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Indiana State University Athletics

fenlong
10
Winner Indiana State INS 21-12
2
Belmont BEL 19-17
Winner
Indiana State INS
21-12
10
Final
2
Belmont BEL
19-17
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Indiana State INS 1 0 2 1 3 1 0 2 0 10 17 1
Belmont BEL 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 7 4

W: Fenlong, Connor (4-2) L: BARATTA, Dominic (3-3)

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

Sycamore offense explodes, Fenlong strong in 10-2 win at Belmont

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Connor Fenlong went into the ninth inning and the Sycamores tallied a season-best 17 hits as Indiana State secured the series win over Belmont on Saturday afternoon at E.S. Rose Park with a 10-2 win.
 
The Sycamores (21-12, 10-1 MVC) ran their winning streak to nine consecutive games with the victory as ISU took the lead in the top of the first inning on Randal Diaz's solo home run and did not let up. Keegan Watson also homered for ISU as all nine Sycamores in the starting lineup recorded at least one hit in Saturday's win.
 
The game was never in doubt from the get-go as ISU scored one in the first, two in the third, one in the fourth, three in the fifth, and one in the sixth to jump out to an 8-0 lead. Belmont's (19-17, 5-6 MVC) defense also struggled in the field as the Bruins made four errors in the contest in the loss.
 
Fenlong (4-2) went into the ninth inning for the second time this season as the redshirt senior utilized 99 pitches in his fourth win of the season. The Gouvernour, N.Y. native surrendered six hits and two solo home runs, while walking three and striking out four in his third quality start of the season.
 
The Sycamore offense made sure their Saturday starter had plenty of run support as ISU connected on a season-high 17 hits including five doubles and a pair of home runs. Mike Sears tied his season-high with three hits in the contest leading seven Sycamores who posted multi-hit games in the contest. Luis Hernandez, Sears, Grant Magill, Watson, and Henry Brown all doubled in the win.
 
Simon Gregersen closed out the game entering the contest in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Sycamore reliever struck out the final two hitters in helping ISU secure the win.
 
Brody Heaton and Mason Landers both homered for Belmont in the loss.
 
Dominic Baratta (3-3) took the loss on the mound after going the first four innings allowing 10 hits and six runs (five earned), while striking out five. Simon Tesh, Caleb Guisewite, Jake Timbes, and Cade Granzow went the final five innings for the Bruins.
 
How They Scored
  • Randal Diaz connected on a one-out solo home run in the top of the first inning off Belmont starter Dominic Baratta to give the Sycamores an early 1-0 lead on Saturday afternoon.
  • Diaz added ISU's second run of the game with an RBI sacrifice fly scoring Henry Brown, while Mike Sears connected on an RBI double to left field scoring Seth Gergely as Indiana State went ahead 3-0 in the top of the third.
  • Seth Gergely brought home Keegan Watson with a two-out single up the middle in the top of the fourth inning to make it a 4-0 ISU lead.
  • Watson worked a full count before connecting on a three-run home run to right field scoring Mike Sears and Grant Magill in the top of the fifth inning to put ISU ahead 7-0.
  • The Sycamore lead hit 8-0 in the top of the sixth as Mike Sears singled home Luis Hernandez with one out in the inning.
  • Brody Heaton put Belmont on the board in the bottom of the seventh with a leadoff solo home run to left center cutting the score to 8-1.
  • Grant Magill connected on a double down the left field line scoring Adam Pottinger and the Sycamore catcher made it all the way around the bases on the play as an errant Belmont throw skipped away from the defense to make it a 10-1 ballgame.
  • Belmont plated the final run in the bottom of the ninth on Mason Landers' leadoff solo home run to left centerfield to put the final margin at 10-2.
News & Notes
  • Indiana State's nine game winning streak equals their longest stretch without a loss since the 2019 season when the Sycamores won nine in a row from March 2-17, 2019, with victories over Austin Peay (twice), Mercer (three), Purdue (one), and The Citadel (three).
  • ISU's last double-digit win streak came back in Coach Hannahs' first season at the helm in 2014 when the Sycamores won 12 in a row from February 15 – March 10 with wins over Connecticut, Ohio State (twice), Lipscomb, Belmont, MTSU, New Orleans (three), and Western Illinois (three).
  • The Sycamores continued one of the best starts to conference play in program history as the 10-1 mark trails only the 12-1 start ISU accomplished back in the 1998 season.
  • Luis Hernandez extended his on-base streak to a career-best 26 consecutive games following his sixth-inning double.
  • Hernandez's streak is the third-longest single season streak in the Mitch Hannahs coaching era trailing just Romero Harris (31, 2018) and Andy DeJesus (29, 2015).
  • Hernandez also boasts ISU's longest current hitting streak at eight consecutive games.
  • Adam Pottinger has reached base safely in his last nine contests following his 2-for-5 day at the plate.
  • Indiana State's 17 hits on Saturday were a season-high in 2023 surpassing the 16 hits ISU totaled in the first game of the April 2 doubleheader at UIC.
  • The 17 hits were the most by ISU since the Sycamores tallied 17 hits last season on May 15, 2022 at Southern Illinois.
  • Mike Sears recorded his second three-hit game of the season and fourth of his career after going 3-for-4 on Saturday afternoon.
  • Connor Fenlong's 8.0-inning outing was the second longest of his collegiate career trailing only behind his 8.2-inning effort at Memphis on March 12, 2023.
  • ISU's starting pitchers have gone at least eight innings in seven different games this season (Matt Jachec – 3, Fenlong – 2, Lane Miller – 2).
  • Grant Magill picked up his first stolen base of 2023 and the seventh of his collegiate career. It was his first steal since swiping on last season on May 13 at Southern Illinois.
  • Josue Urdaneta added his fourth steal on the year.
  • Henry Brown posted his first collegiate extra-base hit on Saturday afternoon as the Sycamore redshirt freshman doubled to lead off the top of the third inning.
Up Next
Indiana State closes out the weekend series at Belmont on Sunday afternoon at E.S. Rose Park. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. ET and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
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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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