TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State returns to the road in Missouri Valley play this weekend as the Sycamores make the trip to Evansville, Ind. to take on the University of Evansville Purple Aces for a three-game series on Friday-Sunday, April 28-30.
 
First pitch on Friday night's game at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium is set for 7 p.m. ET. Saturday (3 p.m. ET) and Sunday (2 p.m. ET) round out the weekend series. All three games will be carried live on 105.5 The Legend, while live stats will be available on the schedule at GoSycamores.com.
 
Indiana State enters the weekend boasting the nation's longest current winning at 14 consecutive games dating back to April 2 in a doubleheader sweep over UIC. The Sycamores are one of three teams currently boasting double-digit winning streaks including Central Michigan (10) and South Dakota State (10). Additionally, the Sycamores have won seven consecutive road games sitting with the third-longest current winning streak on the road behind Army (10) and Penn (9) heading into the weekend.
 
ISU's 14-game stretch is the longest in the Mitch Hannahs coaching era and currently sits as the fourth-longest in Indiana State history and is the longest since the 1987 season when the Sycamores won 16 consecutive games from March 17-31 that year.
 
The Sycamore winning streak has resulted growing national acclaim for Indiana State as ISU moved up to No. 14 in the Collegiate Baseball Division I poll and debuting at No. 21 in the Perfect Game poll this week. ISU also received votes in both the USA Today Coaches Poll and the NCBWA poll this week.
 
Entering the weekend, ISU's RPI is at a season-best No. 9 in the ranking as announced by WarrenNolan.com on Wednesday. The Sycamores have been in the top-35 in the rankings for the seven consecutive weeks. ISU remains the Missouri Valley leader in RPI with Evansville (71), Missouri State (86), Valparaiso (88), and Southern Illinois (92) all sitting among the top 100 in the country heading into the weekend.
 
The Sycamores have earned the high RPI mark this year with ISU playing the toughest non-conference strength of schedule in the country to date according to WarrenNolan. The Sycamores are back in the top spot entering the weekend for the second consecutive weekend and have held the mark since early March after a grueling early slate.
 
ISU has played or is scheduled to play against top-50 RPI opponents in Kentucky (2), Vanderbilt (8), Indiana (13), Miami (24), Northeastern (38), Missouri (39), and Iowa (41). Additional top-100 opponents on the schedule include the above mentioned MVC schools, as well as Michigan State (59), Florida Gulf Coast (70), and Ball State (99).
The Sycamores enter the weekend with a 14-1 mark in Missouri Valley play this weekend following their three-game sweep of the Salukis. ISU held off SIU in the opener with a walk-off 6-5 win in the 10th inning on Saturday. The Sycamores run-ruled the Salukis on Sunday, 10-0, on ESPNU, and then completed the sweep with a 7-2 win over SIU on Monday afternoon.
 
Adam Pottinger (.667), Keegan Watson (.667), and Seth Gergely (.545) led the Sycamore offense over the weekend against Southern Illinois as ISU hit .398 as a team against the Salukis. Indiana State out-scored SIU 23-7 over the three games at Bob Warn Field with the pitching staff combining for a 2.42 ERA and a 24:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio against one of the top offenses in the MVC.
 
The early season tests have sharpened the Sycamores heading into conference play. Indiana State currently leads the Missouri Valley in both batting average (.319) and ERA (2.69) over the first 15 conference games. ISU leads the Valley in conference games in overall hits (167) and sits second in total home runs (24) while adding a .512 slugging percentage and .394 on-base percentage.
 
From the mound, ISU's pitchers have combined for an ERA that sits over a full run below second-place Missouri State (4.35) in MVC action, while the Sycamores have limited opposing hitters to a .211 batting average. The Sycamores are third in strikeouts (117) and first in hits (102) and walks (39) allowed over the 15 games.
 
These qualities remain evident over the current 14-game winning streak as Indiana State boasts a .312 batting average with 48 extra-base hits to date in the month of April. Adam Pottinger has come to life with a .423 batting average over the streak with a team-high 14 RBI, while Randal Diaz is hitting .322 with nine extra-base hits and 10 RBI. The pitching staff has combined for a 2.00 ERA on the mound over the last 126.0 innings allowing opponents to hit just .202 from the plate.
 
