MURRAY, Ky. – Drew Vogel led off the bottom of the 12th inning with a walk-off solo home run to left field as Indiana State fell in the series opener at Johnny Reagan Field on Friday evening to host Murray State, 5-4.
 
SCHEDULE UPDATE: Indiana State and Murray State will close out the weekend series on Saturday, April 6, with a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. ET. Both games will be streamed live on 105.5 The Legend as the teams moved up the series ahead of forecasted storms in Murray on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Sycamores (21-7, 5-2) took the 4-3 lead in the top of the eighth inning as Dom Krupinski scored on a wild pitch giving Indiana State the one-run advantage late in the game. Murray State (20-10, 4-3) knotted the game up for the third time in the bottom of the inning on Dan Tauken's leadoff solo home run to right field to even the game at 4-4.
 
Thomas McNabb pitched around a pair of Indiana State runners on the bases in the top of the ninth to keep the Sycamores off the board. Simon Gregersen responded for the Sycamores setting the Racers down in order in the bottom of the frame to send the game into extra innings.
 
Indiana State put runners on the bases in both the 10th and the 12th innings, but were unable to put the go-ahead run across the plate against McNabb and Nathan Holler (2-0). Gregersen matched the Murray State pitching duo striking out four of the final six batters he faced in the 10th and 11th innings, before turning the ball over to Jacob Spencer to start the bottom of the 12th.
 
Spencer (1-2)'s first pitch to Vogel was put over the left field wall for the walk-off solo home run to end the series opener between the two teams.
 
Randal Diaz went 3-for-5 from the plate with a home run and two RBIs in pacing the Sycamore offense on Friday evening. Dominic Listi and Grant Magill both recorded multi-hit contests in the loss, while Mike Sears was hit by three pitches in the loss.
 
Jared Spencer made his first start since the 2022 season in going 3.2 innings on the mound. The junior left-hander allowed five hits and two runs (one earned), while striking out four in the no decision. Cameron Holycross went 2.0 innings striking out four, while Zack Davidson posted six strikeouts over 2.1 innings of work. Gregersen posted five strikeouts over 3.0 innings late in the contest.
 
Vogel, Jonathan Hogart, and Tauken all finished with multi-hit games on Friday evening as the Racers took the Friday night contest from the Sycamores for the second consecutive season. Riley Hawthorne added a double in the win.

Cade Vernon went the first 6.0 innings allowing seven hits and three runs while striking out seven in the no decision. Alex Elsing added 2.0 innings in relief, while McNabb posted 2.0 scoreless frames while striking out three. Holler went the final 2.0 innings facing one batter over the minimum in recording the win.
 
How They Scored

• Randal Diaz scored the first run of the ballgame as the Sycamores scored on a double play in the top of the first inning to take the early 1-0 lead.
• The Racers answered in the bottom of the first on Jonathan Hogart's RBI single to left field scoring Dustin Mercer to even the game at 1-1.
• Murray State took the 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second as Dan Tauken scored on a wild pitch.
• The Sycamores retook the lead in the top of the fifth inning as Randal Diaz connected on a two-run home run over the left field wall scoring Grant Magill to put Indiana State ahead 3-2.
• Drew Vogel tied it up again in the bottom of the sixth inning with an RBI single through the left side scoring Ethan Krizen to make it a 3-3 ballgame.
• Dom Krupinski put the Sycamores ahead 4-3 in the top of the eighth inning scoring on a wild pitch.
• Tauken tied the game up in the bottom of the eighth with a solo home run over the right field wall to make it a 4-4 contest.
• Vogel connected on the walk-off solo home run to lead off the bottom of the 12th inning to secure the 5-4 win for the Racers. 

News & Notes

• Dominic Listi extended his on-base streak to 28 games on Friday night after his single in the top of the first inning. He finished the game 2-for-5 from the plate with a pair of singles in the loss.
• Luis Hernandez saw his 26-game on-base streak end on Friday evening as the first baseman failed to reach in six plate appearances in the opener against the Racers. It tied his longest career on-base streak equaling his 26-game stretch last season.
• Josue Urdaneta extended his on-base streak to 17 consecutive games on Friday night after getting hit by a pitch and drawing a walk over five plate appearances.
• Indiana State continued its 2024 hit-by-pitch streak on Friday night with six different Sycamores getting hit by the Racers' staff. Mike Sears was plunked a season-high three times in the contest.
• The Sycamores were hit by a season-high eight pitches on Friday afternoon surpassing the previous game-high of seven set back at Florida A&M back on March 10.
• Indiana State's extra-inning winning streak ended at seven games dating back to March 15, 2023, when ISU topped Illinois, 10-7.
• The Sycamores also had their five-game extra-inning winning streak in Valley play come to an end. The streak dated back to April 22, 2022, against Evansville (7-6, 10).

Up Next
Indiana State and Murray State will close out the weekend series on Saturday, April 6, with a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. ET. Both games will be streamed live on 105.5 The Legend as the teams moved up the series ahead of forecasted storms in Murray on Sunday afternoon.
 
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