TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State continues its seven-game road trip this weekend with a three-game Missouri Valley series at Southern Illinois as the Sycamores make the trek to Carbondale and Itchy Jones Stadium over April 26-28.
 
Game times for the weekend start include 7 p.m. ET first pitches on each of the three game dates. Friday and Saturday's contests will be carried live on ESPN+, while Sunday's series finale will be featured on ESPNU. All three contests will also be carried live on 105.5 The Legend.
 
The Sycamores (29-8, 12-3) head into the weekend series looking to keep a 15-series conference winning streak alive dating back to the 2022 season. The last time Indiana State lost a Valley series came in Carbondale back over May 13-15, 2022, when the Salukis swept all three games in the series. Since then, the Sycamores have posted a 38-6-1 overall record in Valley competition including a 12-3 mark in the 2024 season to hold a two-game lead in the conference standings through the first five weekends.
 
Indiana State has built the two-game lead in the Valley after taking two of three games this past weekend in Normal, Ill. against Illinois State. The Sycamores bounced back from a 4-3 defeat on Friday night to win by scores of 10-1 and 11-1 (7) to secure the series against the Redbirds. Indiana State leads Evansville (10-5) and UIC (9-6) heading into the weekend, while SIU (8-7) and Illinois State (8-7) are also in the top five in the conference standings.
 
The Redbirds took the series opener against the Sycamores utilizing a late rally to secure the 4-3 win at Duffy Bass Field. ISU took the lead early thanks to a trio of solo home runs in the top of the fourth inning as Dominic Listi, Parker Stinson, and Mike Sears all went deep. Illinois State rallied back with Daniel Pacella providing the walk-off solo homer in the bottom of the ninth.
 
The Sycamores responded early to even the series with a 10-1 win on Saturday afternoon as Parker Stinson and Randal Diaz both homered to pace a 10-hit Indiana State offensive attack, while Grant Magill drove in three runs as the Sycamores kept the Redbirds off-balance throughout the contest. Brennyn Cutts was masterful for Indiana State as the junior turned in his third consecutive quality start posting a 7.0-inning, two-hit, six-strikeout game on the mound.
 
Magill and Diaz both homered again on Sunday to pace the Indiana State offense on Sunday afternoon, while Luke Hayden recorded his first complete-game on the mound in the 11-1 run-rule win over the Redbirds. The Sycamores scored five runs in the fifth inning to take control of the game, while Hayden allowed just one runner in scoring position after the third inning and struck out a career-high 11 batters to secure his fifth win of the season.
 
The Sycamores hit .274 as a team over the series against the Redbirds paced by Magill (.417), Stinson (.375), Listi (.333), and Hernandez (.308) highlighting an offense that outscored Illinois State 24-6 over the three-game series. Diaz added a pair of home runs as the Sycamores connected on 26 hits and 12 extra-base hits, including seven home runs.
 
The ISU pitching staff was also on point throughout the weekend thanks to Hayden and Cutts as the unit recorded a 1.85 ERA over 24.1 innings. ISU posted 32 strikeouts in the three games while limiting Illinois State to a .214 batting average over the series.
 
Indiana State was ranked in five different NCAA Division I polls for the first time in the 2024 season this week as the Sycamores made their debut in both the D1Baseball (No. 25) and Baseball America (No. 24) polls as announced by the organizations on Monday. ISU remained in the Perfect Game (No. 14), NCBWA (No. 22) and USA Today (No. 25) polls marking the first time the Sycamores were ranked in the top 25 in all five polls since May 29, 2023.
 
The Sycamores also remained inside the top-10 in the NCAA Rating Percentage Index (RPI) standings sitting at No. 10 overall boasting the No. 29 non-conference strength of schedule and No. 65 overall strength of schedule through 37 games. The Sycamores boast an 18-7 record in road or neutral site games with their 18 wins away from Terre Haute tying with Northeastern (18-8) for the most in the NCAA Division I through April 22.
 
Indiana State's pitching staff added to its season accolades this weekend with Hayden claiming the Missouri Valley Pitcher of the Week, while Simon Gregersen was named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association's (NCBWA) Midseason Stopper of the Year Watch List.
 
Hayden became the fourth pitcher on the ISU staff to claim the conference's weekly recognition joining Jacob Pruitt (Feb. 19), Brennyn Cutts (Mar. 11 & Apr. 15), and Cam Edmonson (Mar. 25) to receive the award presented by the conference office. Gregersen was one of three pitchers in the Missouri Valley to be named to the NCBWA Watch List.
 
Dominic Listi continues to find a way to get on base this season and leads the Indiana State offense with a .373 batting average and a .532 on-base percentage of the year. The redshirt senior is tied for the ISU lead with 11 doubles on the season while sitting second on the team with 26 walks, while leading the Valley with 19 hit-by-pitches.
 
Luis Hernandez (.357) and Randal Diaz (.327) are also hitting above .300 on the season to pace a Sycamore offense that is one of the best in the Valley this year. Hernandez paces ISU with 56 hits and 35 runs scored, while leading the conference with 48 RBIs. Diaz is tied for the team lead with 11 doubles among his 51 hits and homered in the final two games of the series against Illinois State.
 
