TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State baseball hits the road again on Tuesday afternoon as the Sycamores travel to Illinois Field in Champaign, Ill. for a midweek contest with the University of Illinois. First pitch in the Tuesday evening contest is set for 7 p.m. ET and will be carried live on the Big Ten Network and 105.5 The Legend.
 
The Sycamores (9-11) and the Fighting Illini (10-7) continue a series that resulted in the teams competing against each other four times over the course of the 2024 season, including twice in the NCAA Lexington Regional hosted by the University of Kentucky over May 31 – June 2. The Sycamores and the Illini split the series, 2-2, with Indiana State winning the home game at Bob Warn Field, as well as the Lexington Regional elimination game, while Illinois took the win in Champaign and the Lexington Regional opener.
 
Indiana State enters the midweek contest coming off their second series win of the 2025 season as the Sycamores took two of three this past weekend at home against Pacific. Indiana State took the opener on Friday afternoon, 5-3, and then rallied back after Saturday's 14-2 loss, to run-rule the Tigers on Sunday at Bob Warn Field, 12-2.
 
Keegan Garis and Eli Gipson both homered in support of Aaron Moss' 5.0-inning relief stint to take the series opener against Pacific. Carter Beck homered in the second game of the series, while Carson Seeman and Jack Armstrong combined for over five innings of strong relief in the Saturday contest. Sunday's game saw Indiana State jump ahead early with a pair of RBI triples off Andrew Ortiz and Carlos Pena's bats, while Beck homered for the second time of the weekend in the win.
 
For the weekend, Garis (.444) and Gipson (.444) paced the Indiana State offense that combined to hit .256 from the plate. Jackson Taylor added his first collegiate three-hit game to hit .333 from the plate over the series against the Tigers. Garis and Beck both homered twice to highlight 11 extra-base hits by the Sycamores over the three-game series.
 
Ten different Indiana State pitchers combined for a 6.84 ERA over the three-game series with Jack Armstrong (2.0 IP) highlighting the weekend with a 0.00 ERA and four strikeouts. Aaron Moss went a career-long 5.0 innings in picking up his first win of the weekend, while Gavin Morris worked 4.2 innings in relief on Sunday afternoon to pick up the series-clinching win.
 
The Indiana State bats have been paced by Carlos Pena (.338) on the season as the senior infielder/designated hitter leads the Sycamores in hits (24), RBIs (20), and doubles (7), while adding three home runs. Garis (.318) is also hitting above the .300 mark on the season leading Indiana State in runs scored (22) and home runs (5), while also pacing the Sycamores getting hit by eight pitches on the year.

Andrew Ortiz has seen his bat come to life over the last two weekend and leads Indiana State with two triples, while Beck (5) is among the home run leaders and Thomas Emerich (7) the doubles leaders. The Sycamores have also had a number of players make their Indiana State debuts in the lineup over the last week including Ben Waliczek and Sean McGurk.
 
Indiana State's pitching staff has utilized 17 different arms on the mound in 2025 in combining for a 5.92 team ERA over 170.1 innings pitched. The Sycamores have posted a 124:91 strikeout-to-walk ratio while allowing opponents to hit .269 from the plate. Breyllin Suriel (0-1, 6.97 ERA) was brilliant in last week's midweek start against Indiana, while Aaron Moss (1-0, 3.07 ERA), Jack Armstrong (0-0, 3.52 ERA), and Brady Banker (0-0, 5.79 ERA) have been frequently called upon over the last two weeks.
 
Scouting Illinois
Illinois enters the midweek game with a 10-7 overall record in the 2025 season, including a 1-2 mark in Big Ten play. The Fighting Illini dropped two of three in their weekend contest against Michigan two weeks ago, but responded by winning three of their last four, including taking the series win against Valparaiso this past weekend at Illinois Field.
 
Illinois, a 2024 NCAA Regional participant last season, was not among the six teams ranked by the Big Ten Conference's coaches in the preseason poll. The Illini were represented on the preseason team by Ben Plumley (RHP), Jacob Schroeder (C), and Drake Westcott (1B).
 
Offense has been the name of the game for Illinois early in the season as the Illini are hitting .290 from the plate with 23 home runs and a team .421 on-base percentage. Nick Groves (.393) is the team's hitting leader on the season with an Illinois-high 10 stolen bases, while Jack Zebig (.354) paces Illinois with five home runs and 26 RBIs. Vytas Valincius (.338) and Kyle Schupmann (.306) are also hitting above the .300 mark on the year with Valincius posting three home runs and 23 RBIs.
 
The Illinois pitching staff has combined for 6.54 team ERA over 150.0 innings over the course of the season. The Illini have posted a .294 opponent batting average and a 123:74 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Multiple Illinois arms have seen starts over the 2025 season including Julius Sanchez (1-0, 4.50 ERA), Regan Hall (2-0, 5.52 ERA), Ryan Daly (1-1, 9.39 ERA), and Brayden Mazzacano (0-0, 10.80 ERA).
 
Series History
Illinois holds the all-time 47-40-2 record against Indiana State dating back to the inaugural matchup in 1906. The Sycamores and Illini split the 2024 season's matchups between the programs last year with Indiana State winning the contest in Terre Haute, while Illinois returned the favor in Champaign.
 
The series continued in the 2024 NCAA Lexington Regional with Illinois taking the opening round game thanks to a strong pitching performance from Jack Crowder and key hitting from Dylan Westcott and Brody Harding in the 4-1 win. Indiana State returned the favor in an elimination game as Brennyn Cutts went the distance in a complete-game effort and the Sycamores scored seven runs in the top of the third inning to seize control in the 13-2 win.
 
Against the Big Ten Conference
Indiana State is 0-2 against the Big Ten Conference early in the 2025 season after dropping home games to both Purdue (14-4, Mar. 4) and Indiana (9-4, Mar. 11). The pair of losses ended Indiana State's nine-game home winning streak against the Big Ten and dropped the Sycamores' record to 162-168-5 all-time against the current iteration of the conference.
 
The Sycamores currently have return trips to Purdue (Apr. 8) and Indiana (Apr. 15) on schedule, while Illinois comes to Bob Warn Field on April 22.
 
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.