TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State returns home to Bob Warn Field to start a four-game home stand this week starting Tuesday night with in-state rival Indiana University. First pitch in the rematch between the Sycamores and the Hoosiers is set for 5 p.m.
 
Tuesday afternoon's contest will be streamed live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend, while live stats will be provided on GoSycamores.com.
 
Game Day Promo: $2 Hot Dogs are back at Bob Warn Field as supplies last.
 
Ticket Promo: Tickets are still on sale as the chairback midweek ticket promo is now a 3-for-$15. Fans purchasing the ticket package will receive one chairback seat ticket for the remaining three midweek games against Indiana (Apr. 4), Illinois (May 2), and Ball State (May 9). Call Austin Bishop at 812-237-8972.
 
Indiana took the first contest between the two teams this season as the Hoosiers topped the Sycamores back on March 21 in Bloomington. IU utilized an 11-run seventh inning to break a 4-4 tie in topping ISU, 15-5.
 
The Sycamores tied the game up at 4-4 following a three-run rally in the top of the seventh inning. ISU loaded the bases with one out as Josue Urdaneta and Seth Gergely drew back-to-back walks and Randal Diaz singled to right field. Luis Hernandez was hit by a pitch from IU reliever Craig Yoho to bring home the first run, while Keegan Watson and Parker Stinson followed with walks to knot the score up.
 
IU responded in the bottom of the frame with the first four Hoosiers reaching base to spark the go-ahead 11-run rally. Bobby Whalen connected on a two-run single and Devin Taylor added a three-run double to highlight the scoring as the Sycamores dropped their sixth consecutive game to the Hoosiers.
 
Indiana State rebounded after the loss winning six of their last seven contests entering the week with the offense catching fire. The Sycamores are hitting .321 as a team over their last seven games with all nine lineup regulars hitting .275 or better from the plate. Seth Gergely has been the spark atop the Indiana State lineup and is hitting .467 from the plate over the last seven contests, while Miguel Rivera and Mike Sears have both driven in nine runs.
 
ISU also regained its power stroke over the seven-game stretch with the Sycamores connecting on 15 home runs including four homers in a single game against both Valparaiso and UIC. Mike Sears has been key to the power resurgence with five home runs, including a pair of two-homer games, while Randal Diaz has connected on three shots over the last two weeks.
 
The ISU pitching staff has also taken major strides forward over the last seven games with the Sycamores posting a 3.63 ERA over the last 62.0 innings and a 53:21 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Lane Miller (2-0) and Connor Fenlong (2-0) have each recorded a pair of wins on the mound, while Cameron Edmonson has posted a trio of scoreless appearances in relief.
 
Indiana State continues to boast the toughest non-conference schedule in the NCAA Division I rankings entering the week. ISU has played or is scheduled to play against eight teams currently ranked in the top 50 in the country in RPI including Kentucky (1), Vanderbilt (9), Miami (15), and Northeastern (17). The Sycamores' non-conference schedule also includes Missouri (22), Indiana (25), Illinois (41), and Florida Gulf Coast (48) as the Sycamores currently sit 9-11 overall against non-conference competition.
 
ISU remains inside the NCAA RPI top 35 for the fourth consecutive week as the Sycamores sit as the top-ranked team in the Missouri Valley Conference. Indiana State (27) is one of three Valley schools ranked in the top 100 including Evansville (70) and Southern Illinois (93).
 
Following his recent hot streak, Seth Gergely remains the top hitter in the Sycamore lineup with a .360 batting average on the year. Gergely paces ISU with 32 hits and 20 runs scored while adding six doubles, three home runs, and 18 RBI. Luis Hernandez (.301) is also hitting above .300 on the year. Mike Sears and Randal Diaz have taken over as the power bats in the lineup with Sears leading the way with nine home runs among his team-leading 12 extra-base hits. Diaz has 11 extra-base hits and leads ISU with two triples on the season.
 
Sixteen different Indiana State pitchers have seen time on the mound this year with the Sycamores boasting a team 5.52 ERA and a 236:110 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Five different ISU pitchers have posted two wins in 2023, while Matt Jachec (40) and Connor Fenlong (31) are the team's strikeout leaders. Cameron Holycross (0.61 ERA) and Lane Miller (1.69 ERA) are among the team's ERA leaders on the year.
 
