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Indiana State University Athletics

Celebration
3
Evansville UE 15-24
4
Winner Indiana St. INS 23-19
Evansville UE
15-24
3
Final
4
Indiana St. INS
23-19
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Evansville UE 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 3 4 0
Indiana St. INS 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 4 9 1

W: Morse, Colby (3-1) L: Kellen Roberts (1-2)

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

Sycamore pitchers shine, Curl connects on walk-off in Indiana State’s extra-inning win over Evansville

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Ryan Karst and Colby Morse out-dueled the Evansville pitching staff and John Curl came through with the 10th inning walk-off sacrifice fly as Indiana State took the series opener over the Purple Aces at Bob Warn Field on Friday night with the 4-3 win.
 
The Sycamores (23-19, 9-4) entered the bottom of the 10th trailing Evansville (15-24, 8-5) after the Aces scored in the top of the frame thanks in part to an Indiana State error. Aaron Nehls opened the inning reaching on a single to center and took second on the play after Carter Beck was unable to field the ball cleanly. After Benji Kautto flew out to left center allowing Nehls to move up to third, Simon Schulz connected on the go-ahead sacrifice fly scoring Nehls to put the score at 3-2 Evansville.
 
Indiana State rallied back in the bottom of the frame against UE reliever Kellen Roberts (1-2). Beck opened the inning drawing a walk, and then moved around as Emil Estrella singled to left and Caden Miller dropped down a bunt single to load the bases with none out. Nick Sutherlin was hit by a Roberts' pitch to bring Beck across the plate and tie the game up at 3-3.
 
After reliever Owen Byberg retired Mason Roell on a shallow popup to the shortstop in left field, John Curl came through with one of the biggest moments of his collegiate career as the senior connected on the game-winning sacrifice fly to center field allowing Emil Estrella to score on the plate for the walk-off RBI and secured the Sycamore win.
 
The late inning offense offset a classic pitchers' duel at Bob Warn Field as Indiana State starting pitcher Ryan Karst and UE starter Max Hansmann both went 7.0 innings in their respective starts. Karst allowed three hits and two runs while striking out a career-high nine batters for the Sycamores, while Hansmann allowed four hits and a run while walking four and striking out five for the Aces.
 
Indiana State reliever Colby Morse (3-1) out-dueled the UE pitching staff late as Morse retired the first six outs via strikeout on his way to posting a career-high seven strikeouts over 3.0 innings of work. Morse allowed just the Nehls single, while hitting two batters in recording his third win of the season.
 
Emil Estrella recorded three of the Sycamores' nine hits in the contest and added two runs scored in the win. Caden Miller added an RBI double in the first inning among his two hits on the night, while Nick Sutherlin doubled and drove in a pair of runs in the contest. Carter Beck drew two walks and scored twice to keep his on-base streak alive.
 
How They Scored
  • Indiana State took the early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as Emil Estrella scored from first on Caden Miller's RBI double.
  • Evansville took advantage of a walk issued to Simon Schulz and Spike Magill getting hit by a pitch, with Charlie Longmeier delivering a two-run double down the right field line in the top of the sixth inning to put the Aces ahead 2-1.
  • Indiana State tied the game up at 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning as Carter Beck slid home ahead of the throw on Nick Sutherlin's sacrifice fly. Beck reached on a leadoff walk and moved around the bases on Emil Estrella's single and a wild pitch, before coming around to score.
  • Evansville went ahead 3-2 in the top of the 10th inning as Aaron Nehls scored on Simon Schulz's sacrifice fly to right field to put the Purple Aces back in the lead.
  • Indiana State loaded the bases with none out in the bottom of the 10th inning with Nick Sutherlin bringing in the first run after getting hit by a pitch allowing Carter Beck to score to tie the game.
  • Two batters later, John Curl connected on the walk-off RBI sacrifice fly to right center scoring Emil Estrella from third base to close out the 4-3 Indiana State win. 
News and Notes
  • Caden Miller's on-base streak reached 21 consecutive games following his first inning RBI double. He finished the game 2-for-5 from the plate with an RBI.
  • Emil Estrella became the third Sycamore with a double-digit hitting streak after hitting safely with a first inning single. Estrella's streak sits at 10 games following the Friday night contest after going 3-for-4 from the plate with two runs scored.
  • Carter Beck extended his on-base streak to 26 games after drawing a walk in the bottom of the eighth inning. He finished 0-for-3 from the plate with two walks and two runs scored.
  • Emil Estrella recorded his team-leading seventh three-hit game of the season and 16th multi-hit game of 2026 in the win.
  • Ryan Karst recorded his second quality start of the season and second start in conference play going at least 7.0 innings on Friday night.
  • Ryan Karst set a new personal-best with nine strikeouts in the game, breaking his previous mark of seven set on March 30 at Valparaiso earlier this year.
  • Ryan Karst's nine strikeouts are the most by an Indiana State pitcher in the 2026 season and most by a Sycamore since Max McEwen struck out 11 last season on April 4, 2025, against Belmont.
  • Colby Morse's seven strikeouts in relief set a new career-high for the Sycamore right-hander, breaking his previous high of six set last season on April 1, 2025, at SIUE.
  • Ryan Karst and Colby Morse combined to record 10 consecutive outs via strikeout from the final out in the top of the sixth inning, through the final out in the top of the ninth.
  • The Sycamore pitchers combined for 16 strikeouts in the game, the most in a single game by the Indiana State pitching staff in 2026 and most by the Sycamores in a single game since the 2024 season when Indiana State retired 16 Valparaiso hitters on May 16, 2024.
  • Indiana State improved to 3-3 in extra-inning games played this season with Friday night's win.
  • The Sycamores recorded their third walk-off win at Bob Warn Field this season including the 4-3 11th inning win over Illinois (Mar. 18) and the 20-10 eighth inning win over UIC (Apr. 2). 
Up Next
Indiana State and Evansville continue the series on Saturday afternoon with first pitch set for 2 p.m. at Bob Warn Field. Indiana State is set to welcome back the 1986 College World Series team as a part of the pregame festivities.
 
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