TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State is back on the road this weekend as the Sycamores continue their season opening stretch that features 17 of their first 18 games on the road. ISU makes the trip to Hayden Field as ISU travels to Xavier for a three-game series over the March 15-17 weekend in Cincinnati, Ohio.
 
All three games are set to be carried on FloBaseball, a pay-per-view service, home to Big East streaming. Live stats will also be available for all three games between the two 2023 NCAA postseason participants.
 
The Sycamores (12-3) enter the weekend following their 2024 home opener as Indiana State topped Illinois on Tuesday afternoon at Bob Warn Field. ISU offense exploded for six runs in the game-deciding bottom of the seventh inning as the Sycamores held off visiting Illinois on Tuesday afternoon at Bob Warn Field with the 7-6 win.
 
The Sycamores sent 11 batters to the plate with the first six reaching base safely and scoring in the decisive frame as Indiana State rallied back against the Illinois bullpen in the contest. Grant Magill provided the first spark of the inning following Josue Urdaneta's leadoff walk with a two-run home run over the wall in centerfield to cut the Illinois lead down to 6-3.
 
Randal Diaz connected on a line drive double down the left field line against UI reliever Will Lavin. Following a wild pitch, Dominic Listi brought home Diaz with a soft single to left field cutting the deficit down to 6-4. Luis Hernandez followed with a sharp single back up the middle setting the stage for Mike Sears, and the senior third baseman delivered with his team-leading sixth home run of the season giving ISU the lead for the first time on Tuesday afternoon.
 
Zach Davidson and Simon Gregersen worked scoreless eighth and ninth innings for the Sycamore bullpen in the game to help ISU secure its third consecutive win in the series against Illinois and seventh consecutive win over the Fighting Illini at Bob Warn Field dating back to the 2006 season.
 
The Sycamores are on their second extended winning streak of the season after opening the year winning their first seven contests against Louisville, UConn, South Florida, Florida Gulf Coast, Michigan State, and Marshall (twice). After dropping three consecutive games against Vanderbilt and Southern Miss, Indiana State rallied to take the finale against USM, took all three games against Florida A&M, and the midweek against Illinois.
 
Over ISU's five-game winning streak, Luis Hernandez (.429) and Dominic Listi (.429) have both paced the Sycamore offense from the plate. Hernandez leads the team with nine hits and eight runs scored over the stretch, while Listi has added five of his six RBIs this season. Mike Sears has homered five times and driven in 13 RBIs over the stretch to power the lineup.
 
The pitching staff has equaled the team's efforts from the plate. Jacob Spencer (0.00 ERA), Kyle Cortner (0.00 ERA), Simon Gregersen (1.42 ERA), and Cameron Holycross (1.80 ERA) have all recorded sub-2.00 ERAs over the last five games with the Sycamores posting a team-ERA 3.73 over 41.0 innings. Eleven different pitchers have combined for a 49:15 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a .227 opponent batting average.
 
The winning streak has also coincided with one of Indiana State's best fielding stretches to date in the 2024 season. ISU has made one error in the field over the last five games posting a .994 mark defensively to raise the season average to .964. The Sycamores continue to settle in stride defensively after posting a .983 mark from the field in 2023 to finish as the third-best team defensive fielding percentage in the NCAA Division I.
 
Listi continues to be one of Indiana State's top offensive players on the year as the North Central grad transfer paces ISU with a .364 batting average and has reached base safely in all 15 games. Hernandez (.339) is close behind Listi and enters the weekend on a season-best 14-game hitting streak while pacing ISU with 21 hits and 14 runs. Randal Diaz (.321) has also seen his average climb over the last few games in the leadoff position in the lineup and is reaching base at a .437 clip on the year.
 
Sears has come to life at the plate over the last 10 games connecting on all six home runs and driving in a team-high 17 RBIs on the season. Parker Stinson has added four home runs and 14 runs batted in, while Adam Pottinger is the team leader with six doubles on the season.
 