The Sycamores continue to be elite defensively. Indiana State entered the week eighth in the NCAA and first in the MVC in fielding percentage. The Sycamores are fielding at a .984 clip on the season with three players posting perfect 1.000 percentages with at least 20 chances.
 
Scouting the Opposition
Indiana Hoosiers
Indiana enters the midweek matchup with a 20-8 overall record on the year after taking two of three this past weekend at Penn State. The Hoosiers improved to 5-1 in Big Ten play on the season following the series win over the Nittany Lions. Indiana has won six of seven since their midweek win over the Sycamores in Bloomington. IU is currently 4-7 away from their home turf in the 2023 season.
 
Phillip Glasser (.395) leads an Indiana offense that is hitting .298 from the plate in the 2023 season. The senior infielder leads the Hoosiers with 45 hits, 31 runs, and 13 doubles, while driving in 23 RBI. Glasser is also the team leader with 10 stolen bases. Brock Tibbitts (.358), Tyler Cerny (.312), and Josh Pyne (.309) have also come on strong in the 2023 season to pace the IU offense. Tibbitts is the team's RBI leader with 33, while Devin Taylor has connected on a team-high five home runs on the year. The Indiana pitching staff has posted a 4.81 ERA on the year with 19 different pitchers making appearances on the mound. Overall, the IU staff has posted a 265:119 strikeout-to-walk ratio including an 11:8 ratio earlier this season against the Sycamores.
 
Indiana was ranked sixth overall in the Big Ten preseason poll as announced by the conference office in the preseason. Catcher Matthew Ellis, infielder Phillip Glasser, and outfielder Carter Mathison were all honored on the preseason Big Ten All-Conference team. Mathison was a four-time Freshman All-American following his 2022 season that featured a .273 batting average with 19 home runs and 58 RBI.
 
Indiana State and Evansville (May 16) are the lone Missouri Valley school teams on Indiana's schedule in the 2023 season.
 
Indiana State – IU History
Indiana leads the all-time series against Indiana State 66-46-1 dating back to the first contest in 1895. Indiana enters the game on a six-game winning streak against the Sycamores dating back to 2017.
 
The Sycamores and Hoosiers have lined up in Terre Haute 53 times throughout their respective program histories. Indiana State holds the 27-26 home advantage over the Hoosiers.
 
Indiana took the lone contest between the two teams last year in Terre Haute on April 12 as the Hoosiers utilized a five-run rally in the top of the ninth inning to win 6-5. Indiana State's last win at home against IU came back on April 14, 2015, with the Sycamores topping the Hoosiers 6-2 at Bob Warn Field.
 
Streaking On-Base
Mike Sears became the 12th Indiana State player since the 2011 season to post a 20-game in-season on-base streak as the redshirt junior reached base safely in all three games against the Flames. Sears' streak currently sits at 22 games entering the week and dates back to February 25 against Northeastern.
 
Sears' 22 game streak made him the first player since Max Wright (21 games, 2021) to reach the 20-game plateau. His 22-game stretch is also tied for the seventh-longest stretch since 2011 equaling the 22-game streaks by both Jarrod Watkins (2018) and Hunter Owen (2016). Romero Harris (2018) posted the longest streak in recent history at 31 games, while Andy DeJesus (29, 2015) and Robby Ort (25, 2011) have also posted significant stretches. Andy Young is the lone player on the list to record multiple 20-game on-base streaks hitting the mark in both 2015 (21) and 2016 (26).
 
Luis Hernandez is one game away from joining Sears on the mark entering the midweek game against IU on a 19-game on-base streak. If Hernandez reaches safely against the Hoosiers, he'll join Sears as just the fourth pair of ISU teammates to reach base safely in 20 consecutive games since the 2015 season and first since 2018 (Harris – 31, Watkins – 22).
 
Power Output in Conference
Indiana State's bats have connected in conference play as the Sycamores have powered out 15 of their 33 home runs in Missouri Valley competition. The numbers were highlighted by nine home runs this past weekend against UIC, including two home runs each off the bats of Mike Sears and Randal Diaz.
 
Eight different Sycamores have homered in conference play highlighted by Sears' five home runs, while both Diaz (3) and Seth Gergely (2) have also left the park multiple times in MVC action. Sears already has two two-homer games in conference play (Mar. 26 vs. Valparaiso & Apr. 2 at UIC), while Gergely added his first collegiate multi-homer game on March 25 against Valparaiso. ISU hit 45 home runs as a team in 2022 with 20 coming in conference action.

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