EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Carter Beck's solo home run in the fifth inning broke a scoreless tie and Indiana State pitchers Max McEwen and Gavin Morris made it stand as the Sycamores topped host Evansville, 2-0, in Thursday night's opener at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium.
 
McEwen (5-2) and Evansville's Kenton Deverman (2-5) had their opponent's offenses stymied through the first four innings of the contest with both pitchers showcasing their command of the strike zone to keep the game scoreless.
 
After Deverman retired the first two Indiana State (20-17, 8-5) hitters in the top of the fifth inning, the Evansville (11-25, 5-8) left-hander and Beck battled to a 2-2 count. The Sycamore center fielder won the battle at the plate with a solo home run over the left field wall giving Indiana State the 1-0 lead.
 
McEwen pitched around trouble in the bottom of half of the inning getting UE's Brodie Peart to pop-up to shortstop Nomar Garcia to leave two Purple Aces on the base paths.
 
After both pitchers kept the other team off the board in the sixth, Indiana State struck again with one out in the seventh inning. Thomas Emerich hammered the one-out first pitch from Deverman down the left field line for a stand-up double. The next pitch, Andrew Ortiz connected on a sharp single back up the middle bringing Emerich sliding home ahead of the throw to put the Sycamore lead to 2-0.
 
McEwen ran into trouble in the bottom of the seventh as the redshirt sophomore put two on base with two outs following a walk issued to UE's leadoff batter Ty Rumsey. Morris (S, 3) entered and got Charlie Longmeier on a check-swing strike three to escape the jam and keep the 2-0 lead intact.
 
Morris took it the rest of the way striking out five of the last six Evansville hitters, including striking out the side in the bottom of the ninth inning to secure the conference series opening win.
 
Jeremy Martinez and Ortiz combined for four of Indiana State's eight hits on the day, while Martinez and Carlos Pena both doubled in the win. Beck added his ninth home run of 2025 with the solo shot in the fifth.
 
McEwen went 118 pitches on the day in going 6.2 innings. The redshirt sophomore allowed four hits while striking out six in claiming his third consecutive win on the mound. Morris went the final 2.1 innings for his third save of the year and added a season-high six strikeouts.
 
Drew McConnell had two of Evansville's four hits in the loss, while Longmeier posted the lone extra-base hit with a double in the bottom of the first.
 
Deverman worked 7.0 innings allowing seven hits and two runs while striking out seven in taking the loss. Max Hansmann worked the final 2.0 innings with a pair of strikeouts to keep the game within striking distance.
 
How They Scored

• Carter Beck broke the scoreless tie in the top of the fifth inning as the sophomore outfielder connected on a two-out solo home run over the left field wall to give Indiana State the 1-0 lead.
• The Sycamores added insurance in the seventh inning as Andrew Ortiz followed Thomas Emerich's double down the left field line with an RBI single back up the middle to provide the final 2-0 scoring margin.

News & Notes

• Carlos Pena ran his on-base streak to 31 consecutive games with his leadoff double in the sixth inning. He finished the day 1-for-3 with a walk.
• Pena's double in the sixth inning also extended his hitting streak to 10 consecutive games.
• Carter Beck homered for the ninth time of the 2025 season and first since going deep on March 29, 2025, in the first game of the doubleheader at UIC. He's tied with Keegan Garis for second on the team in home runs trailing just Carlos Pena (11).
• Max McEwen picked up his third consecutive series opening win after going 6.2 innings in Thursday's contest against Evansville. He moves to 3-1 overall in Valley play through the first five weekends.
• Gavin Morris recorded a season-high six strikeouts on his way to retiring all seven batters he faced on Thursday evening. The senior right-hander went 2.1 innings in his team-leading third save of the season.
• The right field platoon of Andrew Ortiz and Zack Henderson continues to deliver for the Sycamores after Ortiz's 2-for-3 night with an RBI on Thursday. It runs the Sycamore right fielders to an absurd .786 (11-for-14) batting average over the last four games with seven runs, three RBIs, a double, triple, and home run.
• Indiana State's 2-0 win marked their second shutout of the 2025 season and first since Grant Parson and Colby Morse combined to shutdown SEMO on March 8, 2025, with the 3-0 win at the Redhawks.
• The MVC shutout win marked Indiana State's first conference shutout win since March 23, 2024, when Brennyn Cutts and Jared Spencer combined to record the 3-0 win over Missouri State.
• The shutout win over Evansville marked Indiana State's first shutout win over the Purple Aces since Cam Edmonson and Simon Gregersen combined to post a 6-0 shutout win over UE back on May 27, 2023, in the 2023 MVC Baseball Championship Game.

Up Next
Indiana State and Evansville continue the weekend series tomorrow evening with first pitch set for 7 p.m. ET at GAB Field. The game is set to be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
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