TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State heads into their final home weekend of the 2024 season as the Sycamores are set to host Evansville for a key Missouri Valley Conference series at Bob Warn Field over the May 10-12 weekend.
 
Game times for the weekend include a 4:30 p.m. ET first pitch on Friday, while Saturday's contest will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday's series finale and Senior Day is set for a 1 p.m. start time. Friday's game will be carried live on ESPNU, while Saturday and Sunday will be streamed on ESPN+. All three contests will also be carried on 105.5 The Legend.
 
The Sycamores are set to recognize 2024 seniors Josue Urdaneta, Joe Kido, Grant Magill, Adam Pottinger, Mike Sears, Cam Edmonson, Kyle Cortner, Zach Davidson, and Cameron Holycross prior to Sunday's contest.
 
Indiana State Baseball Weekend Promotions

• May 10 – Rally Towel Giveaway, Trading card giveaway, set 5 of 5, (sponsored by Refreshment Services Pepsi) for the First 100 Fans.
• May 11 – Nine Innings of Winning – Prizes Given Away Every Inning for Fans
• May 12 – Senior Day, Mother's Day Carnation Giveaway (sponsored by Refreshment Services Pepsi)

The Sycamores (34-10, 17-4) head into the weekend series looking to keep a 17-series conference winning streak alive dating back to the 2022 season after sweeping this past weekend's series in Terre Haute against Belmont. Indiana State has posted a 43-7-1 overall record in Valley competition over the stretch and hold a three-game lead in the conference standings heading into the two weeks of the regular season.
 
ISU currently leads Evansville (14-7) and UIC (14-7) atop the Valley standings with two weeks to play in conference competition. The Sycamores travel to Valparaiso to finish the 2024 regular season schedule, while Evansville hosts UIC over the final week to close out conference competition. Illinois State (12-9) and Murray State (11-10) also have double-digit wins in conference play.
 
The Sycamores extended their conference lead this past weekend after sweeping Belmont at Bob Warn Field this past weekend. ISU took the series opener on Friday night, 15-5, while rallying back in both Saturday (8-5) and Sunday's (6-4) contests to secure their third home conference sweep of the 2024 season.
 
The Sycamores hit .361 as a team over the weekend series against Belmont as Indiana State claimed the sweep over the Bruins. Mike Sears (.700) and Parker Stinson (.500) paced the ISU offense at the plate leading five players hitting above .300 from the plate over the series. Sears (3), Luis Hernandez (3), Randal Diaz (2), Adam Pottinger (1), and Dominic Listi (1) all homered as ISU combined for 17 extra-base hits over the three-game series.
 
Indiana State's pitching staff combined to post a 4.32 ERA over 25.0 innings on the mound paced by Zach Davidson (0.00 ERA, 4.1 IP, 8k), while Simon Gregersen (0.00 ERA, 2.2 IP), and Jacob Pruitt (2.45 ERA, 3.2 IP) all picking up wins out of the bullpen. ISU posted a 29:16 strikeout-to-walk ratio while limiting Belmont to a .222 batting average.
 
Indiana State was ranked in all five major NCAA Division I polls for the third time in the 2024 season as ISU climbed in the D1Baseball, USA Today Coaches, and NCBWA polls, while holding strong in the Baseball America and Perfect Game polls. ISU moved up to No. 20 in the D1Baseball poll and climbed to No. 18 in the USA Today and No. 17 in the NCBWA polls. ISU remained No. 24 in the Baseball America poll for the third consecutive week, while sitting No. 14 in the Perfect Game poll for the fourth consecutive week.
 
The Sycamores also remained inside the top-10 in the NCAA Rating Percentage Index (RPI) standings sitting at No. 10 overall boasting the No. 21 non-conference strength of schedule and No. 62 overall strength of schedule through 43 games. The Sycamores boast a 14-1 mark at Bob Warn Field this season and a 20-9 record in road or neutral site games.
 
Sears was named this week's Missouri Valley Baseball Player of the Week as announced by the conference office on Monday afternoon following his performance on the week. Sears became the second Sycamore to claim the conference's weekly Player of the Week honor in the 2024 season following his performances against Illinois and Belmont over the last week. He joins Luis Hernandez (Mar. 25) who also earned the MVC's weekly recognition this year.
 
Sears hit an impressive .615 on the week with eight hits over 13 at-bats with six hits going for extra-bases and driving in 10 RBI as the Sycamores posted a 3-1 week. The redshirt senior third baseman posted a .688 on-base percentage and a 1.538 slugging percentage as he connected on a trio of doubles and three home runs, while also drawing three walks.
 
Luis Hernandez (.371), Dominic Listi (.353), Randal Diaz (.332), and Parker Stinson (.32) lead an Indiana State offense that has risen the team batting average to a season-high .293 from the plate in the 2024 season. Adam Pottinger (.281), Grant Magill (.277), and Mike Sears (.270) have all seen their averages rise over the last few weeks as well in joining the everyday lineup.
 
Sears (18) paces four different Sycamores to hit double-digit home runs in the 2024 season leading Hernandez (15), Stinson (13), and Diaz (12), while Pottinger has connected on seven home runs this year. The Sycamores are coming off a 12-homer week with Stinson, Sears, Diaz, and Hernandez all posting multi-homer games in contests against Illinois and Belmont.
 
The Sycamore pitching staff continues to pace the Missouri Valley and sits among the nation's best with a 4.49 ERA over 370.0 innings pitched on the year. The ISU staff features sixteen different pitchers who have combined to post a 440:194 strikeout-to-walk ratio, while limiting opponents to a .241 batting average on the year.
 
