TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State heads back to the road for the first time in over two weeks as the Sycamores begin a five-game road trip on Tuesday evening in Bloomington, Ind. against Indiana. First pitch at Bart Kaufman Stadium is set for 6 p.m. ET with the game to be carried live on B1G+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
The Sycamores (21-5) enter the game on a six-game winning streak following a 4-0 week that featured a midweek win over Purdue before taking all three MVC games this weekend against UIC. Indiana State took the 8-7 Tuesday night win over the Boilermakers, before improving to 5-1 in MVC play by sweeping the Flames.
 
ISU took Friday's game, 10-6, before outlasting the Flames with a walk-off in the 11th inning to secure their 12th consecutive conference series in the 9-8 Saturday afternoon win. The Sycamores secured the weekend series sweep with a 4-1 win on Sunday afternoon at Bob Warn Field.
 
Indiana State enters the Tuesday contest looking to extend their Big Ten winning streak dating back to March 28, 2023, against Purdue. ISU is 10-0 against the conference since that date with wins against Purdue (twice), Indiana (twice), Illinois (three times), Michigan State, and Iowa (twice). This season, the Sycamores are 4-0 against the Big Ten after topping Michigan State down in Port Charlotte, Fla., while defeating Illinois, Indiana, and Purdue at Bob Warn Field over the last three weeks.
 
The Big Ten winning streak was extended this past Tuesday against Purdue as the Sycamores rallied back from an early 5-1 deficit with a six-run fifth inning in taking the 8-7 victory. Connor Hicks and Grant Magill both homered during the rally, while Parker Stinson added a home run in the contest to secure the win.
 
Indiana State's six-game winning streak is their third streak of six-plus games in the 2024 season after winning seven in a row to start the year, while adding a seven-game streak from March 3-16 against Southern Miss, Florida A&M, Illinois, and Xavier.
 
The streak was extended this weekend thanks to the slugging power of Mike Sears, while Dominic Listi, Grant Magill, and Adam Pottinger had their bats come to life against the Flames. ISU hit .330 as a team led by Magill (.455), Sears (.429), Pottinger (.417), and Listi (.417)'s averages over the series, while Sears homered four times over the three-game series.
 
ISU's pitching staff combined for a 4.66 ERA over the series with nine pitchers combining to hold the UIC offense to just a .209 batting average in the sweep. The Sycamores posted a 36:13 strikeout-to-walk ratio over the three-game series against the Flames.
The Sycamores' success over the weekend raised Indiana State's team batting average to .285 from the plate paced by Listi (.379) and Hernandez (.376), while Randal Diaz (.308) is also hitting above the .300 mark for the season. Parker Stinson (.280), Pottinger (.278), Josue Urdaneta (.263), and Sears (.256) have all seen their batting averages rise following the start of Missouri Valley play.
 
Indiana State has posted four double-digit hit games over their last five contests, while ISU has connected on 12 home runs over the last five contests. Mike Sears connected on four of those 12 home runs over this past weekend against UIC to raise his season-total to a Valley-leading 12 blasts on the year.
 
Listi continued his on-base streak as the redshirt senior ran his stretch to 26 consecutive games on base over the three-game weekend against UIC. He boasts a .529 on-base percentage with 33 hits while adding an additional 16 walks and 14 hit-by-pitches to his credit. Hernandez's 24-game hitting streak came to an end on Sunday afternoon, but the first baseman drew a walk in his final at-bat to run his on-base streak to 25 consecutive games.
 
Listi and Diaz lead the Sycamores with seven doubles apiece, while Parker Stinson connected on his second triple of the year to take the team lead in the category. Sears' four home runs over the last three games included his second multi-homer game of the season, while Hernandez added his seventh blast of the year.
 
The Sycamore pitching staff continues to pace the Missouri Valley Conference and sit among the nation's elite in multiple statistical categories. ISU leads the Valley in ERA (4.28), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.55), strikeouts per nine innings (10.4), and WHIP (1.38), while also pacing the conference in total strikeouts (263) over 227.0 innings.
 
Fifteen different Sycamore pitchers have combined to see time on the mound this season with Zach Davidson (1-1, 3.13 ERA) and Simon Gregersen (0-0, 3.26 ERA) both posting double-digit appearances. Overall, the Sycamores have combined for a 263:103 strikeout-to-walk ratio, while limiting opponents to a .242 batting average on the year.
 
Scouting Indiana
Indiana enters the week with a 15-14 overall record on the season after splitting the weekend series against Butler. The Hoosiers fell in both the first and last game of the weekend series, while sweeping Saturday's doubleheader against the Bulldogs.
 
IU spent several weeks ranked in the major Division I polls after playing an early challenging schedule featuring ranked contests against Duke, Coastal Carolina, Alabama, and Dallas Baptist over the first month. The Hoosiers picked up early wins over Coastal Carolina, a weekend sweep over Baylor, and Dallas Baptist, in addition to wins over Northern Kentucky and Troy.
 
Indiana is scheduled to take on several Missouri Valley teams in the 2024 season having already competed against Illinois State, Belmont, and Indiana State. The Hoosiers have posted a 2-3 record overall against the MVC this year falling to both Illinois State and Indiana State in the midweek, while taking two of three from Belmont over the March 15-17 weekend.
 
Devin Taylor (.382) and Nick Mitchell (.341) are Indiana's top hitters in the 2024 season with Taylor pacing the Hoosiers with 42 hits, including a team-high six home runs. Tyler Cerny (.333) is second on IU with 41 hits while adding 11 doubles and tying for the team lead with 32 RBIs. Carter Mathison has added six home runs on the year.
Twenty-one different IU arms have seen time on the mound this season as the Hoosiers have posted a 7.05 ERA over 249.0 innings. Indiana has posted a 280:130 strikeout-to-walk ratio on the season while allowing opponents to hit .267 from the plate.
 
Series History
Indiana leads the all-time series 66-49-1 dating back to the inaugural contest back in 1895. The Sycamores have taken each of the last two contests against the Hoosiers with both coming in Terre Haute back last season and back on March 19. Four of the last five contests dating back to 2019 have occurred at Bob Warn Field.
 
The Sycamores' pair of wins snapped a six-game Indiana winning streak in the series dating back to the 2017 season. Indiana State's last win in Bloomington came back in the 2017 season on March 29 as ISU took the 7-3 win over the Hoosiers.
 
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