LEXINGTON, Ky. – Brennyn Cutts went the distance in his first nine-inning complete game as Indiana State knocked off Illinois, 13-2, in an elimination game on Sunday afternoon at Kentucky Proud Park.
 
The Sycamores (44-14) advance to Sunday night taking on No. 2 national seed and host Kentucky in the first championship game of the Lexington Regional. The game time is still to be determined as storms roll through the Lexington area.
 
Indiana State took control of the game early in the top of the third inning as the Sycamores sent 12 batters to the plate in a seven-run frame. Parker Stinson connected on a two-run double and Adam Pottinger brought home two more on a run-scoring single as ISU staked Cutts to a 7-0 lead.
 
The 2024 MVC Pitcher of the Year needed little else the rest of the way as the Greenup, Ill. native went a career-long 9.0 innings and was rarely in trouble throughout the contest.
 
ISU added to the lead in the top of the sixth on Luis Hernandez's solo home run, before Illinois started to threaten in the seventh. The Fighting Illini loaded the bases with one out before Brody Harding singled in the first run for Illinois to cut the deficit down to 8-1. Cutts rebounded getting a chopped grounder back up the middle and throwing it to the plate starting an inning-ending double play to end the Illinois threat.
 
Mike Sears swung the momentum back to ISU in the top of the eighth as the Sycamore third baseman greeted Illinois reliever Joseph Glassey in the bases-loaded situation by connected on his 24th home run of the season. The grand slam put the Sycamores ahead 12-1 in the eighth and ISU added to the lead on Riley Iffrig's RBI double in the ninth to go ahead 13-1.
 
After a 20-minute rain delay on the field, Cutts returned to the mound allowing Ryan Moerman's one-out solo home run to left center before retiring the final two batters of the contest to secure Indiana State's advancement to the Regional Final.
 
Cutts allowed eight hits and two runs while walking two and striking out five in his second complete game of the 2024 season. His 117 pitches were a season-high as he continued to keep the Illini off-balance and trusted the ISU defense as the Sycamores turned three double plays in the win.
 
Diaz, Hernandez, Iffrig, and Josue Urdaneta all recorded multi-hit games in Sunday's win as the Sycamores connected on 12 hits overall as a team. Stinson, Magill, and Iffrig all doubled, while Hernandez and Sears homered in the win.
 
Drake Westcott and Moerman both had two hits apiece for Illinois as the Fighting Illini's season comes to an end.
 
Sam Reed (1-2) took the loss on Sunday allowing four hits and five runs while walking one and striking out two. Regan Hall, Ben Plumley, Korey Bunselmeyer, Will Lavin, and Glassey all saw time on the mound in the loss.
 
How They Scored

• ­Indiana State sent 12 batters to the plate and scored seven runs in the top of the third inning to take control of the contest early. Randal Diaz brought home the first run with an RBI single, while Parker Stinson connected on a two-run double making it 3-0. Dominic Listi (RBI HBP) and Grant Magill (RBI groundout) kept the scoring going before Adam Pottinger connected on a two-run single to cap the frame and give ISU the 7-0 lead.
• Luis Hernandez added to the lead in the top of the sixth inning with a solo home run to left field giving ISU the 8-0 edge.
• Brody Harding put Illinois on the scoreboard in the bottom of the seventh inning with a bases-loaded single to right field cutting the deficit down to 8-1.
• Mike Sears added to the Sycamore lead with a grand slam over the right center wall in the top of the eighth inning bringing home Hernandez, Stinson, and Diaz to give ISU the 12-1 lead.
• Riley Iffrig added to the Sycamore lead in the ninth with an RBI double down the right field line scoring Magill to give ISU the 13-1 edge.
• Ryan Moerman connected on a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth for Illinois to provide the final 13-2 margin.

News & Notes

• Randal Diaz extended his hitting streak to 31 consecutive games and his on-base streak to 37 contests in the win.
• Diaz's 31-game hitting streak is the longest in the Mitch Hannahs coaching era at Indiana State.
• Sears (24) and Hernandez (23) continued to keep pace with each other in the ISU single-season home run battle.

­­Follow the Sycamores
For the latest information on the Sycamore Baseball team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Fans can also receive updates on Sycamore Athletics by downloading the March On App from both the App Store and the Google Play Store.