TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State continues the home stand this weekend with a three-game series against Murray State at Bob Warn Field over the April 25-27 weekend. All three games are scheduled to be carried live on 105.5 The Legend.
 
It's Indiana State Baseball Alumni Weekend as the Sycamores will hold festivities for baseball alums throughout the series. The Sycamores will introduce the baseball alums prior to Saturday's game and honoring the 30th Anniversary of the 1995 MVC Championship team on the date. For more information on Alumni Weekend or to register, click here.
 
The weekend's promotional schedule includes Friday's Indiana State baseball card giveaway (set four). Saturday will feature Terre Haute Humane Society Day with the first 200 Fans to make a donation to the Terre Haute Humane Society receiving a free travel food bowl courtesy of Refreshment Services Pepsi. Sunday's series finale is Indiana State Faculty and Staff Day with all Indiana State Faculty and Staff members receiving two free general admission tickets. Junior Achievement of the Wabash Valley will be in attendance on Sunday offering resources on financial literacy and accepting donations to fund financial literacy programs throughout the Wabash Valley.
 
Indiana State (20-20, 8-7) and Murray State (28-9, 10-5) both sit among the conference leaders through the first five weekends of Missouri Valley play. The Sycamores boast weekend series wins over Valparaiso, UIC, and Southern Illinois, while Murray State has won eight of their last nine MVC series contests with sweeps against Bradley and Valparaiso.
 
Season Overall
Carlos Pena (.359) has continued his hot streak at the plate this season as the senior leads the Sycamores in hits (56), home runs (13), and RBIs (47). He has recorded a team-best 20 multi-hit games and 13 multi-RBI contests on the year while boasting a 32-game on-base streak earlier this season.
 
Jackson Taylor (.310) has also been among the team's hitting leaders on the year and enters the weekend on a career-best 21-game on-base streak. Taylor has eight doubles on the year, three over the last 10 games, and has provided a spark from the lower part of the Sycamores' batting order.
 
Thomas Emerich has continued to be a force of nature from the plate over the last five games with a team-high .522 batting average on his way to raising his batting average to .306 in the 2025 season. The graduate student connected on his second home run of the season this past weekend in Evansville and leads the Sycamores with 13 doubles on the year.
 
Keegan Garis (.301), Carter Beck (.299), Mason Roell (.288), and Jeremy Martinez (.286) have all seen their batting averages climb over the last two weeks as Indiana State is hitting .281 as a team in the 2025 season. Garis leads the team with a .461 on-base percentage, while Beck is the team leader in runs scored (41) and stolen bases (11).
 
The Indiana State pitching staff has welcomed back Jacob Spencer, Ryan Karst, and Grant Parson to the mix over the last two weeks as the Sycamores have posted a team 6.24 ERA over 344.2 innings. Overall, 18 different pitchers have seen time on the mound in 2025 with Max McEwen (5-2, 4.71 ERA), Gavin Morris (5-3, 4.19 ERA), Ty Brooks (3-3, 6.04 ERA), and Breyllin Suriel (0-3, 6.35 ERA) among the top pitchers of note on the season.
 
Valley Play
The Indiana State offense has been on fire in Missouri Valley Conference competition this season. The Sycamores have combined to hit .303 from the plate over the 15 conference games placed by freshmen Andrew Ortiz (.526) and Zack Henderson (.500). Jackson Taylor (.385), Thomas Emerich (.372), and Carlos Pena (.361) are all hitting above .350 in Valley play.
 
Pena's power has played well in Valley competition with six home runs and four doubles among his team-high 22 hits. Emerich is the team's doubles leader with six in conference play, while Taylor has five doubles and a team-high 15 runs scored. Nomar Garcia is also among the team and Valley leaders with eight stolen bases over 15 conference games.
 
Gavin Morris (3-1, 1.74 ERA) has been dominant out of the Indiana State bullpen in conference competition. The senior right-hander has added a pair of saves over 20.2 innings pitched on the mound while posting a 23:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a .174 opponent batting average.
 
Max McEwen (3-1, 5.53 ERA) has won his last three Missouri Valley starts including going 6.2 shutout innings this past weekend in a 2-0 win over Evansville. He leads the team with 33 strikeouts over 27.2 innings pitched on the year.
 
Ty Brooks (1-1, 5.87 ERA) and Breyllin Suriel (0-1, 4.09 ERA) have been among the team's weekend starters throughout a majority of the Missouri Valley season, while Grant Parson (0-0, 4.91 ERA) made his MVC debut this past Saturday against Evansville.
 
Overall in Valley competition, the Sycamores pitching staff ranks second in ERA (5.62), first in strikeouts (132), and first in opponent batting average (.257).
 
Scouting Murray State
Murray State enters the weekend series with a 28-9 overall record and have won their last six contests with victories over UIC, SEMO, Valparaiso (three) and North Alabama. The Racers are second in the conference with a 10-5 record sitting one game back of leader Missouri State (11-4) with four weekends to play.
 
Murray State was selected third overall in the Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Preseason Poll receiving 84 points and one first-place vote prior to the start of conference play. The Racers were represented by Luke Mistone (1B), Will Vierling (C), and Dylan Zentko (RP) on the Valley's preseason All-Conference team as voted on by the league's head coaches.
 
Murray State's offense is hitting a Valley-high .317 from the plate on the season paced by Dom Decker (.376), Mistone (.370), and Dustin Mercer (.366), while power bats Jonathan Hogart (.333, 12 HR) and Carson Garner (.269, 12 HR) lead an offense that has hit 53 home runs on the year. Hogart also heads the team with 21 doubles, while Dan Tauken is the team leader with 53 RBIs.
 
The Racers' pitching staff features 17 different pitchers who have seen action over the course of the 2025 season. Murray State has combined to post a team 4.68 ERA over 321.0 innings with a 293:151 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a .269 opponent batting average.
 
Series History
Indiana State holds the 16-4 all-time record against Murray State dating back to the inaugural matchup against the Racers back on March 15, 1992. The Sycamores are 5-2 against Murray State since the Racers joined the Missouri Valley Conference in 2023 with series wins in both Terre Haute (May 12-14, 2023) and Murray (Apr. 5-6, 2024). Indiana State also topped the Racers in an elimination game last season at the 2024 MVC Baseball Championships, 11-4.
 
Zach Davidson turned in a Missouri Valley Conference Tournament performance for the ages and the Indiana State bats scored 11 runs after the second inning as the Sycamores topped No. 2 Murray State in an elimination game at German American Bank Field in the elimination game, 11-4.
 
The Sycamore bats came to life in the third inning behind RBI doubles from Dominic Listi and Luis Hernandez, while Adam Pottinger added a two-run double in the eighth and Randal Diaz a solo home run in the sixth in the Indiana State win.
 
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.