TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State closes out the home portion of the 2023 season this weekend as the No. 11-ranked Sycamores welcome Murray State for a three-game weekend series at Bob Warn Field over May 12-14.
 
The weekend series is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. ET on Friday night, while Saturday afternoon's contest is set for 2 p.m. Sunday's finale and Senior Day ceremony is set for a 1 p.m. start time. All three games will be streamed live on the ESPN networks and carried live on 105.5 The Legend. Live stats will also be provided on GoSycamores.com.
 
Weekend Highlights: Indiana State will recognize their 2023 Senior Class in a pregame ceremony on Sunday afternoon prior to first pitch. The five ISU seniors that will be recognized are Seth Gergely, Keegan Watson, Miguel Rivera, Connor Fenlong, and Lane Miller.
 
The Sycamores continue to sit as one of the hottest teams in the nation as winners of 21 of their last 22 games following Tuesday night's 11-1 win over Ball State. ISU boasts one of the nation's longest home current winning streaks at 13 consecutive games dating back to March 25 against Valparaiso.
 
ISU jumped ahead in the bottom of the first inning on Josue Urdaneta's two-out, two-run double and Indiana State never looked back. Urdaneta went 4-for-4 with a double and three runs scored as the Sycamores pounded out 11 hits and took advantage of 10 walks and three hit-by-pitches issued from the Ball State pitching staff in the midweek win.
 
Sears picked up his third multi-homer game of 2023 with a three-run shot in the bottom of the fourth inning and a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh on his way to powering the Sycamore offense. The redshirt junior's two-homer day gave him a team-high 15 on the season and made him the first ISU player in the Mitch Hannahs coaching era to post three multi-homer games in the same season.
 
Brennyn Cutts was the recipient of the win as the sophomore right-hander went 5.0 innings allowing four hits and a run while walking two and striking out five. Reigning MVC Pitcher of the Week Zach Davidson struck out six batters and didn't allow a runner over 3.0 innings on the mound, while Jacob Pruitt pitched around a single to retire the Cardinals in the ninth.
 
The Sycamores remain in the national postseason conversation heading into the middle of May. ISU continues to be named as a potential regional host by both D1Baseball and Baseball America. ISU is sitting among the top 25 in four major polls for the first time in the 2023 season following Monday's announcements. ISU clocked in at No. 11 in Collegiate Baseball, No. 19 on Perfect Game, No. 25 in USA Today, and No. 30 in the NCBWA poll. ISU continues to receive votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll and the NCBWA poll.
 
ISU also boasts one of the nation's top RPI sitting in the top-10 for the third consecutive week as the Sycamores clocked in at No. 7 according to WarrenNolan.com and the NCAA following Tuesday's games. The Sycamores have been in the top-35 in the rankings over the last two months and remains the MVC leader in RPI. Missouri State (72) and Evansville (76) are also among the top-100 in the rankings heading into the weekend.
 
Key to ISU's high RPI mark has been the strength of schedule for the Sycamores. ISU remains second in the NCAA in the non-conference strength of schedule behind Liberty. Coastal Carolina (3), Charlotte, and Florida State (5) round out the top-five in non-conference strength of schedule.
 
ISU has played or is scheduled to play against top-50 RPI opponents in Kentucky (1), Vanderbilt (6), Miami (16), Northeastern (31), Indiana (33), and Iowa (40). Additional top-100 schools on the schedule include Florida Gulf Coast (56), Michigan State (80), Illinois (88).
 
The Sycamores are 13-2 at Bob Warn Field in 2023. ISU's lone home losses came back on March 19 in the Sycamores' home opening weekend against Michigan State. ISU fell in both games of the doubleheader against the Spartans. Since then, the Sycamores have swept home weekend series against Valparaiso, Illinois State, and Southern Illinois, while adding midweek home non-conference wins against Indiana, Purdue, Illinois, and Ball State.
 
ISU enters the conference weekend sitting atop the MVC standings with a 19-2 mark overall in Missouri Valley play. ISU has won their first seven conference series in 2023 marking the best start in school history. The Sycamores enter the weekend with a three-game lead over Missouri State (16-5) with two series to play in the regular season.
 
The Sycamores boast a perfect 9-0 mark at home in conference play and a 10-2 record on the road. The Sycamores have been perfect at home with sweeps over Valparaiso, Illinois State, and Southern Illinois. Both of the Sycamores' MVC losses have come on the road at UIC (Mar. 31) and Evansville (Apr. 28).
 