Mike Sears (15), Hernandez (11), and Parker Stinson (11) all have connected on double-digit home runs in the 2024 season to lead a Sycamore offense that has hit 60 through the first 37 games. Diaz (9) sits one home run away from giving Indiana State four players in double-digits for the first time since the 1987 season.
 
Sixteen different Indiana State pitchers have combined to post a Valley-best 4.09 team ERA over 321.1 innings in the 2024 season. Jared Spencer (5-0, 3.34 ERA), Cutts (5-1, 2.39 ERA), and Hayden (5-1, 2.84 ERA) have comprised the weekend rotation over the last two weeks, while Cameron Edmonson (5-1, 4.11 ERA), Zach Davidson (1-1, 4.13 ERA), and Simon Gregersen (0-0, 3.20 ERA) have been among the top options out of the bullpen this year. Jacob Pruitt (1-0, 1.40 ERA) is also lurking out of the pen with 35 strikeouts over 19.1 innings on the year.
 
The Sycamores have combined to post a 384:159 strikeout-to-walk ratio on the season paced by Hayden (59) and Cutts (54). Jared Spencer (44) is also among the strikeout leaders as Indiana State's staff features 10 different pitchers with 20-plus strikeouts on the season, while allowing opponents to hit just .235 from the plate on the season.
 
Scouting Southern Illinois
Southern Illinois has posted a 24–17 overall record heading into the weekend with an 8-7 overall record in Missouri Valley Conference play. The Salukis picked up a conference sweep this past weekend in Nashville, Tenn. taking all three games against Belmont, before falling in their midweek contest on Tuesday at SEMO.
 
The Salukis went back above .500 in conference play with the key series win against the Bruins winning by scores of 7-6, 7-3, and 11-1, at E.S. Rose Park. SIU scored a pair of runs in the ninth inning in the opener on Trey Cutchen's two-run single to take the win. Ben Riffe went 5.0 innings in the second game in a strong start to highlight the 7-3 series clincher, while Aidan Foeller was aided by a five-run third inning on their way to the 11-1 finale win.
 
The Salukis currently sit tied with Illinois State for fourth in the MVC standings with an 8-7 record on the year. SIU has posted series sweeps over Valparaiso and Belmont, while falling in series to UIC, Murray State, and Evansville. The Salukis still have series at Illinois State (May 3-5), home against Bradley (May 10-12), and at Missouri State (Mary 16-18) in conference play.
 
Southern Illinois was selected fifth overall in the MVC preseason poll receiving 63 total points after a 2023 season that featured a 30-27 record, 15-12 in conference play to finish tied for third overall in the conference standings. SIU's Jake Combs was named to the MVC Preseason All-Conference team.
 
The Salukis enter the weekend series hitting .285 as a team from the plate while leading the Valley in hits (412) and sitting second in doubles (85) and RBIs (286). SIU is a team that will challenge on the base paths posting a Valley-leading 62 stolen bases on 71 attempts on the year.
 
Cole Christman (.341) and Matthieu Vallee (.340) pace the Salukis in a majority of the offensive categories on the season. Christman is the power threat with a team-high eight home runs and 39 RBIs, while Vallee leads the team in hits (53), doubles (12), and stolen bases (13).
 
SIU sits second in the Valley in a majority of the major pitching categories on the season with a 5.41 ERA over 41 games, while posting 355 strikeouts. The Salukis have allowed opponents to hit .278 from the plate over 364.1 innings.
 
Foeller leads the Salukis with 10 starts on the mound to go with a 4.34 ERA and a team-high 67 strikeouts. Al Holguin (3-2, 3.86 ERA) and Alec Nigut (4-1, 5.65 ERA) have also been among the team's primary starting arms, while Mike Hansell (3-3, 6.05 ERA) has also made six starts on the year. Anthony Pron was one of three MVC pitchers to be named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List and has made 20 appearances with a 3.54 ERA and seven saves on the season.
 
Series History
Southern Illinois leads the all-time series against the Sycamores with a 103-95 overall mark dating back to the inaugural meeting between the programs in 1967. The Sycamores swept the season series last year in Terre Haute taking all three contests by scores of 6-5 (10), 10-0 (7), and 7-2, over the April 22-24, 2023, weekend.
 
SIU handed Indiana State its last Missouri Valley series loss back in the 2022 season when the Salukis took all three games at Itchy Jones Stadium over May 13-15, 2022. ISU's last series win in Carbondale came back in the 2018 season when the Sycamores battled back from dropping the opener, 3-2, by taking the final two games of the series by scores of 8-2 and 11-3 over the May 4-6 series. Prior to that, the Sycamores swept the 2016 series in Carbondale winning 6-7, 3-0, and 5-1 over the April 8-10 weekend.
 
In last season's sweep against the Salukis, Adam Pottinger (.667) and Keegan Watson (.667) combined for 12 hits, four doubles, two home runs, and 11 RBIs over 18 at-bats in the series as the outfield duo consistently got on base. Seth Gergely (.545) and Josue Urdaneta (.364) were also among the team's hitting leaders over the series, while Henry Brown and Luis Hernandez both homered.
 
The Indiana State pitching staff combined to post a 2.42 ERA over the 26.0 innings on the mound. The Sycamores posted a 24:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio, while allowing Southern Illinois to hit just .144 from the plate with Connor Fenlong posting a complete-game one-hitter in the 10-0 game two win to clinch the series.
 
­­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.