TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Fresh off opening weekend in Gastonia, the Indiana State baseball team continues its season-opening road trip this week with a two-game series at Florida Gulf Coast over Tuesday and Wednesday evening in Fort Myers, Fla. Both games are set for 6:30 p.m. start times with Wednesday's game scheduled to be streamed live on ESPN+. Live stats for both contests will be available on FGCUAthletics.com.
 
The Sycamores are 2-1 after the opening week series against Wagner College in Gastonia, N.C. The Seahawks connected on a ninth-inning walk-off home run to claim Friday's season-opener with the 3-2 win. Indiana State rebounded to claim the second game of Friday's doubleheader, 16-6, before slugging their way to a Sycamores' record 36 runs in the series finale in winning 36-6 to secure the series win.
 
Indiana State's bats came to life over the opening weekend as the Sycamores hit .381 as a team with eight players hitting at least .375 from the plate, including four that hit .500-plus over the first three games of the season.
 
Thomas Emerich connected at a team-best .583 clip from the plate with team-highs in hits (7), runs (8), and doubles (4), while adding four RBIs. Jeremy Martinez (.545) added three doubles and a home run over his first 11 collegiate at-bats, while Carter Beck added his first home run of the season on his way to reaching base nine times over the first three games.
 
Nick Sutherlin hit .500 from the plate over two starts at third base added two doubles and a home run while driving in six RBIs. Carlos Pena added his first two home runs of the season, while Jorge Cartagena hit .375 with a team-high eight RBIs to highlight the Sycamores' offensive onslaught against the Seahawks.
 
The Indiana State pitching staff stayed under control over the weekend posting a combined 4.39 ERA over 26.2 innings on the mound. Ryan Karst, Grant Parson, and Ty Brooks drew the first three starts of the year combining to post a 2.08 ERA over 13.0 innings while posting a 13:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
 
The Sycamores' bullpen was solid as well highlighted by three shutout innings from Max McEwen on Friday afternoon including five strikeouts, while Carson Seeman added 2.2 innings in relief. Overall, six different Indiana State relievers posted 0.00 ERAs over the series against the Seahawks while combining for nine strikeouts.
 
Indiana State continues the road for their season-opening 19-day road trip that will include 11 games across five locations and two states. The Sycamores opened the year in Gastonia, N.C., before heading to Fort Myers, Fla. for the two-game set against FGCU. This upcoming weekend the Sycamores will take on Northeastern in Port Charlotte, Fla., before wrapping up their Sunshine State trip in Daytona Beach on Tuesday, February 25, at Bethune-Cookman. Indiana State closes out the 2,968.6-mile journey at the LeClair Classic at East Carolina over February 28-March 2 in Greenville, N.C.
 
The Sycamores entered the season receiving votes from the NCBWA Division I preseason poll and are projected to once again play one of the toughest schedules across the country. Indiana State entered 2025 projected with another Top 50 RPI schedule according to WarrenNolan.com with the 25th-best nonconference schedule including midweek games against Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, and Purdue.
 
New faces continue to abound in the Indiana State lineup and on the mound as 21 different players made their first starts or Sycamore debuts over the weekend series. The list includes newcomers and everyday starters Carter Beck (CF), Eli Gipson (3B/SS) and Weston Fulk (DH), while returners Carlos Pena (1B) and Keegan Garis (LF) also were penciled in the lineup in all three contests.
 
Scouting Florida Gulf Coast
Florida Gulf Coast dropped the weekend series against Fairfield University to open the 2025 season in Swanson Stadium. The Eagles took the opening game of the series on Friday, 9-1, before falling in the final two contests 6-4 and 11-10 (10) to fall to 1-2 overall in the early portion of the 2025 season.
 
FGCU was picked second overall in the 2025 Atlantic Sun preseason baseball poll as voted on by the league's head coaches. The Eagles received two first-place votes coming off a season where they posted a 30-26 record, 20-10 in conference play. Four players were named to the ASUN Preseason All-Conference team led by pitcher Justin Henschel, catcher Mac Moise, first baseman Robert Moya, and outfielder Evan Dempsey.
 
Florida Gulf Coast hit .276 as a team over the opening three-game series paced by Aidan Corn's .615 batting average from the plate. Corn posted a team-high eight hits over his 13 at-bats and added a double to highlight his opening weekend. Robert Moya (.375), Mac Moise (.364), and Javier Gorostola (.308) also hit above the .300 line with the trio combining to hit three of FGCU's four home runs over the weekend.
 
The Eagles' pitching staff posted a 4.82 ERA over 28.0 innings on the mound with Justin Henschel, Levent Eldem, and Chase Kriebel drawing the weekend starts. Overall, 13 different pitchers drew time on the mound recording a 30:12 strikeout-to-walk ratio while allowing Fairfield to hit .265 from the plate.
 
Series History
Indiana State and Florida Gulf Coast played their inaugural game back on March 9, 2021, and have lined up against each other three times in their respective histories. The Sycamores have won all three contests against the Eagles, including taking last year's 5-2 win in North Port, Fla. at CoolTodayField.
 
Highlighting last year's game, Luis Hernandez drove in three RBIs and five Indiana State pitchers combined to hold the high-powered FGCU offense to just five hits and one earned run as the Sycamores topped the Eagles, 5-2. Cole Gilley recorded the win on the mound with a 3.1-inning relief stint, while Zach Davidson posted his first save of the season with a pair of strikeouts in a scoreless ninth inning.
 
The 2025 season marks the third consecutive season the Sycamores and Eagles have lined up against each other and first time since 2021, Indiana State will make the trip to Swanson Stadium.
 
Against the Atlantic Sun Conference
Indiana state is 58-24 all-time against the current iteration of the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Sycamores have lined up against Austin Peay 46 times over the years with a 29-17 record against the Governors, with 12 contests and a 10-2 record against Eastern Kentucky.
 
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.