TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Indiana State baseball returns to action Friday night as the team begins a three-game series at No. 24 Louisville. The series opener is set for 6 p.m. Friday while Saturday's and Sunday's games will begin at 1 p.m.
Brian Fritz and
Luke Martin will have the radio call for the weekend via GoSycamores.com/Watch and fans can watch the action on The ACC Network Plus.
SYCAMORES AT A GLANCE
The Sycamores are coming off a midweek split in which the squad dropped its Tuesday matchup top Northern Illinois 5-4 before claiming a 10-6 victory at Ball State.
Jarrod Watkins (.338, 11 2B, 13 RBI) and
Dane Giesler(.306, 10 HR, 27 RBI) lead the Trees at the plate while
CJ Huntley and
Luke Fegen are hitting .302 and .265, respectively. As a team, the Sycamores are hitting .266 and have hit for 60 doubles, 10 triples and 34 home runs. The Indiana State pitching staff has struck out 254 batters and holds a combined 4.35 ERA which is third-best in the Missouri Valley Conference.
LOOKING AT LOUISVILLE
Louisville enters the weekend series 27-13 overall, 10-11 in the ACC and hold a No. 24 rank in college baseball. The Cardinals are hitting .274 on the season led by Logan Wyatt at .329 in 40 games. The Louisville pitching staff holds a 3.32 combined ERA.
ALL-TIME VS THE CARDS
Indiana State leads the all-time series with Louisville, 20-13, with the last meeting coming in 2007 when ISU fell to the Cardinals 7-3. ISU has dropped four-straight to Louisville with the last win coming in 1992 after the Trees won 10-0.
WARD EARNS MVC PITCHER OF THE WEEK AFTER DOMINANT OUTING AGAINST DBU
Tyler Ward put together a masterful performance Friday night as he pitched a complete game shutout against No. 23 Dallas Baptist. Ward allowed just six hits to the high-powered Patriots offense that entered the game with 251 runs scored in 34 games. The right-hander shut down much of the DBU lineup with just five Patriots recording base hits. Ward also ended DBU leadoff man Jameson Hannah's 46-game reached base streak and his school record 35-game hitting streak. Ward, a Santa Claus, Indiana native, improved to 6-3 on the season after striking out eight and walking just two Patriots. He also retired eight of the final nine batters he faced.
HE CAN DEAL
Triston Polley has been the most dominant arm in the Sycamore rotation so far this year. In 10 starts, the Avon, Indiana product holds a 5-1 record to go along with a 3.22 ERA -- the best ERA in the MVC among starting pitchers. Polley has pitched 64.1 innings and struck out 41 batters while holding opponents to a .229 average against. On the year, the southpaw has allowed only 23 earned runs and one or fewer earned runs in five starts.
HE DOESN'T GO DOWN EASY
Jarrod Watkins leads the Sycamores at the plate this season with a .338 batting average over 37 starts. Another area the junior sits atop the team is in his strikeout numbers or lack thereof. Watkins is the toughest batter to strikeout in the Missouri Valley Conference at a 10.6 at bats per strikeout rating. In 149 total at bats, Watkins has struck out just 14 times. The mark is also 87th in the country.
SWINGING IT WELL
Redshirt senior
Dane Giesler has been swinging the bat well as of late for the Sycamores. The first baseman leads the team with 10 home runs and RBI (27) and has connected on three bombs in the last two games, including two at Northern Illinois. His 10 home runs lead the MVC and rank 49th nationally.
AS A STAFF
Indiana States' pitching staff holds the third-lowest ERA in the conference at 4.34 behind Missouri State (4.03) and Bradley (4.13).
Ethan Larrison holds the lowest ERA on the staff out of the bullpen with a 3.64 mark in 17 appearances. Among starting pitchers, southpaw
Triston Polley has a 3.22 ERA which is the best in the MVC among qualified pitchers. The Sycamores have struck out 254 batters and walked 142 in 331 innings. RHP
Tyler Ward leads the charge with 55 strikeouts. The Sycamores hold the second-lowest batting average against in the conference at a .259.
FAST STARTS
Indiana State has been dominant to open games this season, outscoring the opposition 23-9. The Sycamores have outscored opponents in all but two innings this season including a 33-14 advantage in the ninth.
WEAR IT
Sycamore outfielder
Roberto Enriquez has been hit-by-pitch 20 times this season -- to rank 2nd in the nation in the category. With his 0.57 hit-by-pitches per game, he leads the country.
Luke Fegen has been nine times. As a team, ISU has been hit 69 times to lead the Missouri Valley and rank 11th nationally.
SECOND IN PROGRAM HISTORY
Sycamore head coach
Mitch Hannahs moved into sole possession of second place in program history Friday (4/13) after securing his 141st career victory during a 5-2 win against Illinois State, passing former ISU head coach Paul Wolf.
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