TERRE HAUTE, Ind. –
Miguel Rivera made his return to the diamond in epic fashion on Tuesday night as the redshirt senior first baseman launched the walk-off home run to the left of the scoreboard in right center field to secure No. 15 Indiana State's 5-4, 13-inning win over Illinois on Bob Warn Field.
Rivera led off the bottom of the 13th and capped off his first game back on the diamond after an injury suffered on April 23 against Southern Illinois by driving the 1-0 offering from Illinois (19-22) right-hander Jack Crowder (2-2) over the wall. As he rounded the bases, the Sycamore (29-13) dugout gathered around the plate waited for him to touch them all before setting off the celebration.
Rivera played a key in both of Indiana State's scoring opportunities in extra innings. The Miami, Fla. native entered the game as a pinch-hitter with two on, one out and the Sycamores trailing 4-2 in the bottom of the 10th inning. He battled through a 1-2 count before dropping a single into shallow left center and loading the bases for
Seth Gergely. The Sycamores would go on to tie the game as an Illinois throwing error on Gergely's fielder's choice brought home
Josue Urdaneta and
Parker Stinson to tie the game up at 4-4 and send the teams into the 11th.
Zach Davidson (3-1) put on one of the most dominant pitching displays all-time in a Sycamore uniform as the junior left-hander struck out eight hitters over 3.1-innings of work, including an immaculate 11th frame where he struck out Jacob Schroeder, Danny Doligale, and Cal Hejza on nine pitches.
Davidson's dominance on the mound was nearly matched by Crowder as the duo put up zeroes on the scoreboard until Rivera's walk-off blast in the bottom of the 13th.
The game was a defensive battle through regulation. ISU limited Illinois to just five hits over the first nine innings, while the Illini defense turned four double plays to limit the Sycamore chances to break the game open.
ISU's pitching staff put on a clinic on Tuesday night as the Sycamores struck out what is believed to be a school record 23 Illinois hitters in the contest.
Brennyn Cutts went the first 4.2 innings in the start and posted six strikeouts, while
Cameron Holycross (5),
Jared Spencer (4), and Davidson (8) all shined in the game.
Simon Gregersen added an appearance getting a key groundout in the 10th inning to limit the Illinois offense in the win.
Luis Hernandez,
Henry Brown, and Rivera all posted multi-hit games as ISU connected on nine hits as a team in the win. Brown added an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth inning, while
Seth Gergely and
Parker Stinson were both hit by pitches.
Ryan Moerman, Cam McDonald, and Branden Comia all homered for Illinois in the loss.
Illinois starter Julius Sanchez turned in a quality start with a 7.0-inning performance allowing seven hits and two runs while striking out four in the no-decision.
How They Scored
- Indiana State was on the board first in the bottom of the second as Luis Hernandez scored on a double play to put the Sycamores ahead of the Illini, 1-0.
- Illinois evened the game in the top of the fourth as Cam McDonald connected on a solo home run over the trees in center field to tie the game at 1-1.
- Henry Brown put Indiana State back in the lead with an RBI double to left center in the bottom of the fifth inning scoring Grant Magill from first base to put the Sycamores ahead 2-1.
- Illinois' Ryan Moerman sent the game into extra innings with a leadoff home run in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game at 2-2.
- Illinois took their first lead of the game in the top of the 10th inning as Branden Comia homered and Drake Wescott singled home Camden Janik to put the visitors ahead 4-2.
- The Sycamores responded in the bottom of the 10th to tie it back up as Josue Urdaneta and Parker Stinson both scored on an Illinois throwing error on Seth Gergely's fielder's choice to even the game at 4-4.
- Miguel Rivera secured the Indiana State win leading off the bottom of the 13th inning with a walk-off solo home run to right center to provide the final 5-4 win.
Sights, Sounds - and a Walk-Off Home Run
News & Notes
- Indiana State ran its winning streak at Bob Warn Field to 12 consecutive games as the Sycamores improved to 12-2 at home in 2023.
- The 12-game winning streak in Terre Haute is currently the NCAA Division I's longest home winning streak ahead of Kent State (11), Delaware (10), and Wake Forest (10).
- ISU's 13-inning win over Illinois ended the longest ballgame the Sycamores have played since 2016 when ISU topped Butler at home on April 1 in 14 innings with the 13-9 victory.
- Miguel Rivera's walk-off home run secured Indiana State's third walk-off win of 2023.
- The Rivera home run was ISU's first walk-off home run since Keegan Watson hit the game-winning home run in the Sycamores' 7-6 victory over Evansville in the 10th inning back on April 22, 2022.
- The Sycamores' three extra-inning walk-off wins this year have come against Illinois State (4-3 (10), April 8), Southern Illinois (6-5 (10), April 22), and tonight against Illinois.
- Indiana State improved to 4-2 in extra-inning games in 2023.
- Both of ISU's wins over Illinois this season have come in extra innings. The Sycamores topped the Illini 7-3 in 10 innings back on March 15 in Urbana-Champaign.
- According to current records on hand, the Indiana State pitching staff set a new school record with 23 strikeouts on Tuesday night. Brennyn Cutts (6), Cameron Holycross (5), Jared Spencer (4) and Zach Davidson (8) shut down the Illini in the win.
- ISU's 23 strikeouts on Tuesday night tied for the second most in the NCAA Division I this season trailing Vanderbilt's 24 strikeouts over Evansville in a 17-inning contest back on March 8.
- The Sycamores' 23 strikeouts are the most in a single game in the Missouri Valley this season and most in the MVC since Illinois State struck out 23 Murray State hitters last season on March 10, 2022.
- Zach Davidson struck out eight Illinois batters over 3.1-innings in relief surpassing the previous high by an ISU reliever this season set by Jared Spencer with seven on March 19 against Michigan State.
- Davidson's eight strikeouts in relief were the most by a Sycamore reliever since Jack Parisi struck out eight over a 5.2-inning relief stint last season on May 7, 2022, at Bradley.
- Davidson also pitched an immaculate inning on Tuesday night as the junior left-hander struck out the side in the 11th inning on nine pitches.
- Adam Pottinger ran his on-base streak to a season-best 18 consecutive games but saw his hitting streak end at 13 contests on Tuesday night. Pottinger drew a walk to lead off the bottom of the ninth to extend his streak.
- Seth Gergely and Josue Urdaneta both extended their on-base streaks to 10 games on Tuesday night.
- Gergely's 10-game streak is his third double-digit streak in 2023 and the redshirt senior has reached base safely in 40 of the 42 games played this season.
- Gergely and Parker Stinson were both hit by pitches in the contest running ISU's Missouri Valley leading total to 74 through 42 games. At least one Sycamore has been hit by a pitch in each of the last 10 games.
Up Next
Indiana State is back on the road in Missouri Valley play this weekend as the Sycamores travel to Peoria, Ill. for a three-game series with the Bradley Braves over the May 5-7 weekend. All three games are set to start at Noon ET/11 a.m. CT. The games are not scheduled to be televised, but 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
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