TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State opens up a four-game road trip on Tuesday afternoon as the Sycamores travel to Muncie, Ind. to take on Ball State in ISU's final nonconference regular season game of the 2024 season. First pitch at Ball Diamond at First Merchants Ballpark Complex is set for 3 p.m. ET and will be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
The Sycamores (36-11, 19-5) look to keep one of their longest opponent winning streaks alive on Tuesday as Indiana State has won nine consecutive contests against their in-state rivals dating back to the 2012 season. Four of those contests have come in Muncie with the latest, a 10-6 win over the Cardinals on April 25, 2018.
 
Indiana State looks to ride their recent momentum as ISU recently clinched their second consecutive Missouri Valley regular season championship after taking two of three this past weekend against Evansville. The Sycamores hold a four-game lead over both Evansville (15-9) and UIC (15-9) with three conference games to play as ISU will travel to Valparaiso this upcoming weekend to close out the regular season.
 
The Sycamores hit .294 as a team over the weekend series against Evansville as Indiana State claimed the series win over the Aces. Randal Diaz (.500) paced ISU at the plate, while Adam Pottinger (.385), Luis Hernandez (.333), and Mike Sears (.333) were also among the team's hitting leaders. Overall, ISU combined for seven home runs over the series with Hernandez connecting twice over the weekend.
 
Indiana State's pitching staff combined to post a 5.00 ERA over 27.0 innings on the mound paced by Zach Davidson (0.00 ERA, 4.1 IP, 10 strikeouts) and Jacob Pruitt (3.00, 3.0 IP) both recording wins out of the bullpen. ISU posted a 33:13 strikeout-to-walk ratio while limiting Evansville to a .260 batting average.
 
Indiana State remained ranked in all five major NCAA Division I polls for the fifth consecutive week as ISU remained in the D1Baseball, USA Today Coaches, NCBWA, Baseball America and Perfect Game polls. ISU remained at No. 20 in the D1Baseball poll, No. 17 in the NCBWA, and No. 14 at the Perfect Game polls. The Sycamores dropped two spots to No. 20 in the USA Today Poll, while moving up to No. 23 in the Baseball America poll.
 
The Sycamores also remained inside the top-10 in the NCAA Rating Percentage Index (RPI) standings sitting at No. 10 overall boasting the No. 18 non-conference strength of schedule and No. 58 overall strength of schedule through 46 games. The Sycamores boast a 20-9 record in road or neutral site game sitting as the lone team ranked in the top 30 in the RPI to post at least 20 wins away from their home venue in 2024.
 
Luis Hernandez (.369), Randal Diaz (.342), Dominic Listi (.341), and Parker Stinson (.317) lead an Indiana State offense that continues to rise hitting .293 from the plate over 47 games. Adam Pottinger (.289), Grant Magill (.279), and Mike Sears (.273) are also among the team's leaders at the plate this season with multiple key plate appearances over the last two weeks.
 
Sears (19) paces four different Sycamores with double-digit home runs in the 2024 season leading Hernandez (17), Stinson (13), and Diaz (13), while Pottinger (8) and Magill (6) have also connected on multiple homers over the last 10 games. The Sycamores hit seveb home runs over the weekend against Evansville with five different players leaving the yard in the series.
 
The Indiana State pitching staff continues to pace the Missouri Valley and sit among the national leaders on the year with a combined 4.52 ERA over 406.0 innings. Sixteen different pitchers have combined to post a 473:207 strikeout-to-walk ratio while limiting opponents to a .243 batting average.
 
Scouting Ball State
Ball State enters the midweek with a 30-20-1 overall record on the season including a 13-6-1 record at Ball Diamond at First Merchants Ballpark Complex this season. The Cardinals have gone 3-1-1 over their last five home games including taking two of three this past weekend against Central Michigan to claim the MAC series.
 
Indiana State is the lone Missouri Valley team to play against Ball State this season. The Cardinals are 2-1-1 against common opponents with ISU this season including topping Michigan State and Illinois, while falling to Purdue and tying Indiana.
 
Michael Hallquist (.340) and Nick Husovsky (.340) lead a Ball State offense that is hitting .292 from the plate as a team in the 2024 season. Decker Scheffler (.335) is also hitting above the .300 mark and is tied for the team lead with 50 runs scored, while pacing BSU with 11 stolen bases. Hallquist is the team leader with 71 hits, 17 doubles, and 19 home runs, while Hunter Dobbins has added 17 homers in 2024.
 
Seventeen different Ball State pitchers have combined to post a 6.14 ERA on the season over 435.2 innings on the mound. The Cardinals have posted a 475:274 strikeout-to-walk ratio while allowing opponents to hit .282 from the plate. Eleven different pitchers have recorded double-digit appearances on the mound on the year led by Will Jacobson's 19.
 
Series History
Indiana State holds the all-time 93-51 edge over Ball State dating back to the inaugural contest in 1919. The Sycamores are currently on one of the longest winning streaks in the series with ISU taking each of the last nine contests against the Cardinals, including the last four played in Muncie.
 
ISU took last season's contest in Terre Haute, 11-1, behind Mike Sears' two-homer game, while Brennyn Cutts, Jacob Pruitt, and Zach Davidson combined to shut down the Cardinals offense in the 11-1 win. Josue Urdaneta added a 4-for-4 game with a double and three runs scored.

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