MARION, ILL. – Indiana State was unable to bring across the tying run late in Friday night's game against Bradley as the Sycamores fell to the host Braves at Mt. Dew Park, 8-7.
 
The Sycamores (21-24, 9-10) put the tying run in scoring position in the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth innings, but were unable to connect on the game-tying hit against Bradley (10-31, 6-13) as Indiana State could not complete the comeback in the series opener against the Braves.
 
Indiana State rallied back from an 8-5 deficit in the top of the sixth inning as Carter Beck connected on an RBI triple to right center scoring Nomar Garcia to cut the deficit down to two runs. Beck came across the plate on a wild pitch to pull the Sycamores back within one in the inning. However, the Sycamores left Carlos Pena on base in the top of the inning as Bradley held the one-run lead.
 
The Sycamores put runners in scoring position in the seventh on Thomas Emerich and Mason Roell singles, a runner at second in the eighth on Jackson Taylor's walk and stolen base, and in the ninth on Jorge Cartagena's leadoff double, but Bradley reliever Reece Clapp (S, 4) was able to keep Indiana State off the board with 3.2 scoreless innings in recording his fourth save of the season.
 
Indiana State held control of the game early as the Sycamores answered a first-inning Bobby Atkinson two-run home run with a Roell RBI single and Jeremy Martinez's two-run home run to left field giving the Sycamores a 4-2 lead.
 
The Braves responded with RBI singles from Mason Breidenbach, Timmy O'Brien, and Cole Smith to retake the lead and added RBI from Beau Durbin (triple) and Cole Luckey (groundout) in building the 8-5 advantage.
 
Mason Roell led the Indiana State offense with four of the team's 12 hits on Friday evening. Roell added his first triple of the season, while Beck and Jackson Taylor also tripled in the loss. Beck and Jeremy Martinez recorded multi-hit games with Martinez connecting on his third home run of the season.
 
Breyllin Suriel (0-5) took the loss on the mound going 3.2 innings allowing seven hits and six runs (five earned). Jack Armstrong allowed three hits and two runs over 1.0 innings, while Gavin Morris went the final 3.1 innings allowing two hits and striking out four.
 
Cole Smith and Ashton Horchem had three hits apiece for Bradley as the Braves recorded 12 hits a team in the win. Smith and Beau Durbin both tripled, while Atkinson homered for Bradley.
 
Gavin Thompson (2-5) took the win going the first 5.1 innings allowing eight hits and seven runs while walking five and striking out two. Clapp went the final 3.2 innings allowing four hits while striking out one.
 
How They Scored

• Bradley took the early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as Bobby Atkinson connected on a two-run home run to right center scoring Cole Smith.
• The Sycamores answered in the top of the second inning as Mason Roell's RBI single to third scored Keegan Garis, while Thomas Emerich scored on a wild pitch to tie it up at 2-2.
• Jeremy Martinez homered down the left field line in the top of the third inning with his two-run shot scoring Carlos Pena to put Indiana State ahead 4-2.
• The Braves tied it up in the bottom of the inning as Mason Breidenbach singled home Smith and Timmy O'Brien followed up with a run-scoring single bringing home Breidenbach to make it a 4-4 contest.
• Bradley took the lead in the bottom of the fourth as Smith singled home Nick Hosie, while Jackson Smith scored on an errant pickoff throw to make it a 6-4 Braves lead.
• Martinez put Indiana State back on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth as he singled home Jackson Taylor to cut the deficit down to 6-5.
• Beau Durbin's RBI triple to left field scored O'Brien in the bottom of the fifth and then Durbin scored on Cole Luckey's grounder to short to stretch the lead to 8-5.
• Nomar Garcia scored on Carter Beck's RBI triple to right center and then Beck scored on a wild pitch to make it an 8-7 game in the bottom of the sixth. 

News & Notes

• Carter Beck extended his team-leading hitting streak to 15 consecutive games with his leadoff single in the top of the third inning. He finished 2-for-5 from the plate with a triple, RBI, and run scored.
• Mason Roell connected on a career-high four hits including his first collegiate triple on Friday night.
• Roell's four-hit game marked Indiana State's seventh game a player recorded at least four hits in the 2025 season.
• Mason Roell, Carter Beck, and Jackson Taylor all connected on triples on Friday night marking Indiana State's first three-triple game in over a decade. The last time the Sycamores posted three or more triples came back on April 1, 2015, when Jacob Hayes (two) and Kaden Moore tripled in the 14-5 win over the Cardinals.
• Jeremy Martinez recorded his third home run of the 2025 season with his two-run shot in the third inning.
• Gavin Morris lowered his MVC-leading ERA down to 1.29 in conference games as the senior right-hander worked 3.0 scoreless frames against the Braves. He's posted a 29:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 28.0 innings.

Up Next
Indiana State and Bradley continue the weekend series tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. ET at Mountain Dew Park in Marion, Ill. The game will be carried live on 105.5 The Legend.
 
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