The recent success by the Sycamores was highlighted this past weekend as ISU swept the Valley's weekly baseball honors for the first time in 2023. Gergely (.727 BA) and Connor Fenlong (CG Shutout) took home the MVC Player of the Week honors following key performances throughout the week against Vanderbilt and SIU.
 
Gergely remains ISU's top hitter on the season entering the weekend as the redshirt senior is hitting a team-best .346 from the plate highlighting three Sycamores hitting .300 or better on the year. Gergely boasts a pair of 15-game on-base streaks and has reached base safely in 36 of the 38 contests to date. He leads the team with 47 hits and 31 runs scored, while adding his fourth home run of the year this past weekend against SIU.
 
Watson (.316) and Pottinger (.308) continued their recent hot streak at the plate to move above .300 heading into the weekend. Watson is tied for the team lead with 10 doubles with 13 of his 25 hits this season going for extra bases. Pottinger has homered in back-to-back games, including his first grand slam of the season to sit tied for second on the team with seven homers on the year, while adding 27 runs scored and 24 RBI.
 
Sixteen different Indiana State pitchers have seen time on the mound this year with the Sycamores boasting a team 4.30 ERA and a 329:139 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Connor Fenlong became the first Sycamore to five wins on the mound this weekend, while Cameron Holycross and Lane Miller are both a perfect 4-0 on the bump this season. Holycross (1.20 ERA) and Miller (2.12 ERA) boast two of the top ERAs in the MVC this season, while Matt Jachec (63 strikeouts) is among the Valley leaders in strikeouts.
 
The Sycamores continue to be elite defensively. Indiana State enters the weekend sixth in the NCAA and first in the MVC in fielding percentage. The Sycamores are fielding at a .983 clip on the season with two players posting perfect 1.000 percentages with at least 20 chances, while four others are fielding at .990 or higher.
 
Scouting the Opposition
Evansville Purple Aces
Evansville enters the weekend with a 24-16 overall record and 8-7 mark in Missouri Valley play through the first five conference weekends. Evansville has won four of their last five games including a midweek victory over Lipscomb this past Tuesday to go into the weekend with some momentum. UE also boasts a 12-6 record at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium in 2023.
 
Chase Hug (.340) is the team's hitting leader on the season as the Purple Aces have hit .258 at the plate as a squad this year. Hug leads the team in a majority of the major offensive statistical categories including hits (53), doubles (11), and triples (3). Eric Roberts is the team's leader in home runs (15) and RBI (43), while also posting a team-high 13 stolen bases.
 
Donovan Schultz (5-2, 3.40 ERA) and Nick Smith (3-3, 4.69 ERA) have headlined the pitching rotation this season for Evansville, while Tyler Denu (2-3, 4.73 ERA) has also posted nine starts on the year. Overall, Evansville has posted a team ERA of 5.00 on the year with a 324:157 strikeout-to-walk ratio. UE is allowing opponents to hit .256 from the plate on the year.
 
Evansville was slotted third overall in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason baseball poll this spring. The Purple Aces received 79 total points in the poll after a year that featured UE finishing second in the Valley with five All-MVC selections returning from 2022. Simon Scherry (SS), Brent Widder (3B), Mark Shallenberger (OF), and Nick Smith (SP) were all honored on the MVC Preseason All-Conference squad.
 
Evansville and Indiana State have lined up against several common non-conference opponents this season. Evansville has taken on Kentucky (0-1), SEMO (1-1), Vanderbilt (0-1), and Purdue (3-0) so far in 2023 and still has a game against Indiana (May 16) on the schedule.
 
Indiana State – Evansville History
Indiana State holds the 106-71 all-time advantage between the two programs dating back to their inaugural contest back on May 6, 1946, according to current records on hand. The Sycamores hold the 40-26 edge in Evansville and last won the series on the road back in 2019. Evansville has won five of the last eight games between the two teams, including topping the Sycamores last season in the MVC Championships to send ISU to an elimination game.
 
Indiana State is 16-13 overall against Evansville since 2014. ISU won four consecutive regular season series from 2016-19, before going 2-2 in 2021 and falling in two of the three games in 2022.

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