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Indiana State University Athletics

Beck
7
Southern Ill. SIU 23-10, 6-4 MVC
9
Winner Indiana State INS 17-16, 6-4 MVC
Southern Ill. SIU
23-10, 6-4 MVC
7
Final
9
Indiana State INS
17-16, 6-4 MVC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Southern Ill. SIU 0 0 0 1 1 4 0 1 0 7 10 3
Indiana State INS 3 3 0 2 0 0 0 1 X 9 9 0

W: McEwen, Max (4-2) L: Tyler Timmerman (5-2) S: Morris, Gavin (2)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Seth Montgomery | GoSycamores.com

Sycamores rally early, hold off SIU late in 9-7 Friday night win

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State took advantage of early Southern Illinois pitching and fielding woes and held off a late Saluki rally in claiming Friday night's series opener at Bob Warn Field, 9-7.
 
The Sycamores (17-16, 6-4) built an early 8-1 lead through four innings as Indiana State took advantage of eight SIU walks, three hits-batsmen, and three Matt Schark errors in taking command of the game early. Southern Illinois (23-10, 6-4) rallied back over the middle innings with a four-run sixth inning highlighted by Jaxon Holder's two-run double on their way to cutting the Sycamores' lead down to 8-7 in the eighth.
 
After Gavin Morris (S, 2) worked the Sycamores out of an eighth-inning jam, Indiana State's patience at the plate bore fruit with insurance in the bottom of the frame. Keegan Garis was plunked for the second time to put the Sycamores on the base paths. He advanced his way around the bases on a Jeremy Martinez ground out and a wild pitch on Emil Estrella's walk, before Jackson Taylor dropped down a safety squeeze bunt down the first base line scoring Garis to make it a 9-7 Indiana State lead.
 
Morris made the lead stand in the top of the ninth as the senior reliever retired the Salukis in order with strikeouts to both Cecil Lofton and Kaleb Hall to close out the contest for his second save of the season.
 
Indiana State took the early lead in the first inning without recording a hit as two walks and back-to-back hit-by-pitches brought home Carter Beck, before Taylor connected on a bases-loaded, two-run single through the left side of the infield to put the Sycamores ahead 3-0. Indiana State added to the lead in the second as a pair of errors led to three more runs scoring, while Mason Roell added an RBI double to highlight a two-run fourth inning giving the Sycamores an 8-1 lead.
 
Beck and Taylor both had multi-hit games for Indiana State as the Sycamores connected on nine hits against the Salukis' pitching staff. Roell connected on a run-scoring double, while Keegan Garis was 1-for-1 with three runs scored after reaching base in all five plate appearances.
 
Max McEwen (4-2) took the win after going 5.2 innings in the Friday night start. The redshirt sophomore battled through the middle innings allowing seven hits and six runs while striking out five, before turning the ball over to the bullpen.
 
Zac Laird, Jack Armstrong, and Morris went the rest of the way combining to allow three hits and one run while striking out four to close out the victory.
 
Kaleb Hall and Tim Simay had two hits apiece as SIU combined for 10 hits overall. Holder doubled and Petrucelli tripled in the loss.
 
Tyler Timmerman (5-2) struggled to find the zone early in taking the loss after going 1.0 innings allowing two hits and five runs (three earned), while walking two. Dylan Petrey worked the second inning, while Cole Koonce was the heavy lifter in the middle frames going 3.2 innings allowing five hits and two runs as SIU battled back into the game. Matt Irvine and Tanner Gerdes closed out the game on the mound.
 
How They Scored
  • Jeremy Martinez was plunked by an early pitch from SIU starter Tyler Timmerman with the bases loaded in the bottom of the first inning with Carter Beck crossing the plate to give Indiana State the 1-0 lead.
  • Jackson Taylor followed two batters later with a two-run single through the left side of the infield bringing home Keegan Garis and Carlos Pena to give the Sycamores the 3-0 lead in the first.
  • Indiana State added to the lead in the bottom of the second as the Sycamores took advantage of two SIU errors in the frame. Garcia dropped down a run-scoring single as the SIU throw went down the right field line allowing both Beck and Thomas Emerich to score making it a 5-0 Sycamore lead.
  • Jeremy Martinez drove in Garcia on a fielder's choice later in the inning giving the Sycamores the 6-0 lead after two at Bob Warn Field.
  • John Lemm plated the first Salukis run in the game as the SIU catcher followed Gabe Petrucelli's triple to right center with an RBI ground out to second base to cut the deficit to 6-1.
  • Indiana State plated two more runs in the fourth as Emil Estrella's sacrifice fly to the wall scored Pena, while Mason Roell snuck an RBI double down the third base line scoring Garis to make it 8-1 Sycamores.
  • Jordan Bach made it an 8-2 game with a sacrifice fly to right field scoring Mason Schwalbach in the top of the fifth inning.
  • The Salukis plated four in the top of the sixth with Schwalbach (RBI fielder's choice) and Jaxon Holder (two-run double) driving in runs, while Holder capped the scoring coming across on a wild pitch to make it an 8-6 ballgame.
  • Southern Illinois continued the comeback in the eighth as Holder scored on Matt Schark's line drive sacrifice fly to left field cutting the Indiana State down to 8-7.
  • The Sycamores added insurance in the bottom of the eighth inning as Taylor dropped a safety squeeze bunt down the first base line scoring Garis to provide the final 9-7 scoring margin.
News & Notes
  • Carlos Pena ran his on-base streak to 27 consecutive games after drawing a first inning walk. He finished 1-for-4 from the plate with two runs scored.
  • Jackson Taylor drove in a career-high three RBIs on Friday evening with his two-run single in the first and RBI bunt in the eighth.
  • Mason Roell connected on his second double of the 2025 season.
  • Keegan Garis continued to be a ball magnet at the plate drawing his MVC-leading 14th and 15th hit-by-pitches in the game. It marked the second time he's been hit by multiple pitches in the same game in 2025.
  • Max McEwen picked up five strikeouts in Friday's contest giving him a team-leading 50 on the season. It marked his seventh game with at least five Ks and sixth start in a row he's reached the mark.
  • Gavin Morris recorded his second save of the season and first since February 18 against Florida Gulf Coast.
  • Indiana State improves to 3-1 in MVC series openers in the 2025 season. 
Up Next
Indiana State continues the three-game weekend series against Southern Illinois at Bob Warn Field tomorrow afternoon. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. and will be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
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