NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Indiana State offense gave Matt Jachec just enough on Friday afternoon and the Sycamore ace took care of the rest as ISU took the series opener against Belmont, 2-1, at E.S. Rose Park.
 
Adam Pottinger homered to give ISU (20-12, 9-1 MVC) the early lead and Seth Gergely scored the go-ahead run in the top of the sixth on a Belmont (19-16, 5-5 MVC) error to give Jachec (4-2) all the support he would need in another career outing on the rubber.
 
Jachec went 7.0 innings and struck out a career-high 11 batters in his fourth quality start of the 2023 season. The Hampshire, Ill. native surrendered one single in every inning but was able to keep the Belmont bats at bay in picking up his team-leading fourth win of the season.
 
Jachec struck out at least two hitters in the first, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings and added a key pickoff in the bottom of the seventh to highlight the victory. Grant Magill added his 12th runner thrown out attempting to steal in the contest.
 
Jared Spencer (S, 4) closed out the final two innings in relief in his fourth save of the year. The sophomore left-hander surrendered just a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth before getting the final out on a fly ball to Parker Stinson in right field to end the game.
 
Magill had two of ISU's four hits in the game, while Pottinger homered and Luis Hernandez doubled in the win.
 
Friday's win stretches ISU's winning streak to eight consecutive games dating back to April 2 at UIC. Following Southern Illinois' loss to Evansville on Friday night, the Sycamores are atop the Missouri Valley rankings with a 9-1 record in conference play.
 
Belmont starter Andy Bean (3-5) nearly matched Jachec's performance on the mound as the left-hander went 7.2 innings allowing four hits and two runs (one earned) while striking out five. Jett Thielke went the final 1.1 innings with a trio of strikeouts in relief.
 
Mason Landers and Max Blessinger had two hits apiece for the Bruins in the loss.
 
How They Scored

• Adam Pottinger put the Sycamores on the board to lead off the third inning as the right fielder connected on a 2-2 offering from Belmont starter Andy Bean and drove out the solo home run over the right field wall to put ISU ahead 1-0.
• Belmont tied the game up in the bottom of the fourth thanks to an errant pickoff attempt that moved Mason Landers from first to third base. Brodey Heaton brought him home with an RBI groundout up the middle for the unearned run and tied the game at 1-1.
• The Sycamores strung together a pair of hits in the top of the sixth inning and took advantage of a Belmont error to plate the go-ahead run. Luis Hernandez provided the game-winning hit with a double to right field and Seth Gergely came around to score as the throw into the infield skipped around the Bruin first baseman and over to the ISU dugout giving the Sycamores the final 2-1 margin.

News & Notes

• Indiana State ran its winning streak to eight consecutive games following Friday's win. The streak is ISU's longest since posting a nine-game stretch in the 2019 season spanning March 2-17 with victories over Austin Peay (twice), Mercer (three), Purdue (one), and The Citadel (three).
• The Sycamores continued one of the best starts to conference play in program history as the 9-1 mark trails only the 12-1 start ISU accomplished back in the 1998 season.
• Matt Jachec has gone 17.1 innings without allowing an earned run dating back to the second inning against UIC (April 2). He lowered his season ERA to 3.25 on the year following Friday's start.
• Jachec's 11-strikeout performance was a new career-high for the redshirt junior. It was his fourth career double-digit strikeout game and second this season behind the 10 he recorded against Memphis on March 10 in the complete-game effort against the Tigers.
• Jachec's 11 strikeouts were the most by a Sycamore pitcher since Jack Parisi struck out 13 against Merrimack last season at the Snowbird Baseball Classic down in Port Charlotte, Fla. on February 25.
• Jachec's 11 strikeout, zero walk performance was the third time in his career he has posted double-digit strikeouts without surrendering a walk (May 7 at Bradley - 10 K-0 BB; May 25 vs. Valparaiso – 10 K-0 BB).
• Luis Hernandez extended his on-base streak to a career-best 25 consecutive games following his sixth-inning double.
• Hernandez's streak ties for the third-longest in the Mitch Hannahs coaching era equaling Andy Young's 25-game stretch in the 2016 season.
• Seth Gergely's on-base streak ended at 15 games after his 0-for-4 outing at the plate. The redshirt senior has reached base safely in 30 of ISU's 32 games this year with a pair of 15-game streaks.
• Adam Pottinger picked up his fifth home run of the season and first since April 2 against UIC.
• Pottinger's home run stretched his hitting streak to four games and he has hit safely in seven of his last eight games.
• Grant Magill was the lone Sycamore with a two-hit game on Friday giving him seven multi-hit games in the 2023 season.
• The Sycamore pitching staff has allowed one earned run over the last 23.1 innings in lowering the team's ERA to 4.68.
• Jared Spencer picked up his team-leading fourth save of the season after going scoreless the final two innings. Two of his four saves in 2023 have been multi-inning efforts. 

Up Next
Indiana State continues the weekend series with Belmont on Saturday afternoon at E.S. Rose Park. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. ET and the game will be streamed live on 105.5 The Legend.
 
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.