TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State closes out the eight-game road trip this weekend as the Sycamores head to Springfield, Mo. and Hammons Field for a three-game weekend series against MVC leader Missouri State running May 9-11.
 
Sunday's series finale between the two teams will be carried live on ESPN+, while all three games will be featured on 105.5 The Legend as Indiana State heads into the final stretch of the 2025 regular season with six conference games left to play.
 
Indiana State (10-11) is currently seventh overall in the MVC standings trailing next week's opponent Illinois State (11-10) by one game and Belmont (12-9) and UIC (12-9) by two contests. The Sycamores have a two-game lead over Evansville (8-13) and three game edge over Bradley (7-14). Missouri State currently leads the conference with a 15-6 overall mark in league play sitting one game against of Murray State (14-7) and two up on Southern Illinois (13-8).
 
In Valley Play
Indiana State is currently third in the Missouri Valley Conference in team batting average (.297), fourth in slugging (.477) and fourth in on-base percentage through the first 21 games of conference competition. The Sycamores have also combined to sit second in team doubles (46), third in triples (6), and fifth in stolen bases (27) on the year.
 
The Sycamore pitching staff is fourth in the MVC in team ERA (5.43) over 182.1 innings on the mound. The Sycamores are fourth in team strikeouts (170) and third in opponent batting average (.260), while sitting fourth overall in walks allowed (95).
 
Senior infielder Jackson Taylor enters the weekend sitting third overall in the MVC in batting average (.389), third in on-base percentage (.494), and second in triples (2) in league play, while Carlos Pena (.683) is fifth overall in slugging percentage and ninth overall in home runs (7). Carter Beck has also made his appearance in multiple offensive categories including third in hits (32) and sixth in RBIs (24). Nomar Garcia has also made an appearance on the list sitting fourth overall with nine stolen bases in MVC competition.
 
Senior right-hander Gavin Morris enters the weekend as the conference leader in ERA (1.24), second in opponent batting average (.155), ninth in wins (3) and fourth in saves (4) while allowing just four runs in MVC play out of the bullpen. Max McEwen is dotted throughout the rankings sitting 10th in batting average (.245), eighth in innings pitched (36.1), second in strikeouts (41), and first in wins (4).
 
Other Sycamores of note in conference competition include Andrew Ortiz (.382) and Zack Henderson (.375) both hitting above .375 on the season while splitting duties in right field. Jeremy Martinez (.312) is also hitting above the .300 mark in conference play with five doubles and 12 RBIs in the middle of the Indiana State lineup.
 
Grant Parson (1-1, 3.00 ERA) has returned to the weekend rotation picking up his first conference win after going a season-long 6.1 innings in the 4-2 win over Bradley on Sunday. Breyllin Suriel (0-3, 5.58 ERA) and Ty Brooks (1-1, 5.86 ERA) have made five starts apiece on the mound for the Sycamores, while Jack Armstrong (1-0, 4.97 ERA) has made seven appearances out of the bullpen in league play.
 
Season Overall
Carlos Pena (.346) leads six Sycamores hitting above the .300 mark on the season heading into the final six games of the regular season. Pena leads the Sycamores with 14 home runs and 49 RBIs while lining up at first base, right field, and designated hitter with a team-high .665 slugging percentage.
 
Carter Beck (.318) saw his 17-game hitting streak come to an end on Tuesday against Tennessee, but the sophomore outfielder continues to lead Indiana State in hits (63) and runs scored (47), while sitting second in RBIs (47) and home runs (9). Jackson Taylor (.320) has also seen his batting average stay steady in the .320s as the Sycamore second baseman has recorded 12 extra-base hits on the year while adding 28 runs scored and 15 RBIs.
 
Zack Henderson (.306) and Andrew Ortiz (.317) have split time in right field over the last month, while Keegan Garis is hitting .303 from the plate over 45 starts in the outfield while sitting tied for second on the team with nine home runs. Thomas Emerich (.291) has been hovering around the .300 mark and is tied with Beck for the doubles lead with 13. Overall, Indiana State is connecting at a .280 clip at the plate for the season with a .388 on-base percentage and .449 slugging percentage.
 
The Indiana State pitching staff has posted a 6.20 ERA over 409.2 innings pitch with a 339:217 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The Sycamores are allowing opponents to hit .271 from the plate on the season.
 
Gavin Morris (5-3, 3.45 ERA) has been electric out of the bullpen with a 38:16 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a .229 opponent batting average over 47.0 innings. Jack Armstrong (2-0, 5.16 ERA), Ty Brooks (3-3, 5.96 ERA), Colby Morse (2-3, 6.54 ERA), Breyllin Suriel (0-5, 6.85 ERA), Jacob Spencer (0-3, 8.88 ERA), and Carson Seeman (0-0, 6.41 ERA) are all in the mix for action this weekend against the Bears.
 
Scouting Missouri State
Missouri State enters the weekend series with a 25-21 overall record, 15-6 in Missouri Valley play to lead the conference standings by a game over Murray State (14-7) with six contests to play. The Bears and Racers will face off against each other next weekend with potential conference regular season title implications on the line.
 
The Bears were voted the preseason MVC favorite by the league's head coaches receiving 90 total points and five first-place votes. Nick Rodriguez (2B), and Caden Bogenpohl (OF) were both honored on the conference's preseason All-MVC team. Missouri State has lived up to the billing to date winning six of their seven conference series on the year with their lone blemish coming over April 18-19 at UIC falling in two of the three games to the Flames.
 
Missouri State's offense has come to play in Valley competition with the Bears leading the conference in batting average (.324), runs (209), hits (242), doubles (57), and home runs (52). Rodriguez has powered the Bears' offense and is the Valley leader in multiple offensive categories including slugging percentage (.902), runs scored (28), hits (37), RBI (34), doubles (10), and home runs (12). Jake McCutcheon is also among the conference's batting average (.364) and slugging percentage (.705) leaders while adding eight home runs in MVC play on the year.
 
The Bears' pitching staff has posted a team 6.32 ERA over 178 innings in conference competition. Missouri State leads the league in strikeouts (180) and strikeouts looking (610, while allowing opponents to hit .284 from the plate. Jason Schaaf (3.96) and Owen Slater (4.30) are both inside the top 10 in the MVC ERA leaders, while Tyler Charlton is fifth in the Valley with 36 strikeouts. Jackson Holmes is second in the Valley with five saves on the year.
 
Series History
Missouri State holds the 75-53 all-time edge over Indiana State, but the series has swung to the Sycamores with Indiana State holding the 7-3 mark over the last 10 games. The Bears hold the 39-26 edge inside Springfield, Mo. with Indiana State shortening the gap winning each of the last two series on the road in both 2021 and 2023.
 
Last season, Missouri State claimed the series opener on March 22, 2024, in Terre Haute, as the Bears took a 6-0 lead into the eighth inning and held off the Sycamores' five-run rally to claim the win. Indiana State took advantage of three bases-loaded walks in the inning, while Luis Hernandez (RBI single) and Parker Stinson (RBI sac fly) provided the final runs in the loss.
 
The Sycamores evened the series with a 3-0 win on Saturday afternoon with Brennyn Cutts going into the seventh inning, while Hernandez drove in all three runs with a pair of RBI doubles to extend his then 20-game hitting streak.
 
Indiana State claimed the series on Sunday afternoon with Hernandez and Randal Diaz both homering, while Cam Edmonson and Zach Davidson combined to go 6.0 innings in relief with nine strikeouts in the series-clinching 8-5 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.