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Indiana State University Athletics

Spencer
3
Illinois State ILS 10-16, 2-7 MVC
4
Winner Indiana State INS 18-12, 8-1 MVC
Illinois State ILS
10-16, 2-7 MVC
3
Final
4
Indiana State INS
18-12, 8-1 MVC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Illinois State ILS 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 7 3
Indiana State INS 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 X 4 9 1

W: Holycross, Cameron (3-0) L: Chadwick, Tyrelle (1-3) S: Spencer, Jared (3)

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

Sycamores complete weekend sweep over Redbirds; Off to best MVC start since 1998

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Adam Pottinger connected on the go-ahead single in the bottom of the eighth inning and Jared Spencer shut the door on Illinois State in the top of the ninth as Indiana State completed the three-game sweep of the Redbirds at Bob Warn Field with the 4-3 win.
 
Indiana State (18-12, 8-1 MVC) loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning on a rally With Luis Hernandez (single), Miguel Rivera (walk), and Keegan Watson (fielder's choice) all reaching with one out to load the bases, Illinois State (10-16, 2-7 MVC) brought the infield in to cut off the potential go-ahead run.
 
Pottinger connected on the first offering from Redbird reliever Tyrelle Chadwick (1-3) and drove a hard grounder past a diving Adrian Flores at first base and the ball skipped into right field scoring pinch-runner Joe Kido to give the Sycamores the 4-3 lead.
 
Jared Spencer (S, 3) took over the mound in the top of the ninth and struck out the side to shut down the Redbirds for his third save of the season.
 
The Sycamore win continued an impressive start to the 2023 season for Indiana State as ISU picked up their third conference series win. Their 8-1 MVC record through the first three weekends is ISU's best start to conference play since 1998 when the Sycamores opened with a 12-1 mark in conference competition.
 
ISU's series win over the Redbirds also marked the first time since 2012 and just the third time in program history the Sycamores have won their first three conference series (2023, 2012, and 1998).
 
Cameron Holycross (3-0) was effective in relief in picking up his second win of the week as the redshirt junior right-hander went three scoreless innings. The ISU defense recorded a pair of double plays in both the sixth and seventh innings, while Holycross struck out the final two batters he faced to lower his season ERA to 0.40 over seven appearances.
 
Diaz was a perfect 4-for-4 from the plate with a pair of doubles and two RBI to lead the Indiana State offense on the day. Urdaneta also doubled as the Sycamores connected on nine hits in the win.
 
Lane Miller went into the sixth inning in his third start of the season in taking the no-decision. Miller surrendered five hits and three runs while walking one and striking out two. Holycross took over in the sixth and gave up two hits while walking one and striking out four.
 
Luke Lawrence was 3-for-3 with two RBI for Illinois State, while Daniel Pacella added a multi-hit game for the Redbirds in the loss.
 
Chadwell took the loss after going 0.1 innings allowing three hits and one run in relief of starter Jayson Hibbard. Hibbard went 7.0 innings in the start allowing six hits and three runs while striking out four.
 
How They Scored
  • Randal Diaz connected on a check-swing RBI single and Luis Hernandez added an RBI sacrifice fly as Indiana State jumped ahead of the Redbirds early with a 2-0 lead after the bottom of the first.
  • The Redbirds took the 3-2 lead in the top of the fourth inning as Nick Strong singled in Daniel Pacella, while Strong and Greg Nichols both scored on Luke Lawrence's two-run double in the inning to give Illinois State the lead.
  • Diaz tied the game up in the bottom of the fifth with his two-out RBI double back up the middle scoring Seth Gergely to knot the game at 3-3.
  • Adam Pottinger connected on the bases-loaded RBI single past a drawn-in infield in the bottom of the eighth scoring Joe Kido to provide the final 4-3 margin.
News & Notes
  • Indiana State opened the season with three consecutive Missouri Valley Conference series wins for the first time since 2012 and just the third time in program history (1998).
  • The Sycamores' 8-1 mark in conference play trails only ISU's 12-1 start to conference action back in the 1998 season as the best opening stretch in program history.
  • The Sycamores picked up their first sweep over the Redbirds since the 2017 season. The home sweep was ISU's first against Illinois State at Bob Warn Field since 2008.
  • Luis Hernandez extended his on-base streak to 23 consecutive games following his eighth inning one-out single back up the middle.
  • Josue Urdaneta continued his season-best nine-game hitting streak with a double to right field in the bottom of the first inning.
  • Seth Gergely extended his on-base streak to 14 games after drawing a walk to lead off the bottom of the first inning.
  • Gergely's fifth-inning stolen base marked his team-leading 10th steal of the 2023 season. He became the first ISU player to hit double-digit steals in a single season since Jordan Schaffer swiped 11 bases in 2021.
  • Indiana State recorded its fourth consecutive series win over Illinois State dating back to the 2019 season.
  • The Sycamores improve to 8-2 at Bob Warn Field this season and currently boast an eight-game winning streak inside the facility following the weekend series.
  • ISU's six-game winning streak equals their longest of the 2023 season when the Sycamores took two from SEMO (Mar. 7-8), swept the series at Memphis (Mar. 10-12), and won in extra-innings at Illinois (Mar. 15).
  • The Indiana State pitching staff was on point throughout the weekend as the Sycamores posted a staff 1.93 ERA and a 21:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio over the three-game series.
  • The Sycamore pitchers surrendered 21 hits to the Redbirds over the series with only one going for extra bases over the weekend.
  • Cameron Holycross extended his streak without allowing an earned run to 20.2 consecutive innings dating back to the fifth inning at Miami (Fla.) back on February 22.
  • Keegan Watson extended ISU's 2023 hit-by-pitch to a Missouri Valley-leading 55 after getting plunked with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning.
 
Up Next
Indiana State begins a five-game road trip on Tuesday evening as the Sycamores make the trip to West Lafayette, Ind. and Purdue University on April 11. First pitch at Alexander Field is set for 6 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed live on B1G+ and 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.
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