The Sycamore hitters continue to sit among the MVC leaders in multiple offensive categories in conference games. ISU is second overall in team batting average (.297) and slugging percentage (.482) while leading the MVC in hits (218) and hit by pitch (24). ISU is also second in doubles (43) and home runs (31) in conference games.
 
On the mound, ISU's pitching staff paces the Missouri Valley sitting tops in ERA (2.50), opposing batting average (.216), saves (5), pickoffs (5), hits allowed (147), and walks allowed (45). Individually, the entire weekend rotation for ISU sits on the leaderboard in nearly every statistical category.
 
Lane Miller is the conference leader in ERA (2.29) and is third in opponent batting average (.206). Connor Fenlong is the conference leader in innings pitched (51.2) and wins (6). Matt Jachec leads the Valley in strikeouts (50) and is second in innings (48.2).
 
Overall on the season, Seth Gergely remains ISU's top hitter. The redshirt senior entering the week hitting a team-best .216 from the plate and is currently on his third double-digit on-base streak of the 2023 season having reached safely in 44 of the 46 games this season. He is second on the Sycamores in hits (54) while leading ISU in runs (34) and walks (24).
 
Josue Urdaneta (.299) has been on a recent hot streak as of late with multi-hit games in three of his last four contests including a four-hit contest against Ball State. The redshirt junior leads the Sycamores with 18 multi-hit games in 2023. Adam Pottinger (.295) and Luis Hernandez (.294) are also among the team's hitting leaders this year. Mike Sears is the team's power threat with 15 home runs including a trio of two-homer games this year.
 
Sixteen different Indiana State pitchers have seen time on the mound this year with the Sycamores boasting a team 3.89 ERA and a 402:151 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Connor Fenlong became the first Sycamore to seven wins on the mound, while Lane Miller and Matt Jachec both have five in 2023. Cameron Holycross (1.26 ERA) continues to be a name to watch out of the bullpen on the year while Jachec (78 strikeouts) is the Valley leaders in strikeouts.
 
The Sycamores boast the nation's top defense in the NCAA with a .985 fielding percentage in 2023. Two players boast perfect 1.000 percentages with at least 75 chances, while four more players are fielding at a .988 clip or better on the year.
 
Scouting the Opposition
Murray State Races
Murray State enters the weekend with a 26-23 overall record with an 11-10 mark in Missouri Valley play. The Racers have won four of their last six contests including winning the series at Belmont over the final weekend of April. MSU took the middle game of the series at Missouri State over the last weekend to sit tied for fourth in the MVC with two weekends to play.
 
Dustin Mercer leads the Murray State offense with a .340 batting average with team-highs in hits (70), runs (54), doubles (11), and home runs (10). Taylor Howell is also among the team's power threats on the year with 10 home runs, while Brennan McCullough has posted 42 RBI and 14 stolen bases.
 
Sixteen different Murray State pitchers have combined for a 4.86 ERA in the 2023 season. Jacob Pennington, Cade Vernon, and Bryce Valero have been the team's weekend rotation throughout the year. Valero is the team leader with a 3.81 ERA and 4-1 mark, while Pennington (5-4, 4.44 ERA) and Vernon (4-5, 5.37 ERA) are also among the team leaders. Murray State's staff has posted a 401:192 strikeout-to-walk ratio and are allowing opponents to hit .264 from the plate.
 
The Racers were selected ninth overall in the 2023 MVC preseason poll. Murray State received 23 points overall as voted on by the coaches. The Racers posted a 30-25 record last year in the OVC and returned six starting position players to the team. Pennington was a 2022 finalist for the John Olerud National Two-Way Player of the Year.
 
Both Indiana State and Murray State have lined up against two common opponents in 2023. Murray State has faced off against Kentucky (0-1) and SEMO (2-0) this year in non-conference action.
 
Indiana State – Murray State History
Indiana State leads the all-time series between the two teams with an 11-2 mark all-time against the Racers dating back to the inaugural contest between the programs back in 1992. Murray State won the first contest, 7-4, in a neutral site contest at the Billiken Classic in St. Louis, Mo. on March 15, 1992.
 
The Sycamores have gone 5-1 at home in Terre Haute including sweeping the series between the programs back over April 24-25, 1999. ISU won the first and third contest against the Racers in the last home stand on March 17-19, 2006. ISU is 6-0 all-time in Murray, Ky.
 
The Sycamores and Racers have not lined up against each other since the 2007 season when ISU swept all three games in Murray, 20-2, 5-1, and 12-4.

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