TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Parker Stinson doubled home Joe Kido in the bottom of the 11th inning and then slid across the plate two batters later on Dom Krupinski's fielder's choice grounder as Indiana State outlasted UIC on Saturday afternoon at Bob Warn Field, 9-8.
 
Trailing 8-7 heading into the bottom of the 11th inning after UIC (16-9, 2-3) utilized aggressive base-running to take their second lead of the game, the Sycamores (20-5, 4-1) responded with two runs in their final at-bats to secure their 12th consecutive Missouri Valley series win.
 
Schedule Update: Due to potential weather in the Wabash Valley area, Sunday's series finale between Indiana State and UIC has been moved up to a Noon ET first pitch at Bob Warn Field.
 
UIC took the lead as Jackson Bessette scored from first base on Ryan Nagelbach's single back up the middle. Aided by a full-count in the two-out situation, the UIC catcher slid home ahead of the tag at the plate to give the Flames the 8-7 lead off ISU reliever Jared Spencer (5-0).
 
The Sycamores wasted little time responding in the bottom half of the inning. Mike Sears connected on a leadoff single to left center off UIC closer Reece Lawler (1-1) to put the tying run on the base paths. After Joe Kido entered to run, Stinson worked a 1-2 count before drilling a ball into the right center gap for a standup double, one-hopping the wall and allowing Kido to score without a throw to tie the game up at 8-8.
 
Josue Urdaneta followed dropping a sacrifice bunt down the third baseline moving Stinson 90 feet away from the plate and leading to a UIC pitching change with left-hander Colin Hawkins taking the mound against Krupinski's lefty bat. Krupinski drew a 2-1 count before connecting on a soft check-swing grounder past the mound and Stinson beat the throw to the plate for the walk-off fielder's choice win.
 
UIC had a chance to win the game in the ninth inning as the Flames rallied back from a 7-6 deficit with Zane Zielinski connecting on the go-ahead two-run home run over the right center wall. The Sycamores responded in the bottom half of the inning with Grant Magill connecting on a two-out hard single back up the middle scoring Stinson to send the game into extra-innings.
 
Indiana State built the early 5-1 lead through the first five innings highlighted by Mike Sears' solo home run and strong pitching from Brennyn Cutts. Stinson (RBI single), Randal Diaz (RBI double), and Luis Hernandez (RBI single) all drove in runs early in the contest to stake the Sycamores to the early lead.
 
The Flames started their comeback in the top of the sixth inning as Ryan Nagelbach connected on a two-run home run chasing Cutts, while Kendall Ewell greeted ISU reliever Zach Davidson with a solo home run over the right field wall to cut the ISU lead down to 5-4.
 
Ewell tied the game up at 5-5 in the top of the eighth inning with an RBI double to left center off Simon Gregersen scoring Bessette. The Sycamores retook the lead in the bottom of the frame as Listi beat out a fielder's choice allowing Krupinski to score and put ISU ahead 6-5 and setting the stage for the late inning heroics from both sides.
 
Sears, Stinson, and Pottinger all finished with three-hit days for the Sycamores as Indiana State connected on 16 hits overall as a team on Saturday afternoon. Diaz and Listi both doubled among their multi-hit efforts in the win.
 
Cutts went the first 5.2 innings in taking the no-decision on Saturday afternoon. The junior right-hander allowed three hits and three runs while striking out seven batters in the outing. Gregersen went a season-long 3.1 innings striking out four, while Spencer picked up his fifth win of the season out of the bullpen.
 
Zielinski, Nagelbach, Ewell, and James Harris all homered for UIC on Saturday afternoon with all four shots clearing the right field wall on the day to highlight the Flames' 12-hit outing. Zielinski, Bessette, Nagelbach, and Ewell all finished with two hits apiece.
 
Brandon Bak took the no-decision after allowing eight hits and five runs over the first 5.0 innings. Dylan White went 2.0 innings allowing two hits and a run to help slow the ISU offense down, while Lawler went 3.1 innings allowing six hits and three runs in the late game.
 
