TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State baseball begins Missouri Valley play this weekend as the Sycamores welcome Valparaiso to Bob Warn Field for a three-game series over March 21-23. All three games will be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
Friday's first pitch is set for 6:30 p.m., while Saturday (2 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) will complete the series. Keep up-to-date on the weekend schedule as dates/times may change due to expected inclement weather in the Wabash Valley.
 
Indiana State puts one of the Missouri Valley's longest winning streaks to the test this weekend as the Sycamores begin conference play in the 2025 season. The Sycamores have won 19 consecutive MVC weekend series, including all nine series in both the 2023 and 2024 seasons, on their way to claiming back-to-back regular season titles for the first time in program history.
 
The series wins stretch back to the end of the 2022 season when Indiana State took the first two games against then-member Dallas Baptist over May 19-21, 2022, before the third game ended in a 2-2 tie due to weather concerns and travel logistics. Since that weekend, Indiana State has posted a 46-8 record in Missouri Valley play, including a 22-5 mark last season that featured a 13-2 record at Bob Warn Field.
 
Indiana State was tied for fifth in the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll as announced by the conference office earlier this week. The Sycamores received 49 total points to sit tied with Evansville in the poll and Indiana State did not place a player on the preseason All-Conference team. Missouri State (90 total points, five first-place votes) was voted as the league's preseason favorite.
 
The Sycamores head into the Valparaiso series looking for the spark to ignite the rest of the season as Indiana State comes off a midweek 8-6 loss on the road at Illinois. Indiana State's offense came to life against the Fighting Illini highlighted by Eli Gipson (two), Carter Beck, and Carlos Pena home runs, while Jack Armstrong and Zac Laird both turned in quality relief outings in the midweek defeat.
 
The power-hitting continues a recent stretch over the last 10 games with the Indiana State lineup combining to hit 13 of their 22 home runs this season, while adding five triples and 20 doubles since coming off the season-opening road trip. Keegan Garis and Gipson both have multi-homer games on the season, while Beck has homered in three of the last four games to propel the offense over the recent stretch. Jackson Taylor has also emerged as a bat in key situations, sparking rallies with several doubles while hitting .357 over the last 10 games.
 
The Sycamore pitching staff has taken its lumps over the last two weeks with multiple players missing time due to injury. However, Max McEwen has emerged as a strong arm on the weekend with a 1.74 ERA over the last 10.1 innings while allowing opponents to hit just .132 from the plate. Aaron Moss (1-0, 1.42 ERA), Jack Armstrong (0-0, 3.52 ERA), Zac Laird (0-0, 4.76 ERA), and Carson Seeman (0-0, 5.06 ERA) have all made multiple appearances out of the bullpen to eat up innings during the stretch.
 
Carlos Pena leads the Indiana State offense on the season with a .342 batting average and is one of three Sycamore regulars in the lineup hitting above the .300 mark on the year. The senior paces the Sycamores with 26 hits and 21 RBIs, while adding seven doubles and connected on his first triple of 2025 this past weekend against Pacific.
 
Gipson has seen his average steadily rise over the last week and enters the weekend hitting .310 from the plate while lining up at both shortstop and third base. All three of his home runs have come over the last four games, including his first multi-homer game of 2025 after going deep twice against Illinois. Garis (.304) is also hitting above the .300 mark while leading the team with 22 runs scored.
 
Additional offensive players of note include Beck's emergence at the top of the lineup hitting .289 from the plate with a team-high six home runs. He's second on the team with 20 runs scored, while pacing Indiana State with five stolen bases. Jackson Taylor (.278) has also emerged while taking over the everyday position at second base, while Andrew Ortiz has tripled twice over the last two weeks to provide another dynamic to the offense.
 
McEwen (2-1, 3.68 ERA) leads the Indiana State pitching staff in a majority of the statistical categories heading into the weekend. The redshirt sophomore right-hander paces the Sycamores in innings pitched (22.0), strikeouts (23), and opponent batting average (.188) while sitting tied for the team lead in wins. Ty Brooks (1-2, 6.86 ERA) is expected to be back in the weekend rotation, while a number of arms are expected to see time on the mound this weekend against the Beacons.
 
Armstrong (0-0, 2.45 ERA), Moss (1-0, 3.07 ERA), Laird (0-0, 3.38 ERA), and Gavin Morris (2-2, 7.02 ERA) have all put in extended innings over the last two weeks and will be key to an Indiana State pitching staff that sits third in the MVC in team ERA (6.60) and among the conference leaders in strikeouts (130).
 
Scouting Valparaiso
Valparaiso enters the weekend conference opener with a 4-12 overall record after dropping their Tuesday midweek contest at Ball State, 14-10. The Beacons have played one of the tougher schedules in the conference to date with weekend series at Ohio State and Illinois, while traveling to Vanderbilt for a midweek series. Key wins on the year include securing the series-opening Friday win at Ohio State and the Saturday contest at Illinois, while also topping Memphis and Niagara.
 
The Beacons were selected 10th overall in the conference's preseason poll as announced by the MVC office on Monday afternoon. Valparaiso received 19 total points and did not place a player on the preseason All-Conference team.
 
Valparaiso returns several key faces to the lineup and rotation this season headlined by the return of outfielder Ryan Maka. Maka (.396) powers the Valparaiso offense on the season leading the way in hits (21) and home runs (4), while adding a .522 on-base percentage and 1.201 OPS. Liam Patton (.345) is also hitting above the .300 mark on the year, while. Case Sullivan (.290) is the team leader with 17 runs scored. Overall, Valparaiso is hitting .265 as a team over the 16 games played.
 
Connor Lockwood headlines the Valparaiso pitching staff as the redshirt junior right-hander returns to the mound as one of the MVC's top strikeout arms. Lockwood (1-3, 8.07 ERA) sits second in the Valley with 29 strikeouts through his first five games, including an 11-K game against Memphis earlier this season.
 
Harry Deliyannis (2-1, 9.92 ERA) and Spencer Boynton (1-3, 10.34 ERA) are also expected to be among the weekend's rotation for the Beacons leading 18 Valparaiso pitchers that have combined for a 10.64 team ERA over 124.1 innings. The Beacons have posted a 107:98 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a .329 opponent batting average.
 
Series History
Indiana State leads the all-time series against the Beacons with a 59-29-1 overall record, including a 48-19 mark in Terre Haute. The Sycamores improved to 10-10-1 last year in Valparaiso following last season's sweep over the Beacons.
 
Indiana State has dominated the series recently against Valparaiso winning the last 25 contests between the two programs dating back to the 2007 season when Valparaiso topped the Sycamores on March 31 in the first game of the doubleheader, 11-2. The Sycamores' loss there snapped an eight-game winning streak against the Beacons that dated back to March 30, 1999.
 
Indiana State took all three games in the series last year in the regular season series finale. The Sycamores battled through the elements in Friday's opening 13-4 win highlighted by Mike Sears' two-homer game, while Jared Spencer struck out 10 in the win. Saturday's contest featured six home runs, including two each from Randal Diaz and Luis Hernandez, while Zach Davidson worked 6.0 innings out of the bullpen in the 11-9 win. Sunday's finale featured five more Indiana State home runs, while Cole Gilley worked extended relief in the 15-4 victory.
 
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.