Ashley Dickerson
GoSycamores.com
PEORIA, Ill. – Indiana State Baseball (31-18, 10-7 MVC) evened the series with Bradley (24-18, 8-8 MVC) this afternoon, forcing a game three rubber match set for Sunday. The Sycamores relied on the long ball as both junior Hunter Owen and senior Andy DeJesus blasted balls over the fence to send the Sycamores past the Braves by a final score of 4-2.
The Sycamores started things off with a bang as the top of the order snagged back-to-back-to-back hits in the first. DeJesus led off with a perfectly placed bunt to reach safely before senior Andy Young singled through the right side to move DeJesus to third. Owen then dug in at the plate and stroked a double off the wall to score DeJesus, claiming the early 1-0 lead.
Striking back in the bottom of the first, Bradley led off with a single, moved runners, and then scored on a sacrifice fly, evening the score.
Hunter Owen stepped up again in the second, knocking his sixth home run of the season over dead center field to reclaim the lead. Indiana State followed with two baserunners, but could not cash in on any more runs.
After holding the Braves to four scoreless innings, a RBI double from Bradley's six-hole hitter in the bottom of the sixth evened the playing field at 2-2.
The Braves threatened in the bottom of the seventh as they loaded the bases, but sophomore Jeremy McKinney was called out from the bullpen and struck out the side, pitching out of the jam with no damage.
The Sycamores broke through in a big way in the top of the ninth as senior Andrew Gutierrez reached on a walk just before DeJesus crushed his second homer of the season to plate the go-ahead runs, taking a 4-2 lead.
To make things interesting, in the bottom of the ninth the Braves put two on with a hit by pitch and a walk, but McKinney worked out of the jam once again with three straight outs, striking out the last batter to secure the win in dramatic fashion.
McKinney improved to 6-3 on the mound as he worked two and a third innings of relief allowing only one hit and striking out four. Owen finished 3-for-5 at the plate as he drove in two runs with and hit his sixth homer of the season. DeJesus was the ninth inning hero of the game, sending his second of the season over the fence, a two-run gem to give the Sycamores the go-ahead run to defeat the Braves, 4-2.
The Sycamores return to Dozer Park tomorrow for a game three rubber match beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET. Tomorrow's game will be live on The Valley on ESPN3, with radio coverage on WIBQ 1230 AM. Indiana State looks to earn their fifth MVC series win of the season on Sunday. For more updates on Sycamore baseball, visit GoSycamores.com or follow us on social media, including Facebook and Twitter.
