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Indiana State University Athletics

Sears
2
Valparaiso VALPO 7-9, 0-2 MVC
7
Winner Indiana State INS 10-11, 2-0 MVC
Valparaiso VALPO
7-9, 0-2 MVC
2
Final
7
Indiana State INS
10-11, 2-0 MVC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Valparaiso VALPO 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 8 1
Indiana State INS 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 1 X 7 8 0

W: Fenlong, Connor (2-2) L: Lockwood, Connor (2-1)

2
Valparaiso VALPO 7-10, 0-3 MVC
4
Winner Indiana State INS 11-11, 3-0 MVC
Valparaiso VALPO
7-10, 0-3 MVC
2
Final
4
Indiana State INS
11-11, 3-0 MVC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Valparaiso VALPO 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 10 0
Indiana State INS 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 X 4 8 1

W: Holycross, Cameron (1-0) L: McCluskey, Griffin (1-3) S: Spencer, Jared (1)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Seth Montgomery | GoSycamores.com

Sycamores complete weekend sweep of Beacons to move to 3-0 in Valley play

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Mike Sears homered twice to highlight Indiana State's Sunday doubleheader sweep over Valparaiso as the Sycamores closed out the weekend series with the Beacons with 7-2 and 4-2 wins.
 
Indiana State (11-11, 3-0 MVC) remains undefeated in conference play following the sweep as the Sycamores came from behind in both games to secure the win. Joe Kido added a pair of clutch RBI in the first game of the day, while ISU's bullpen and defense shut down the Beacons (7-10, 0-3 MVC) in the second game to secure the series.

The weekend sweep marked Indiana State's first 3-0 start in Missouri Valley play since the 2016 season. It is just fifth time in program history Indiana State has opened MVC play with a 3-0 record dating back to 1985.
 
Game One: Indiana State 7, Valparaiso 2
Mike Sears homered twice and Joe Kido came through with a pair of clutch two-out RBI as Indiana State secured the series win over Valparaiso in the opening game of Sunday's doubleheader.
 
Sears connected on a three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning and added a solo shot in the bottom of the eighth for his first multi-home run game as a Sycamore to highlight the ISU offense in the win. Kido tied the game up with his two-out RBI double to right field in the fourth and added the go-ahead two-out RBI single in the sixth as the redshirt junior continued to display the clutch hitting he's been known for throughout his career.
 
The offensive output was in support of right-hander Connor Fenlong (2-2) as the redshirt senior posted his second quality start of the season. Fenlong went seven innings on Sunday afternoon allowing six hits and two runs while striking out five. He retired 16 batters in a row from the first to the sixth innings before the streak was snapped in the top of the seventh.
 
Jared Spencer went the final two innings in relief to close out the contest. The sophomore left-hander struck out the side in the eighth and started a double play on a comebacker to the mound in the ninth.
 
Randal Diaz, Kido, and Sears all posted multi-hit games on the afternoon while Kido and Grant Magill both doubled in the win. Miguel Rivera added his third stolen base of the season.
 
Jake Skrine had two of Valparaiso's eight hits in the loss, while Alex Thurston added the Beacons' lone extra-base hit with a double in the top of the eighth.
 
Connor Lockwood (2-1) took the loss after going the first six innings on Sunday. He allowed seven hits and six runs while walking two and striking out six. Josh Cottrill went the final two innings with the Sears solo home run the lone blemish to his stat line.
 
How They Scored
  • Jake Skrine singled in Nolan Tucker in the top of the first inning to give Valparaiso the early 1-0 lead.
  • Joe Kido tied the game up in the bottom of the fourth as the junior one-hopped the right field wall for a stand-up double bringing home Randal Diaz to knot the score at 1-1.
  • The Sycamores plated five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning highlighted by a mammoth three-run home run by Mike Sears over the trees in centerfield, while Kido (single) and Grant Magill (double) both connected on RBI to put ISU ahead 6-1 in the sixth.
  • Valparaiso took one back in the top of the seventh as Brady Renfro scored on a double play ball to put the score at 6-2.
  • Sears added his second home run of the game in the bottom of the eighth inning with his solo shot clearing the centerfield wall to put the final margin at 7-2. 
Game Two: Indiana State 4, Valparaiso 2
Indiana State utilized timely hitting early in the contest and a strong game from the bullpen in closing out the weekend series sweep over the Beacons.
 
