TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – It was bedlam at Bob Warn Field again on Saturday night as Indiana State put together a five-run rally in the bottom of the eighth inning to top Iowa, 7-4, in the Terre Haute Regional winner's bracket game.
 
The Sycamores (44-15) rally started after Iowa (43-15) turned to the bullpen with a 4-2 lead as Jared Simpson (4-4) took the mound against the top of the Indiana State lineup. The No. 14-seed Sycamores in the NCAA Tournament started to get the sold-out crowd at The Bob stirring as Randal Diaz was hit by a pitch to open the frame.
 
Following a strikeout, Luis Hernandez legged out an infield single giving ISU two runners on base with the heart of the Sycamore lineup due up. Adam Pottinger, who had already homered earlier in the game, connected on a bloop single just out of the reach of the Iowa shortstop loading the bases and bringing up Mike Sears.
 
Sears worked a full count before drawing the bases loaded walk scoring Diaz and pulling Indiana State back within 4-3. The Hawkeyes went back to the bullpen with Luke Llewellyn entering the contest and retiring Parker Stinson on strikes to set the stage for Miguel Rivera.
 
The Sycamore first baseman continued his stretch of clutch hitting throughout the 2023 season as Rivera connected on a 1-1 pitch from the Iowa reliever and drove the ball off the bottom of the wall in right field bringing home Hernandez and Pottinger to give ISU the 5-4 lead. Grant Magill followed three pitches later with a double to right center scoring Sears and Rivera to give Indiana State the 7-4 lead.
 
ISU turned to closer Jared Spencer (S, 7) in the top of the ninth and Iowa made it interesting as Brayden Frazier drove a pitch deep to left center. However, Pottinger proved up to the task going up and over the wall to rob the potential home run for the first out of the frame. Six pitches later, Spencer got Iowa's Cade Moss to ground into the game-ending double play to secure the win and send the Sycamores into a potential championship game on Sunday night.
 
Connor Fenlong (11-2) went eight strong innings on the mound as the redshirt senior pitched a masterful game on the mound against the Hawkeye lineup. He allowed seven hits and four runs while tying his season and career-high with eight strikeouts against Iowa.
 
Pottinger had two of Indiana State's six hits on the night including a solo home run in the second inning to power the Sycamore lineup. Luis Hernandez and Grant Magill both added stolen bases in the win.
 
Brody Brecht went 7.0 innings for Iowa in taking the no-decision on the mound. The Iowa right-hander allowed two hits and two runs while walking four and striking out eight. Simpson took the loss after allowing four ISU runs, while Llewellyn went the final 0.2 innings to close out the game.

Raider Tello had three of Iowa's seven hits in the game and scored a pair of runs to highlight the Hawkeye offense.
 
How They Scored

• Iowa scored early in the top of the first inning as the Raider Tello connected on an RBI single to right center bringing home Sam Petersen to give the Hawkeyes the 1-0 lead.
• The Sycamores evened the score in the bottom of the second as Adam Pottinger connected on a leadoff solo home run over the right field wall to knot the game up at 1-1.
• Indiana State took the 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third inning as Randal Diaz connected on an RBI sacrifice fly to center field bringing home Grant Magill to give the Sycamores the one-run advantage.
• Iowa evened the game up in the top of the fourth as Michael Seegers connected on an RBI base hit up the middle to tie the game at 2-2.
• The Hawkeyes took the 4-2 lead in the top of the sixth inning following Sam Hojnar's RBI double and Kyle Huckstorf's RBI sacrifice fly giving Iowa its largest lead of the night.
• The Sycamores mounted a five-run rally in the bottom of the eighth inning parked by a Luis Hernandez infield single and capped by back-to-back two-run doubles from both Miguel Rivera and Grant Magill to give ISU the final 7-4 margin.

News & Notes                                                                                                                                    

• Indiana State improved to 44-15 overall on the season with the win over Iowa.
• ISU also improves to 2-1 all-time against the Hawkeyes with the win and avenged an early season loss to Iowa down in Port Charlotte, Fla. at the start of the 2023 season.
• Saturday's win marked just the second time in Indiana State history the Sycamores won their first two NCAA Regional games. The only other time came back in 1986 when the Sycamores topped Michigan and Central Michigan in the Mideast Regional on their way to advancing in the postseason.
• The Sycamores' 44 wins sets a new high in the Mitch Hannahs coaching era surpassing the previous mark of 43 set back in the 2019 season.
• Adam Pottinger ran his on-base streak to 35 consecutive games continuing the longest on-base streak in the Mitch Hannahs era. Pottinger went 2-for-4 on the day with a solo home run and single while scoring twice in Saturday's win.
• Pottinger homered in back-to-back games for the first time in the 2023 season and moved into second on the team roster with 11 on the year trailing just Mike Sears (19).
• Connor Fenlong continued an impressive streak of his own on Saturday as the redshirt senior picked up his ninth win over his last 11 starts on the mound. The Gouverneur, N.Y. native has not lost a game since March 19 and has gone at least seven innings in seven of his last eight starts.
• Fenlong's streak without surrendering an earned run was snapped at 30.1 innings on Saturday afternoon as the redshirt senior gave up four runs in Saturday's contest.
• Zach Davidson continues a spectacular run on the mound as the junior left-hander has not allowed a run dating back to March 31 against UIC. The span covers 10 appearances and 21.1 innings. During the streak, Davidson has posted a 37:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
• Jared Spencer closed out the game for his seventh save of the season making it back-to-back nights for the sophomore left-hander.

Postgame Press Conference


Up Next
Indiana State will play the winner of No. 2 Iowa/No. 3 North Carolina on Sunday evening with first pitch set for 6 p.m. ET. The game will be carried live on 105.5 The Legend. Television designations have not been determined.
 
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