The Indiana State weekend rotation of Jared Spencer (5-0, 3.96 ERA), Brennyn Cutts (6-1, 2.94 ERA), and Luke Hayden (6-1, 2.92 ERA) have all been among the Valley's leaders in multiple statistical categories on the year including wins, ERA, innings pitched, strikeouts, and opponent batting average. Cam Edmonson (5-1, 3.55 ERA) and Zach Davidson (2-1, 3.37 ERA) have also been lights-out coming out of the bullpen, while Jacob Pruitt (2-2, 2.05 ERA) and Simon Gregersen (1-0, 4.50 ERA) have also been consistent arms for ISU this season.
 
Indiana State has been even more impressive in Missouri Valley play this season with the Sycamores pacing the conference with a team .306 batting average while leading the MVC in hits (221), walks drawn (111), hit by pitches (37), on-base percentage (.422) and sitting second in slugging percentage (.550). ISU is also second in team home runs (43), doubles (41), and runs scored (164) through the first 21 games of the conference season at the plate.
 
Grant Magill (.363) and Luis Hernandez (.360) have been the team's offensive leaders at the plate in conference competition, while Mike Sears boasts a .795 slugging percentage with 10 home runs in Valley play. Luis Hernandez (9) and Randal Diaz (8) are also in the top-10 on the home run leaderboard in conference competition with Hernandez tied for the Valley lead with 33 RBIs.
 
The Sycamore pitching staff has kept pace with the offense as ISU's team ERA (3.37) is nearly two runs lower than second-place Evansville (5.30) with Indiana State posting a league-best 216 strikeouts over 184.1 innings. Indiana State has limited all seven Valley opponents played this year to under a .230 team batting average over the weekend and has held MVC opponents to hitting at just a .210 clip from the plate.
 
Four Sycamore pitchers sit among the MVC leaders in conference competition with Cam Edmonson (1.21 ERA), Brennyn Cutts (2.22 ERA), Luke Hayden (3.11 ERA), and Jared Spencer (3.80 ERA) all among the top-10 in the Valley. Cutts is the conference leader in opponent batting average (.168), while Hayden (42) and Cutts (41) are fifth and sixth in strikeouts on the year.
 
The Indiana State defense is the best in the Valley in conference competition this season as the Sycamores have posted a 0.986 fielding percentage over 21 conference games. Catcher Grant Magill has been the toughest to run against in the conference this season again as the redshirt senior has thrown out six of the 12 attempted base-stealers against him this season in Valley play. Overall, Magill has thrown out 12 runners this year and added three pickoffs to his name.
 
Scouting Evansville
Evansville enters the weekend series with a 28-20 overall record on the season including a 14-7 mark in Missouri Valley play. The Aces are 14-7 at home at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium and have posted a 14-13 record on the road in the 2024 season. Evansville has won four of their last five contests including taking two of three this past weekend at Valparaiso.
 
Evansville currently sits tied with UIC for second overall in the conference standings with their Valley schedule highlighted by a 7-2 mark in road conference competition. The Aces took two of three at Belmont, swept the series at Bradley, and took two of three at Valparaiso, while posting home series wins over Illinois State, Southern Illinois, and Missouri State. Evansville's lone conference series loss came in the opener as Murray State took all three games in Evansville.
 
The Aces were selected third overall in the Missouri Valley Baseball preseason poll receiving 81 total points and one first-place vote after a 2023 season that featured a 37-24 overall record and 15-12 conference mark, as well as a berth in the MVC Championship Game. Evansville first baseman Chase Hug represented the team on the preseason All-Conference squad.
 
Experience highlights the Evansville roster as the team returned seven position starters and 10 pitchers from last season's team with five earning All-MVC honors over their collegiate careers. The team features five graduate students, a fifth-year senior, and five additional seniors to the roster as a battle-tested group.
 
Evansville's offense boasts a .295 batting average to sit second in the MVC team standings headlined by Mark Shallenberger (.392), while Kip Fougerousse (.325) and Harrison Taubert (.300) are also hitting above the .300 mark on the year. Shallenberger paces the team with 14 home runs and 53 RBIs, while Taubert is the team leader with 18 doubles as the Aces have combined on a Valley-leading 121 doubles in 2024. Fougerousse has also posted 11 home runs and 15 doubles to his name this season.
 
The Purple Aces' pitching staff has combined to post a 6.07 ERA with 14 different pitchers posting 407.2 innings on the mound. Likely Friday night starter Kenton Deverman (7-1, 3.70 ERA) leads the way, while Donovan Schultz (3-1, 6.01 ERA) is an experienced weekend starter. Overall, Evansville has combined for a 375:194 strikeout-to-walk ratio, while allowing opponents to hit .269 from the plate.
 
Series History
_­­Indiana State and Evansville have met 183 times over the respective programs' histories dating back to the inaugural meeting back in the 1946 season. The teams have lined up against each other in Terre Haute 78 total times including three times last season in the MVC Championships held at Bob Warn Field. The Sycamores hold the 44-34 all-time edge against the Purple Aces in home competition.
 
Evansville took the series in Terre Haute back in the 2022 season as the Purple Aces rallied back after falling in the Friday game, 7-6 (10 inning), to take the Saturday (14-0) and Sunday (12-9) contests at Bob Warn Field.
 
The last time Indiana State won the series in Terre Haute against Evansville came back in the 2018 season when ISU rallied back after Evansville won on Friday night on May 11, 2018, 10-6, before the Sycamores took the final two contests by scores of 3-2 and 14-9 over May 12-13.
 
Dating back to the 2018 season, the team that has won the opening game has lost the next two contests in the series. In the 2021 season when the teams played four games, Indiana State won the first and last contests, while the Aces took the middle two games to split the series in Evansville.

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