TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State baseball continues its opening stretch down in Florida this weekend as the Sycamores compete in the Snowbird Baseball Classic taking on both Michigan State (Friday) and Marshall (Saturday & Sunday) over the weekend. All three games held at Centennial Field are scheduled to be streamed live via FloBaseball, while live stats will be provided on both Friday and Saturday.
 
The Sycamores (4-0) continue one of the best stretches to open the season in recent history as Indiana State picked up wins over Louisville, UConn, South Florida, and Florida Gulf Coast in their best start since the 2019 season. The 2019 ISU team won their first seven games on the year on their way to a 43-18 mark and NCAA Regional appearance.
 
Indiana State has gotten it done on both the mound and at the plate through the early part of the season with strong starting pitching, as well as 11 combined RBIs from both Henry Brown and Luis Hernandez. The Sycamore starting rotation of Cam Edmonson, Jacob Pruitt, Luke Hayden, and Brennyn Cutts have combined for a 0.50 ERA over 18.0 innings on the mound surrendering just one earned run while adding a combined 20:4 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
 
In Wednesday evening's game against Florida Gulf Coast, Hernandez recorded his second consecutive three RBI game after previously driving in three runs in the Sycamores' 5-0 win over South Florida on Monday afternoon. The junior designated hitter connected on a sacrifice fly scoring Randal Diaz in the third inning and added a two-run double in the top of the fourth scoring Dominic Listi and Josue Urdaneta to provide the ISU pitching staff all the support they would need on the afternoon.
 
Cole Gilley (1-0) picked up his first win of the 2024 season with 1.1 innings in relief of starter Brennyn Cutts. Gilley struck out two and pitched the Sycamores out of trouble in the fifth inning before handing the ball to Adam Berghorst in the sixth. Berghorst would go the next 2.2 innings in hitless relief, while Zach Davidson (S, 1) recorded his first save of the season striking out two batters in a scoreless ninth frame.
 
Adam Pottinger and Randal Diaz both added RBIs against FGCU, while seven different Sycamores recorded hits in the game with Listi, Hernandez, and Pottinger all doubling in the win.
 
The Sycamores early leaders at the plate include Diaz (.400) and Listi (.364), while Parker Stinson (.333) and Brown (.308) have both homered for ISU on the year. Hernandez is the team leader with six RBIs, while Brown drove in five runs over the first two games in clutch situations against Louisville and UConn.
 
Indiana State has utilized 11 pitchers to date in the 2024 season with Hayden and Pruitt the team leaders on the mound. Pruitt earned MVC Pitcher of the Week recognition following hit 6.0-inning, nine-strikeout game against UConn, while Hayden twirled six scoreless innings while striking out five against South Florida. Four different Sycamores have all posted saves on the year with Jared Spencer, Zach Davidson, Adam Berghorst, and Cameron Holycross all closing out games in 2024.
 
Scouting Michigan State
Michigan State has posted a 1-3 record to date in the 2024 season after opening the year in Charleston, S.C. at Shipyard Park. The Spartans topped Merrimack in the season opener, before falling to Seton Hall, Lehigh, and Ball State.
 
The Spartans will take on Indiana State and Marshall on Friday, before closing out the weekend on Saturday afternoon against the Thundering Herd. Michigan State's 2024 schedule also features games against MVC opponent Evansville (Mar. 15-17) as a part of the non-conference slate.
 
Nick Williams is the team's hitting leader at the plate with a .400 batting average to pace a MSU lineup that is hitting .241 as a team on the year. Five different Spartans have homered, while Jacob Anderson is the team leader with three RBIs.
 
Michigan State has utilized 12 different pitchers on the season with a team ERA of 4.37 over the first four games. Five different pitchers have gone at least four innings on the season including all four starters on the mound, while the MSU staff has posted a 46:12 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
 
Michigan State swept both games against Indiana State last season in Terre Haute as the Spartans took both games in the March 19 doubleheader against the Sycamores by scores of 8-2 and 10-7.
 
Scouting Marshall
Marshall enters the weekend with an 0-4 record to date in 2024 after dropping a four-game set at College of Charleston to open the year. The Thundering Herd are scheduled to play both Michigan State and Indiana State twice each in Port Charlotte this weekend.
 
Caden Kaiser (.333), Gio Ferraro (.333), and Owen Ayers (.308) all are hitting above .300 for Marshall on the year to highlight an offense that is hitting .200 from the plate on the season. Calin Smith and Jack Firestone both have homered on the year, while Ferraro leads the team with two doubles.
 
Eleven different Marshall pitchers have lined up on the mound on the year with a combined team ERA of 8.25 over 24.0 innings. The Thundering Herd have posted a 17:24 strikeout-to-walk ratio and are allowing teams to hit .317 from the plate.
 
Indiana State last played Marshall on the opening weekend of the 2022 season at the Snowbird Baseball Classic. The Sycamores topped the Herd, 9-7, in the matchup.
 
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.