the Wildcats with two home runs and 16 RBI while adding seven doubles. Overall, Kentucky is hitting .325 from the plate as a team with 21 doubles, two triples, and five home runs.
 
The Wildcats' pitching staff has posted a 2.79 ERA on the season with 17 different pitchers seeing time on the mound. Zack Lee (2-0) and Travis Smith (2-0) both have posted multiple wins on the season, while Kentucky has posted an 87:22 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
 
Kentucky is scheduled to line up against four Missouri Valley teams in the 2023 season. The Wildcats already topped Evansville on February 21, 6-3, in a midweek contest in Lexington. UK will host Indiana State on March 3-5, Murray State on March 7, and Southern Illinois on March 10-12 to complete their schedule against the Valley this season.
 
Indiana State – Kentucky History
Kentucky leads the all-time series, 6-4, against Indiana State dating back to the first matchup between the programs in 1980. The Wildcats enter the weekend on a three-game winning streak against the Sycamores after sweeping a weekend series back in 2009. All 10 games in the series have been played in Lexington. Indiana State took both their midweek games against UK back in 2003 winning 9-0, and 7-3 against the Wildcats.

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