TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State heads back on the road for six of their next seven games starting this weekend as the Sycamores travel to Carbondale, Ill. and Southern Illinois to continue Missouri Valley play in another key conference series over May 1-3 at Itchy Jones Stadium.
 
Friday and Saturday's contests are set to begin at 7 p.m. ET, while Sunday's series finale is set for a 2 p.m. first pitch. All three games are projected to be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
Recapping Last Weekend

• Indiana State improved to 10-5 in Missouri Valley play on the season and moved into a three-way tie for the conference lead based on percentage points with both Murray State (12-6) and UIC (10-5) with three conference weekends to play.
• The Sycamores took both the Friday and Saturday contests against Evansville in securing their fifth consecutive conference series as Indiana State remains the lone team in the Valley to have won every conference series they have played this season.
• The Sycamores took the opening 4-3 win on Friday night with a 4-3 extra-inning win on John Curl's RBI walk-off sacrifice fly.
• Indiana State secured the series win on Saturday behind a six-run fourth inning highlighted by Colin Sander and Carter Beck two-run doubles in the inning, while Caleb Niehaus homered and drove in three runs.
• The Sycamores fell in the finale to Evansville, 4-3, after three Indiana State errors led to all four Purple Ace runs in the contest in the defeat.
• Caleb Niehaus was Indiana State's top performer at the plate over the weekend with a .500 batting average with six hits over 12 at-bats, including a pair of home runs and three RBIs.
• Caden Miller (.364), Emil Estrella (.333), and Carter Beck (.333) all hit over .300 on the weekend with Beck adding two doubles, three RBIs, and four runs scored.
• The Sycamores hit .287 as a team over the three games with the Aces, while adding eight doubles and two home runs.
• Ryan Karst (0-0, 2.57 ERA) and Spencer Johnsen (0-0, 0.00 ERA) both were standouts on the mound as the duo combined for 14.1 innings while posting nine strikeouts apiece in the Friday and Sunday starts on the mound.
• Colby Morse (1-0, 0.00 ERA) added a 3.0-inning, seven-strikeout game in relief in picking up Friday's win, while Carson Seeman worked 3.1 innings in relief to pick up Saturday's victory.
• The Sycamore pitching staff posted a 1.93 ERA over 28.0 innings allowing just 14 hits and a .143 batting average, while recording a 31:10 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Season Spotlight

• The Indiana State offense features a variety of players sitting among the tops in the Missouri Valley in multiple offensive categories heading into the weekend competition.
• Mason Roell (.372) is currently third in the Valley in batting average and second in on-base percentage (.482), while posting 17 extra-base hits over 32 games played.
• Carter Beck continues to lead the Valley in RBIs with 47 and runs scored with 49, while sitting third in the conference in home runs (11) and second in total extra-base hits (29).
• The Sycamores have three athletes in the top five in runs batted in with Carter Beck (47), Nick Sutherlin (41), and Caden Miller (41) among the Valley leaders.
• Emil Estrella is also among the tops in the conference sitting third overall with 14 stolen bases and third in overall triples with three.
• Pitchers Carson Seeman and Ty Brooks are both among the Valley's leaders in wins on the mound with Seeman second overall with a 6-0 record, while Brooks is tied for third with a 5-2 mark on the bump.
• Ty Brooks remains in the top 10 in the conference overall in ERA with a 5.10 mark over 59.1 innings pitched.
• Jack Armstrong and Colby Morse are both tied for sixth in the conference overall with three saves apiece.
• The Sycamores lead the Missouri Valley in a number of team offensive categories including doubles (102), hits (443), scoring (7.5 runs per game), slugging percentage (0.480), home runs (58), walks (205), and defensive double plays (34).
• Overall, the Sycamores' pitching staff have pitched a Valley-high 390.2 innings on the year resulting in a 6.22 ERA with a 347:238 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
• Seven different Sycamore pitchers have made at least 15 appearances on the mound this season. 

Sycamores in Valley Play

• The Indiana State offense remains the standard in the Missouri Valley this season with a .338 batting average with the team second in the league in doubles (40), while leading the conference with 27 home runs and 71 extra-base hits.
• The Sycamores have added a league-high 132 runs scored, while sitting third overall with 23 stolen bases.
• On the mound, Indiana State is second overall in the conference in team ERA (4.67) over 129.0 innings sitting sixth in total strikeouts (129).
• The Sycamores have four players inside the top 10 in batting average in conference play including Valley leader Mason Roell (.442), while Carter Beck (.400), Caleb Niehaus (.395), and Colin Sander (.357) all sit inside the top seven in the Valley.
• Carter Beck and Mason Roell are both tied for the Valley lead with six home runs apiece, while Beck is the Valley leader with 23 RBIs.
• Nick Sutherlin is tied for the conference lead with eight doubles in Valley play.
• Carter Beck also leads the MVC in total runs scored in conference competition with 20 on the year.
• Nomar Garcia is tied for the conference lead with six stolen bases.
• The Indiana State pitching rotation features two of the top arms in the Missouri Valley with Spencer Johnsen (1-0, 0.56 ERA) and Ryan Karst (2-0, 1.50 ERA) both sitting inside the top three in the conference in ERA.
• Spencer Johnsen is currently fourth in the Valley in strikeouts per nine innings at 11.25 and is the conference leader in WHIP (0.94). 

Series History Against Southern Illinois

• Indiana State and Southern Illinois continue one of the longest series in Valley history this weekend as the teams meet on Friday night for the 208th time.
• Southern Illinois holds the 108-99 all-time advantage in the series dating back to the first game on April 17, 1967, with SIU topping the Sycamores 14-8.
• The series has continued annually since 1967 with the COVID-shortened season in 2020 the only break in the series between the two teams.
• Indiana State has held the series edge over the Salukis recently winning three consecutive against SIU since 2023.
• The edge includes last year's 2-1 matchup at Bob Warn Field where Indiana State claimed the first and third games to top SIU. 

About the Southern Illinois

• Southern Illinois enters the week with a 17-25 overall record and 8-7 mark in Missouri Valley play.
• The Salukis have conference series wins over both Illinois State and Bradley on the year to sit fifth in the league standings heading into the weekend.
• SIU is hitting .261 as a team from the plate with 39 home runs, while leading the Valley in team fielding percentage (.972).
• The Salukis are second overall in the conference in team ERA (5.53) and second in total strikeouts (35).
• Henry Kufa leads the team with a .297 batting average over 33 games, while Tim Simay is the team's offensive leader in a variety of categories including hits (44) and doubles (10).
• Cecil Lofton and Julio Guerrero are tied for the team lead with six home runs apiece, while Guerrero has one more RBI over Lofton (28-27) in the team's RBI battle.
• Andrew Evans is the ace on the mound for SIU with a team-leading 5-2 record and a 2.44 ERA over 62.2 innings. He's posted a 71:22 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a .212 opponent batting average.
• Troy Shepard (2-3, 4.10 ERA) and Meade Johnson (1-2, 6.75 ERA) have been consistent starting arms for SIU in 2026.
• Jack MacIntosh (5-6, 4.23) has been the team's do-everything arm out of the bullpen with a team-high 20 appearances, while allowing opponents to hit .186 from the plate. 

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