Indiana State's weekend rotation was lights-out against Florida A&M this past weekend with the trio of Cameron Holycross, Luke Hayden, and Brennyn Cutts combined for a 3-0 record and 1.69 ERA over 16.0 innings. The Sycamore trio posted a 19:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio allowing the FAMU lineup to hit just .217 from the plate.
 
Hayden paces Indiana State with four starts on the weekend in the 2024 season and has posted a 2.84 ERA over 19.0 innings on the mound. He's recorded at least five strikeouts in all four starts while limiting opponents to a .267 batting average on the year. Jacob Pruitt (1-0, 1.06 ERA) remains the gold standard for the Sycamore staff in 2024 with a team-best 31 strikeouts and a .186 opponent batting average, while Cutts (2-1, 4.20 ERA) has also been among the team's leaders with four starts on the season. Cam Edmonson, Adam Berghorst, and Holycross have also drawn starts for ISU in 2024.
 
Overall, 15 different Indiana State pitchers have combined for a 4.15 ERA on the season over 128.0 innings. The Sycamores have posted a 155:49 strikeout-to-walk ratio while allowing opponents to hit .243 from the plate.
 
Scouting the Musketeers
Xavier has played a competitive schedule over the first month of the season and enters the weekend with a hard-fought 8-9 record featuring wins over Louisville, Lipscomb, Cincinnati, Florida Gulf Coast, Louisiana Tech, and LSU. The Musketeers have also lined up against Clemson and Wright State this season continuing a tough start to the schedule that still includes contests against Tennessee, UConn, Kentucky, Creighton, and Oklahoma.
 
The Musketeers were selected second overall in the Big East Baseball Preseason poll finishing with 44 points and two first-place votes finishing behind favorite UConn (48 points, six first-place). Xavier placed four players on the preseason All-Conference team including starting pitcher Luke Hoskins, first baseman Matt McCormick, second baseman Jared Cushing, and third baseman Grant Stephenson.
 
Xavier is coming off a 39-25 campaign in the 2023 season that featured the Musketeers winning the Big East Baseball Tournament and advancing the NCAA Nashville Regional championship game before falling to Oregon.
 
Isaac Wachsmann leads the Xavier offense on the season hitting at a .400 clip with 16 hits including four home runs and eight RBIs. McCormick is hitting .313 with four home runs and a team-high 15 RBIs, while Matthew DePrey is the team leader with seven doubles among his 18 hits on the year.
 
The Xavier pitching staff has posted a 6.19 team ERA over the first 17 games of the 2024 season. Sixteen different pitchers have combined to throw 144.0 innings with a 132:91 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Opponents are hitting .292 from the plate against the XU staff.
 
Series History
Indiana State and Xavier have lined up 26 times dating back to the 1985 season with the Sycamores winning 20 contests over the span. ISU has posted a 15-2 mark all-time in Terre Haute, while holding the 5-4 edge against the Musketeers in Cincinnati, Ohio.
 
The teams have lined up against each other once in the Mitch Hannahs and Billy O'Conner coaching eras with Xavier making the trip to Terre Haute back in 2018 for a three-game series. Indiana State won both games of Friday's doubleheader on March 23, taking 6-4 and 4-3 victories, on their way to snapping a two-game losing streak against Xavier over the stretch.
 
Against the Big East
Indiana State is 1-0 against the Big East in the 2024 season after topping preseason favorite UConn, 2-1, on the second day of the season down in Tampa, Fla., at the USF Baseball Stadium.
 
Jacob Pruitt struck out a career-high nine batters over 6.0 innings of work and Dom Listi scored twice as Indiana State topped the Huskies on a gray and rainy day in Tampa. Pruitt was the linchpin on the mound for the Sycamores surrendering just four hits and two walks in a career-outing on the rubber before turning the ball over to the ISU bullpen.
 
The Sycamores struck early in the bottom of the second with Listi connecting on a double to right center, advancing on a wild pitch, and then scoring on Grant Magill's RBI groundout to give ISU the early 1-0 lead. Listi crossed the plate for the second time for ISU in the bottom of the seventh as Henry Brown connected on a two-out RBI double to left center giving the Sycamores the 2-0 advantage.
 
Follow the Sycamores
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