TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State rallied back from a late deficit twice on Thursday night and
Mason Roell connected on the walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning as the Sycamores topped Belmont at Bob Warn Field, 5-4.
The Sycamores (30-23, 15-7) entered the eighth inning trailing 3-0 as the Belmont (19-34, 9-13) limited the Indiana State offense throughout the early portion of the game.
Jeremy Martinez recorded the Sycamores' first hit of the contest with a one-out single in the fifth inning and
Mason Roell added a single in the sixth inning as Indiana State struggled to connect against Belmont starter Shane Duke.
Indiana State was able to string together the offense in the bottom of the eighth inning thanks in part to an error by the Belmont centerfielder on
Carter Beck's two-out single as the ball rolled to the wall allowing
Nomar Garcia to score from first and Beck end up on third on the play. With new life,
Emil Estrella singled home Beck to pull back within 3-2, before
Caden Miller connected on the game-tying RBI double to the wall in left center scoring Estrella to tie the game up at 3-3.
After
Colby Morse and Belmont reliever Sam Heyman traded zeros in the ninth inning with Morse striking out the side in the frame, the teams went into extra innings.
Belmont struck first in the 10th as Charlie Davis snuck his hand onto the plate ahead of the tag from Morse on a wild pitch to put the Bruins ahead 4-3. Indiana State responded with clutch two-out hitting in the bottom of the frame as
Caleb Niehaus connected on the RBI single through the left side of the infield with
Mason Roell sliding home ahead of the throw to make it a 4-4 contest.
Justin Hoff (2-1) ran into trouble in the top of the 11th as Belmont loaded the bases with none out in the frame. Hoff responded by striking out Michael Lareau and JD Whitworth, before Charlie Davis grounded out to
Nick Sutherlin at first to end the inning.
Jeremy Martinez opened the bottom of the inning with a double down the left field line against reliever Tate Marland (4-5).
Colin Sander dropped down the sacrifice bunt that was misplayed at first by the covering second baseman, allowing pinch-runner
Jaxon Sparks to move up to third, while Sander reached safely at first. Three batters later,
Mason Roell delivered with an RBI single through the left side of the infield scoring Sparks and setting off the Sycamore celebration that carried into shallow center field.
Mason Roell finished 3-for-6 from the plate on the night, while
Jeremy Martinez doubled in a multi-hit effort at the plate.
Caden Miller added a double in the win.
Ryan Karst worked 6.2 innings allowing five hits and two runs while striking out five in the quality start.
Carson Seeman struck out two in 1.1 innings of work, while
Colby Morse added four strikeouts over 2.0 frames, before
Justin Hoff shut the door in the 11th.
Brady Holbrook and Gardner Lawrence both homered and Lawrence added an RBI single to spark the Belmont offense in the game.
How They Scored
- Gardner Lawrence put Belmont on the board in the top of the second inning with an RBI single through the right side of the infield scoring Cavan McMeans to put the Bruins up 1-0.
- Gardner Lawrence added to the lead in the top of the fourth inning with a solo home run over the right field wall to make it a 2-0 contest.
- The Bruins went up 3-0 in the top of the eighth as Brady Holbrook connected on the solo home run over the scoreboard in right field.
- The Sycamores rallied with three runs in the bottom of the eighth courtesy in part to a Belmont error on Carter Beck's two-out single up the middle allowing Nomar Garcia to score from first and Beck to end up on third. Emil Estrella followed with an RBI single scoring Beck, while Caden Miller connected on the game-tying double to left center to even the score at 3-3.
- Belmont went up 4-3 in the top of the 10th inning as Charlie Davis slid home ahead of the tag on a wild pitch to put the Bruins up.
- Indiana State responded with Caleb Niehaus' RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning scoring Mason Roell to even it back up at 4-4.
- Jeremy Martinez led off the bottom of the 11th with a double down the left field line and Mason Roell made it count with a two-out RBI single through the left side of the infield scoring pinch-runner Jaxon Sparks for the walk-off 5-4 win at Bob Warn Field.
News & Notes
- Carter Beck extended his on-base streak to 37 consecutive games with a walk in the bottom of the first inning on his way to finishing 1-for-4 from the plate with a run scored.
- Carter Beck extended his hitting streak to eight consecutive games with his single in the eighth inning.
- Mason Roell extended his hitting streak to seven consecutive games following his 3-for-6 night at the plate with a run scored and an RBI.
- Emil Estrella recorded his team-leading 19th stolen base of the season in the eighth inning.
- Indiana State improved to 8-1 on the season in Ryan Karst starts on the mound as the Sycamore starter worked 6.2 innings allowing five hits and two runs while striking out five.
- Justin Hoff recorded his second win in as many appearances as the junior right-hander pitched a shutout top of the 11th inning.
- Indiana State recorded its 30th win of the 2026 season, marking 33rd time in program history the Sycamores have hit the 30-win mark.
- Indiana State (15-7) keeps pace with UIC (15-7) atop the leaderboard in the Missouri Valley regular season standings following UIC's 8-2 win over Bradley on Thursday night.
Up Next
Indiana State and Belmont continue the weekend series tomorrow evening at 6:30 p.m. ET. The game will be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
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