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Indiana State University Athletics

Sears
1
Ball State BSU 30-17
11
Winner Indiana State INS 33-13
Ball State BSU
30-17
1
Final
11
Indiana State INS
33-13
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Ball State BSU 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0
Indiana State INS 2 0 1 4 0 2 2 0 X 11 11 0

W: Cutts, Brennyn (2-3) L: Will Jacobson (0-1)

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

Sycamores take control early, Sears homers twice in 11-1 midweek win over Ball State

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State seized control of the game early and Mike Sears homered twice as the Sycamores took the Tuesday contest at Bob Warn Field over Ball State, 11-1.
 
The No. 11-ranked Sycamores (33-13) jumped ahead in the bottom of the first inning on Josue Urdaneta's two-out, two-run double and Indiana State never looked back. The Sycamores pounded out 11 hits and taking advantage of 10 walks and three hit-by-pitches issued from the Ball State (30-17) pitching staff in the midweek win.
 
The win extended ISU's home winning streak to 13 consecutive games dating back to mid-March. The 13-game winning streak sits behind just Kent State (14) among the active home winning streaks in the NCAA Division I through Tuesday's games.
 
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 (2-3) 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.
 
Urdaneta went 4-for-4 with a double and three runs scored, while Sears and Luis Hernandez had multi-hit games as ISU picked up their 14th consecutive home win against Ball State. The winning streak against the Cardinals in Terre Haute dates back to the 1991 season.
 
Five different Ball State players recorded hits in the game with Zach Lane's double the lone extra-base hit for BSU. The Cardinals opened the game with three consecutive singles, but the ISU pitching staff limited BSU's opportunities throughout the game allowing just Lane's fifth-inning double and Clay Jacobs' ninth-inning single the rest of the way.
 
Will Jacobson (0-1) took the loss on the mound allowing four hits and three runs while walking six and striking out two over 2.2 innings. Five relievers spent time on the mound for the Cardinals with Owen Quinn going a team-high 2.1 innings of hitless relief.
 
How They Scored
  • Decker Scheffler put Ball State on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning with an RBI groundout to short scoring Adam Tellier to give the Cardinals the 1-0 lead.
  • Indiana State loaded the bases in the bottom of the frame before Josue Urdaneta's two-out, two-run double cleared the BSU first baseman and scored Randal Diaz and Luis Hernandez to give ISU the 2-1 lead.
  • The Sycamores made it 3-1 in the bottom of the third as Urdaneta scored on Miguel Rivera's infield single.
  • Sears connected on his first home run of the day, a three-run blast over the trees in left center, and Rivera added a sacrifice fly scoring Urdaneta to give the Sycamores the 7-1 edge.
  • Grant Magill connected on a bases-loaded, two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning scoring Urdaneta and Sears to make it a 9-1 game.
  • Sears closed out the scoring with his second home run of the contest in the bottom of the seventh as the third baseman drilled an 0-1 pitch over the wall in left center scoring Hernandez to cap the 11-1 final margin.
News & Notes                                                                                                                                    
  • Indiana State ran their winning streak to nine consecutive games against Ball State dating back to April 6, 2021. The Sycamores have not lost in Terre Haute to the Cardinals since the 1991 season – a stretch of 14 consecutive home wins against BSU.
  • ISU ran their current home winning streak to 13 consecutive games following Tuesday night's win.
  • The Sycamores are also on a seven-game winning streak now dating back to April 29 against Evansville.
  • ISU is 21-1 since April 2 and 25-2 since March 25 as the Sycamores remain one of the hottest teams in the NCAA heading into the final two weeks of the regular season.
  • Mike Sears became the first Sycamore in the Mitch Hannahs coaching era to record three multi-homer games in the same season following his two blasts on Tuesday night.
  • Sears previously hit two home runs on March 26 against Valparaiso and April 2 at UIC.
  • Sears' 15 home runs put him tied for the ninth-most in a single season in ISU history according to current records on hand equaling the marks by Dane Gielser (2018) and Tyler Thompson (1998).
  • Adam Pottinger ran his on-base streak to 22 consecutive games on Tuesday evening as the junior outfielder went 1-for-5 from the plate with a single to lead off the fourth inning.
  • Josue Urdaneta posted ISU's third four-hit game of 2023 and his first of the season after going perfect from the plate on Tuesday. Urdaneta reached in all five plate appearances drawing a walk in the bottom of the sixth.
  • Urdaneta's four-hit day matched Seth Gergely (4 at UIC, April 2) and Randal Diaz (4 vs. Illinois State, April 9) for the most by a Sycamore this season.
  • Urdaneta has reached base in nine of his last 10 plate appearances dating back to May 7 against Bradley. The Sycamore second baseman is 7-for-7 with a pair of walks and a sacrifice bunt to his name over the last two games in raising his season batting average to .299.
  • Urdaneta added his second multi-steal game of 2023 with two swipes on Tuesday night. He previously had two stolen bases back on April 7 against Illinois State
  • Seth Gergely and Josue Urdaneta both extended their on-base streaks to 14 games on Tuesday evening.
  • Three more Sycamores were hit by pitches on Tuesday as Seth Gergely, Randal Diaz, and Mike Sears Miguel Rivera, were all plunked. ISU continues to lead the MVC with 86 HBPs through 46 games.
  • The Sycamore defense continued its strong play again on Tuesday night as the NCAA's leader in fielding percentage (0.985) went error-free for the ninth time in the last 11 games.
  • ISU entered the week sitting in the NCAA Division I top-10 in team ERA and the Sycamores saw that number drop to 3.89 on Tuesday night after allowing just one earned run against the Cardinals.
  • Indiana State improved to 9-1 on Tuesday games in 2023 with the win.
Up Next
Indiana State closes out the home portion of the regular season schedule this weekend as the Sycamores welcome Murray State to Bob Warn Field for a three-game Missouri Valley Conference weekend series running from May 12-14. First pitch in Friday night's opener is set for 6:30 p.m. ET. The game will be carried live on ESPN+ 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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