EVANSVILLE, Ind. – No. 1 Indiana State jumped ahead early and then the defense held off a late rally from No. 5 UIC as the Sycamores topped the Flames in an elimination game on Friday evening at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium, 5-3.
 
The Sycamores (41-12) continue tournament play with another elimination game on Saturday as Indiana State takes on No. 6 Southern Illinois in a rematch from Wednesday night. First pitch between the teams is set for noon ET/11 a.m. CT and will be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
Indiana State built a 5-0 lead through the seventh inning as the Sycamores took advantage of timely hitting with Parker Stinson connecting on a two-run single in the first and Josue Urdaneta added a two-RBI triple in the sixth. Joe Kido added a bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh inning to stake ISU to the five-run advantage over the Flames (35-20).
 
Luke Hayden (7-2) cruised through the first six innings striking out nine batters and allowed just one runner in scoring position aided by the Sycamore defense. ISU took advantage of aggressive UIC baserunning to get inning-ending caught stealings in both the second and third innings, while Hayden retired nine of the last 11 batters he faced before turning the ball over to the bullpen in the top of the seventh.
 
Cameron Holycross worked a scoreless seventh inning before running into a jam in the top of the eighth as the Flames loaded the bases with two outs. Pambos Nicoloudes connected on a two-run single to pull the Flames back within 5-2, while Rayth Petersen drew a bases-loaded walk to cut the deficit down to two runs before Cole Gilley (S, 1) forced a fielder's choice to end the Flames' rally.
 
Randal Diaz singled for the Sycamores in the bottom of the eighth inning, but ISU was unable to add insurance sending Gilley back out to the mound with the two-run advantage.
 
The Sycamore junior right-hander retired the first two batters before UIC's Zane Zielinski connected on a two-out single to extend the ninth inning. Gilley took on the 2024 Joe Carter MVC Player of the Year Kendall Ewell and set him down swinging on strikes to close out the contest and end the game for his first save of the season.
 
Diaz and Grant Magill connected on two of Indiana State's nine hits in the game as the Sycamores battled through the pitcher's duel on Friday night. Adam Pottinger and Magill both doubled, while Urdaneta connected on a triple to highlight the offense.
 
Hayden narrowly missed being the second ISU pitcher to hit double-digit strikeouts in consecutive games as the junior right-hander went 6.0 innings allowing three hits and four walks while striking out nine. He faced 22 batters and threw 94 pitches in his team-leading seventh win of the season.
 
Zielinski went 3-for-5 from the plate in recording half of UIC's six hits on the day. Nicoloudes, Peterson, and Kendall Ewell posted the other three singles for the Flames in the loss.
 
Ryan Smith (3-2) went the first 5.2 innings in the game allowing six hits and four runs while walking three and striking out five. Reece Lawler and Presley Wachowiak went the final 2.1 innings to close out the game.
 
How They Scored

• ­Parker Stinson singled home Randal Diaz in the bottom of the first inning and Dominic Listi came around to score on an error by the UIC right fielder as the Sycamores took the early 2-0 lead.
• Josue Urdaneta connected on a two-run triple to the left center gap with Joe Kido and Grant Magill coming across the plate to extend the ISU lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the sixth.
• Joe Kido connected on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to left field scoring Stinson to give the Sycamores the 5-0 lead in the seventh.
• UIC cut the lead down to 5-3 in the top of the eighth as Pambos Nicoloudes connected on a two-run single and Rayth Petersen drew a bases-loaded walk to provide the final scoring margin.

News & Notes

• Josue Urdaneta extended his on-base streak to 42 consecutive games after drawing a leadoff walk in the bottom of the fifth. He finished the day 1-for-2 with a walk and two RBIs.
• Adam Pottinger extended his on-base streak to 25 consecutive games on Friday following his one-out double in the bottom of the seventh. He finished the day 1-for-4 with a double.
• Randal Diaz extended his hitting streak to 26 consecutive games and on-base streak to 32 games following his leadoff single in the bottom of the first. He finished the day 2-for-4 with a walk and run scored.
• All nine Indiana State players reached base safely in Friday night's contest against UIC.
• Luke Hayden's nine strikeouts were two off his season high as the junior right-hander previously struck out a career-high 11 back on April 21 against Illinois State.
• Hayden picked up his second win against the Flames in the 2024 season after going 6.2 innings allowing two hits and a run while striking out eight in ISU's 4-1 win over UIC back on March 31.
• Indiana State improves to 2-0 against UIC in the MVC Tournament following Friday evening's win over the Flames.

Up Next
Indiana State continues the Missouri Valley Championships on Saturday afternoon as the top-seeded Sycamores face a rematch against No. 6 Southern Illinois in an elimination game set for noon ET/11 a.m. CT. The contest will be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
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