Indiana State scored all four runs over the first three innings with Adam Pottinger, Josue Urdantea, Miguel Rivera, and Keegan Watson all driving in RBI in the contest. The defense was solid the rest of the way for the six ISU pitchers on the mound with Dominic Krupinski, Pottinger, Urdaneta, and Rivera all making spectacular defensive plays in the field in support of completing the win.
 
Seth Gergely and Josue Urdaneta had two hits apiece in the win, while Miguel Rivera added a double for the Sycamores. Seth Gergely added his team-leading eighth stolen base to highlight the offense.
 
Cameron Holycross (1-0) picked up the win following a scoreless 2.2-inning relief stint. Jared Spencer (S, 1) retired all three outs in the ninth to record his first collegiate save. Zach Davidson went 1.1 innings in the start, while Cam Edmonson, Jacob Pruitt, and Brennyn Cutts all went at least one inning in relief.
 
Kyle Schmack and Ryan Maka both posted multi-hit games for Valparaiso as the Beacons connected on a weekend-high 10 hits in the contest. Schmack and Jake Skrine both doubled, while Brady Renfro drove in both runs in the loss.
 
Griffin McCluskey (1-3) took the loss after surrendering six hits and all four Indiana State runs over a 3.0-inning start. Nathan Chasey, Grant Jablonski, and Bobby Nowak went five scoreless innings in relief to close out the contest.
 
How They Scored
  • Valparaiso jumped ahead 1-0 in the top of the first inning on Brady Renfro's RBI single to right field scoring Kyle Schmack.
  • The Sycamores responded in the bottom of the first as Adam Pottinger drew a bases-loaded walk scoring Seth Gergely to tie the game up at 1-1.
  • Miguel Rivera connected on an RBI double and Josue Urdaneta hit an RBI single in the bottom of the second inning to give ISU the 3-1 lead.
  • Keegan Watson singled home Mike Sears in the bottom of the third to give the Sycamores a 4-1 lead.
  • Renfro drove in Valparaiso's second run of the game with an RBI sacrifice fly to left field scoring Kaleb Hannahs to provide the final 4-2 margin.
News & Notes
  • ISU last started Missouri Valley play 3-0 in the 2016 season when ISU swept all three games at Southern Illinois (April 8-10, 2016).
  • The Sycamores have swept their MVC-opening weekend series five times in program history including 1985 (Creighton), 1998 (Northern Iowa), 2003 (Bradley), and 2016 (Southern Illinois).
  • One day after Seth Gergely homered twice, Mike Sears connected on a pair of home runs in the first game on Sunday to become the second Sycamore to homer twice in a single game in 2023.
  • Sears leads the Sycamores with seven home runs on the year and paces ISU with 21 RBI.
  • Sears reached base in both games on Sunday running his career-best on-base streak to 18 consecutive games.
  • Luis Hernandez also extended his on-base streak to 15 consecutive games in the pair of wins.
  • Seth Gergely was hit by two pitches in the opening game giving him nine on the season and running Indiana State's total to 47 on the year.
  • Connor Fenlong's 7.0-inning start marked the second-longest of his career trailing just behind his 8.2-inning start against Memphis (Mar. 12) earlier this season.
  • Jared Spencer became the third Sycamore to record a save on the year after recording the final three outs in Sunday's second game. The sophomore left-hander joins Matt Jachec (vs. FGCU, Feb. 21) and Luke Patzner (at Memphis, Mar. 11) in the category.
  • Spencer struck out the side in the top of the eighth inning in game one today giving him a stretch of 15 strikeouts over a 6.2-inning span.
  • Cameron Holycross made his first appearance on the mound since March 8 (SEMO) and has gone 12.1 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to his Feb. 22 relief appearance against Miami (Fla.).
  • Holycross also recorded his first collegiate win in a Sycamore uniform in the final game of the weekend.
  • The Sycamores have won their last 22 consecutive games against Valparaiso dating back to the 2007 season following the weekend sweep. 
Up Next
Indiana State remains at home as the Sycamores welcome Purdue for a midweek non-conference game on Tuesday, March 28. First pitch between the Sycamores and the Boilermakers is set for 5 p.m. ET at Bob Warn Field. The game will be streamed live via ESPN+.
 
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.
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