PEORIA,
Ill.
- The Indiana State baseball team picked up their third extra-inning win the
last six games on Friday, scoring five unanswered runs to grab a 5-4
series-opening Missouri Valley Conference victory in 11 innings over the
Bradley Braves from O'Brien Field.
Indiana State (27-8, 7-3 MVC) remains in first place in the MVC standings, as
Missouri State (4-2 MVC) held a 7-0 lead over Illinois State in the sixth inning
before their game was suspended due to weather and Wichita State (4-3 MVC)
dropped a 4-1 decision at Evansville.
Bradley (17-13-1, 3-4 MVC) put a pair of runs on the scoreboard in the bottom
of the third inning, using a two-run home run by freshman Chris Godinez over
the left field wall. The Braves doubled their lead in the fifth, plating a pair
of unearned runs on a two-out, two-run single through the middle of the infield
by Max Murphy.
ISU put runners on base in six of their first seven innings against BU starting
pitcher Joe Bircher, but put that runner into scoring position just two times,
in the first and seventh innings.
The ISU rally began in the eighth inning off Bircher as senior Jeff Miera
reached on an error by Godinez and freshman Landon Curry singled through the
middle of the infield to chase Bircher from the game. Four straight Sycamores
drove in runs during the eight inning to tie the score, as senior Kyle Burnam
and junior Jeremy Lucas hit back-to-back RBI doubles before junior Robby Ort
and senior Jon Hedges picked up back-to-back run-scoring groundouts to knot the
game at 4-4.
The Indiana State bullpen combination of senior Brandon Dorsett, senior Brandon Flora, junior Devin Moore and senior Reggie Hochstedler closed out the game,
allowing just two hits in six scoreless innings in relief of ISU starter Dakota Bacus. Bacus allowed eight hits and four runs (two earned) with six strikeouts
in five innings.
Indiana State's 11th inning rally began with a one-out single by
redshirt junior Koby Kraemer, before senior Ryan Walterhouse was hit by a pitch
to put two runners on with one out. Sophomore Tyler Wampler gave the Sycamores
the lead, sending a ground ball through the right side of the infield to put
ISU in front 5-4 as Kraemer scored from second.
Bradley picked up a one-out single in the bottom half of the inning, but
Walterhouse made a leaping grab to take away a potential game-tying double at
third base before Hochstedler forced a game-ending groundout to Wampler at
short.
ISU gave Bradley their first loss of the season with leading after six innings,
as the Braves entered the game at a perfect 15-0 on the season. Bircher took a
tough-luck no decision, after striking out seven batters in seven innings to
become the all-time leader in strikeouts at Bradley.
Burnam, Kraemer and Wampler all picked up two hits, with Burnam, Lucas, Ort,
Hedges and Wampler all driving in one run.
Indiana State and Bradley are back in action at O'Brien Field at 3:00 p.m. (ET)
on Saturday, with sophomore southpaw Sean Manaea (3-1, 3.29 ERA) heading to the
mound for the Sycamores against right-hander Justin Ziegler (2-3, 6.69 ERA) for
the Braves.
