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Indiana State University Athletics

Sears
2
Murray State MUR 27-25, 12-12 MVC
6
Winner Indiana State INS 35-14, 21-3 MVC
Murray State MUR
27-25, 12-12 MVC
2
Final
6
Indiana State INS
35-14, 21-3 MVC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Murray State MUR 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 8 1
Indiana State INS 0 1 0 4 0 1 0 0 X 6 5 0

W: Edmonson, Cam (2-0) L: Valero, Bryce (4-2)

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

Sycamores take series win over Murray State on Senior Day; ISU clinches share of 2023 MVC Baseball regular season title

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Mike Sears homered and drove in four RBIs as Indiana State clinched the series win over Murray State on Mother's Day as the Sycamores topped the visiting Racers, 6-2, at Bob Warn Field.
 
With ISU's win over Murray State (27-25, 12-12 MVC) and Missouri State's loss at Southern Illinois on Sunday afternoon, the Sycamores (35-14, 21-3 MVC) have clinched at least a share of the Missouri Valley Baseball regular season title. The Sycamores (21-3) hold a three-game edge over Missouri State (18-6) with the two teams set to face off in Springfield, Mo. over the final week of the regular season.
 
Indiana State recognized their 2023 Senior Class in a pregame ceremony on the field. ISU honored Seth Gergely, Miguel Rivera, Keegan Watson, Connor Fenlong, and Lane Miller prior to first pitch. In recognition of Mother's Day, the moms of the 2023 seniors also threw out the honorary first pitch prior to the game.
 
Fittingly, the Sycamore seniors drove in the first two runs of the game as Rivera singled home Adam Pottinger in the bottom of the second, while Keegan Watson brought home Luis Hernandez with a double to left field in the bottom of the fourth to put ISU ahead 2-0.
 
Mike Sears took control at the plate the rest of the way launching his 16th home run of the season with a three-run shot in the bottom of the fourth to give ISU the 5-0 lead. He added an RBI fielder's choice in the bottom of the sixth to provide the final margin to complete his sixth game in 2023 with three or more RBI.
 
Miller went the first 4.0 innings in the contest earning the no-decision as the redshirt senior allowed three hits and two runs while striking out one before turning the game over to the bullpen.
 
Cam Edmonson (2-0) shined in relief to pick up his second win in as many appearances after scattering three hits while striking out four in a 3.0-inning stint. Zach Davidson went the final two innings allowing two hits while striking out four to close out the contest.
 
Pottinger and Watson both doubled as the Sycamores connected on three extra-base hits in the win. Pottinger was also hit by a pitch in the game running his Valley-leading total to 17 HBPs on the year.
 
Bryce Valero (4-2) took the loss allowing five hits and five runs (one earned), while striking out six over 4.0 innings. Ben Krizen and Allen Roulette went the rest of the way to close out the game.
 
Taylor Howell put Murray State on the board with a two-run home run in the top of the fifth inning to highlight the Racer offense. Dustin Mercer and Carson Garner both doubled in the loss.
 
How They Scored
  • Adam Pottinger sparked the ISU offense with a leadoff double in the bottom of the second inning and came around to score on Miguel Rivera's two-out single to give the Sycamores the 1-0 lead.
  • ISU took advantage of a Murray State error in the bottom of the fourth to plate four runs in the game and break the contest open. Keegan Watson connected on an RBI double in the inning and Mike Sears launched a three-run home run to give the Sycamores the 5-0 edge.
  • Murray State responded with Taylor Howell's two-run home run in the top of the fifth inning to cut the lead to 5-2.
  • The Sycamores loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth inning with Randal Diaz coming around to score on Sears' fielder's choice to provide the final 6-2 margin.
News & Notes                                                                                                                                    
  • Indiana State secured a share of their first MVC regular season title since the 2012 season following ISU's win and Missouri State's loss on Sunday.
  • The Sycamores hold the three-game edge over the Bears with three regular season games to play as the teams will face off next weekend in Springfield, Mo. at Hammons Field.
  • Indiana State's 21 wins in Missouri Valley play are the second-most in ISU history trailing only the 1998 squad that posted a 23-9 record.
  • The Sycamores ran their MVC series winning streak to nine consecutive weekends dating back to the end of the 2022 season. ISU has won every conference weekend in the 2023 season including rallying back to take the final two games at UIC, at Evansville, and against Murray State.
  • Indiana State closes out the home portion of the 2023 season with a 15-3 mark at Bob Warn Field.
  • The Sycamores' 15 wins at Bob Warn are the most since the 2019 season when ISU went 15-2 in Terre Haute.
  • Mike Sears' 16th home run in 2023 put him tied for fifth all-time in the ISU single season record according to the current record book on hand. He's the first player to hit at least 16 in a single season since Max Wright (2021).
  • Adam Pottinger ran his on-base streak to 25 consecutive games on Saturday afternoon as the junior outfielder went 1-for-2 from the plate. His on-base streak isISU's second longest of the 2023 season trailing just Luis Hernandez's 26-game stretch from February 26-April 16.
  • Seth Gergely and Josue Urdaneta both saw their 16-game on-base streaks come to an end on Sunday afternoon.
  • Pottinger was hit by another pitch on Sunday afternoon giving the Sycamores an MVC-high 94 through 49 games this year. He remains the MVC leader with 17 HBPs in 2023.
  • Indiana State has had at least one player hit by a pitch in each of the last 17 games dating back to April 15 at Belmont. Four ISU players have been hit by at least 10 pitches this season including Pottinger (17), Gergely (14), Diaz (11), and Sears (10).
  • The Sycamore defense continued its strong play again on Sunday afternoon as the NCAA's leader in fielding percentage (0.985) posted another clean sheet.
Up Next
After Missouri announced Tuesday's midweek game was canceled, Indiana State will now focus on the final weekend series of 2023 as the Sycamores make the trip to Springfield, Mo. over May 18-20 to take on the Missouri State Bears at Hammons Field. The three-game series will run Thursday-Saturday at Hammons Field. Opening pitch of the series on Thursday night is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
 
Thursday and Friday's games are scheduled to be on ESPN3. All three games will be streamed live on 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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