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Indiana State University Athletics

Home Run
4
Murray State MUR 37-20
11
Winner Indiana State INS 40-12
Murray State MUR
37-20
4
Final
11
Indiana State INS
40-12
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Murray State MUR 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 8 1
Indiana State INS 0 0 4 0 2 3 0 2 X 11 12 1

W: Davidson, Zach (5-1) L: Pennington, Jacob (5-5)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Seth Montgomery | GoSycamores.com

Davidson turns in career performance, Sycamore bats connect in 11-4 win over Murray State

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Zach Davidson turned in a Missouri Valley Conference Tournament performance for the ages and the Indiana State bats scored 11 runs after the second inning as the Sycamores topped No. 2 Murray State in an elimination game at German American Bank Field on Thursday evening, 11-4.
 
The Sycamores (40-12) advance to Friday afternoon and will play another elimination game at 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT against either No. 3 Evansville or No. 5 UIC pending the noon ET/11 a.m. CT contest between the Purple Aces and Flames.
 
Indiana State fell behind to Murray State early as the Racers (37-20) strung together five hits in the top of the second inning and took advantage of an ISU error to plate three early runs chasing starter Brennyn Cutts from the game. Davidson (5-1) entered the contest with two on, two out in the top of the second and the First Team All-Conference reliever struck out Murray State's Jonathan Hogart to end the Racers' threat in the contest.
 
Davidson would go on to record the next eight outs via strikeout prior to getting Riley Hawthrone to ground out to first base for the final out of the top of the fifth inning as the senior left-hander completely halted the Murray State offensive momentum in the contest.
 
The Sycamore bats came to life in the bottom of the third inning against Murray State's Jacob Pennington (5-5) as Dominic Listi and Luis Hernandez both connected on RBI doubles, while Parker Stinson put Indiana State ahead with an RBI groundout giving ISU the 4-3 lead after the third inning.
 
Indiana State continued to press the advantage running the lead to 9-3 after the sixth inning as Randal Diaz connected on his 16th home run of the 2024 season. Diaz added an RBI sacrifice fly, while Stinson, Listi, and Hernandez added additional runs batted in as the Sycamores extended the lead in support of Davidson on the mound.
 
The Hartsburg, Mo. native cruised through the contest retiring nine batters in a row from the fourth through the seventh inning before Hogart connected on a two-out solo home run to right center to cut the ISU lead down 9-4. However, Davidson rebounded to get the final out to end the Murray State rally.
 
The Sycamores added insurance in the bottom of the eighth on Adam Pottinger's two-run double bringing home Stinson and Dominic Listi, while Davidson retired the final seven batters he faced in the contest including picking up strikeouts 13 and 14 in the top of the ninth inning on his way to closing out the win.
 
Davidson went a career-long 7.1 innings on the mound on Thursday evening allowing just three hits and one run while striking out 14 Racers in the contest. His strikeout total was one off the Missouri Valley Tournament record set by Wichita State's Bryan Oelkers (15) back in 1982.
 
The Indiana State offense connected on 12 hits during the game highlighted by multi-hit contests from Diaz, Listi, Hernandez, and Pottinger. ISU connected on five extra-base hits in the game with Diaz connecting on the Sycamores' first home run of the postseason in the fifth inning.
 
Taylor Howell and Ethan Krizen both finished with multi-hit games for Murray State as the Racers closed out their postseason with eight hits in the Thursday afternoon loss.
 
Pennington took the loss on the mound for MSU allowing nine hits and nine runs while striking out four in 5.2 innings of work. Thomas McNabb and Nathan Holler went the final 2.1 innings to close out the game.
 
How They Scored
  • ­Ethan Krizen dropped down an RBI bunt single and Drew Vogel brought in two with a single to right field as Murray State took a 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning.
  • Indiana State scored four in the bottom of the third inning as Dominic Listi (RBI double), Luis Hernandez (two-run double), and Parker Stinson (RBI grounder) brought home runs to give the Sycamores the 4-3 lead.
  • ISU added to the lead in the bottom of the fifth as Randal Diaz connected on a solo home run down the left field line and Stinson drove an RBI double to right center scoring Hernandez to put ISU ahead 6-3.
  • The Sycamores added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth as Diaz's sacrifice fly brought home Mike Sears, while Listi (RBI single) and Hernandez (RBI single) drove in Joe Kido and Josue Urdaneta to advance the lead to 9-3.
  • Jonathan Hogart put Murray State back in the scoring column with a solo home run to right center in the top of the seventh inning to make it a 9-4 game.
  • The Sycamores plated their final runs on Adam Pottinger's two-run double in the bottom of the eighth scoring Listi and Stinson to provide the final 11-4 margin.
News & Notes
  • Josue Urdaneta extended his on-base streak to 41 consecutive games after getting hit by a pitch in the bottom of the sixth. He finished the day 0-for-3 with a run scored.
  • Adam Pottinger extended his on-base streak to 24 consecutive games on Thursday following his one-out single in the bottom of the second. He finished the day 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.
  • Randal Diaz extended his hitting streak to 25 consecutive games and on-base streak to 31 games following his one-out single in the bottom of the third. He finished the day 2-for-4 with two runs, two RBIs, a solo home run, and a sacrifice fly.
  • All nine Indiana State players reached base safely in the contest with eight of the nine recording hits in the win.
  • Zach Davidson recorded a career-high 14 strikeouts in Thursday's win marking his second game with 10-plus strikeouts out of the bullpen.
  • It marked ISU's fifth game with a pitcher recording 10-plus strikeouts in the 2024 season and first since Davidson retired 10 against Evansville on May 11.
  • Davidson's 14 strikeouts were one off the Missouri Valley Championships record set back in 1982 by Wichita State's Bryan Oelkers when he struck out 15 Indiana State hitters.
  • Davidson's 14 strikeouts were the most by an Indiana State pitcher since Geremy Guerrero struck out 15 batters against Florida International back on March 5, 2021.
  • Davidson has struck out 40 batters over his last 22.0 innings while allowing 13 hits and one earned run. He's surrendered just three walks over the span.
  • Indiana State improves to 1-0 against Murray State in the MVC Tournament in the first postseason meeting between the two programs.
Up Next
Indiana State continues the Missouri Valley Championships on Friday afternoon as the top-seeded Sycamores await their opponent in the 3:30 p.m. ET game time at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium. Indiana State will play the loser of the noon ET contest between No. 3 Evansville and No. 5 UIC in an elimination game. The contest will be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
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