How They Scored

• Indiana State took the 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as Parker Stinson connected on a two-out RBI single to left field scoring Dominic Listi to put ISU on top early.
• James Harris tied the game up in the top of the second inning as the Flames' first baseman connected on his second home run of the weekend, this one a solo shot over the wall in left center to even the score at 1-1.
• The Sycamores retook the lead in the bottom of the second as Randal Diaz snuck a hard grounder inside the third base bag and down the line for an RBI double scoring Adam Pottinger, while Luis Hernandez singled Diaz home to give ISU the 3-1 lead.
• Listi dropped a fly ball between three UIC defenders down the left field line for an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning scoring Grant Magill to give the Sycamores the 4-1 lead.
• Mike Sears made it a 5-1 Indiana State lead as the third baseman hammered the ball into the trees beyond the right center fence for his 10th home run of the season.
• Ryan Nagelbach and Kendall Ewell both homered for UIC in the top of the sixth inning to cut the Indiana State lead down to 5-4. Nagelbach's two-run shot brought home AJ Henkle, while Ewell put one into the wind that carried the ball into the trees by the foul pole to make it a one-run game.
• UIC tied it up in the top of the eighth inning as Ewell connected on an RBI double to the left center gap scoring Jackson Bessette from first to make it a 5-5 game.
• The Sycamores answered in the bottom of the eighth inning as ISU loaded the bases before Listi beat out a fielder's choice allowing Dom Krupinski to score putting Indiana State back ahead 6-5.
• Zane Zielinski answered for UIC in the top of the ninth with the go-ahead two-run home run scoring AJ Taylor to give the Flames the 7-6 lead.
• Grant Magill sent the game into extra innings as the Sycamores mounted a two-out rally started on singles by both Parker Stinson and Krupinski. Magill scorched a grounder back up the middle past the UIC second baseman allowing Stinson to score from second and tying the game up at 7-7.
• UIC took the lead in the top of the 11th inning as Bessette scored from first on Nagelbach's single back up the middle giving the Flames the 8-7 lead.
• Parker Stinson tied the game in the bottom of the 11th driving a double to the right center gap scoring Joe Kido from first to even the game at 8-8. The Sycamore right fielder would come around to score the game-winner on Krupinski's fielder's choice to secure the walk-off win.

News & Notes

• Dominic Listi extended his on-base streak to 25 games on Saturday afternoon after his RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning. He finished the game 2-for-6 from the plate with two RBIs and one run scored.
• Luis Hernandez extended his hitting streak to 24 consecutive games following his RBI single in the bottom of the second inning. He continues the longest hitting streak in the Mitch Hannahs coaching era dating back to the 2014 season and finished the day 1-for-5 from the plate with an RBI.
• Adam Pottinger extended his on-base streak to 16 consecutive games on Saturday afternoon following his walk in the bottom of second inning. He finished the game 3-for-4 with a run scored.
• Josue Urdaneta extended his on-base streak to 14 consecutive games on Saturday afternoon following his walk in the bottom of the first inning. He finished the game 0-for-4 with a walk and key sacrifice bunt.
• Indiana State claimed its 12th consecutive MVC series win with Saturday's victory over UIC continuing a streak dating back to the end of the 2022 season.
• The Sycamores have gone 30-4-1 in MVC action since the end of the 2022 regular season including a perfect 12-0 mark in the middle game of the series following Saturday's win.
• Mike Sears tied his season-high with three hits on Saturday afternoon as the redshirt senior third baseman equaled the mark he set back on March 19 against Indiana. It marked the sixth three-hit game of his ISU career.
• Sears' 10th home run gave him double-digit home runs for the second consecutive season making him the first Sycamore to achieve the feat since Dane Gielser hit the mark in both 2017 (17) and 2018 (15).
• Luis Hernandez was hit by a pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning continuing ISU's stretch of having at least one batter hit by a pitch in every game in the 2024 season. The Sycamores pace the Missouri Valley with 60 HBPs through the first 25 games.
• Saturday's walk-off win moved the Sycamores to 3-0 in extra-inning games and was ISU's third walk-off of the 2024 season. Indiana State won on a walk-off passed ball in the 10th inning against Michigan State in a 7-6 win over the Spartans on March 23. Grant Magill singled home the winning run in the 10th inning the following day in ISU's 5-4 win over Marshall.
• Indiana State has won its last seven extra-inning games dating back to their 10-7 win at Illinois on March 15, 2023.
• The Sycamores have won their last five MVC extra-inning games dating back to their April 22, 2022, 7-6 win over Evansville when Keegan Watson hit the 10th inning walk-off home run over the Aces at Bob Warn Field.

Up Next
Indiana State closes out the weekend series at Bob Warn Field this weekend on Sunday afternoon as the Sycamores and Flames take the field with a noon ET first pitch. The game will be carried live on 105.5 The Legend.
 
Sunday's promotion is 80's Day with fans possessing a valid ID with a birthday in 1980's able to purchase a discounted $5 general admission ticket.
 
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