WICHITA, Kan. — When the Indiana State baseball team entered the Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Tournament, the Sycamores had high hopes of contending for a NCAA Tournament bid, or at the very least, to play for the conference championship.
By the time the Sycamores exited Wichita State’s Eck Stadium, they were resigned to playing in a deadening, anti-climactic game that meant nothing to either their aspirations or Friday opponent Southern Illinois.
With no pressure and nothing of consequence on the line, the Sycamores still couldn’t find a way out of a demoralizing rut. ISU led SIU by three runs early in the game, but the Salukis roared back to notch a 10-6 victory, ending the Sycamore season on a depressing down note.
“We picked the wrong time to play bad. The last week and a half, we’d hit and we couldn’t pitch. Or we’d pitch and we couldn’t hit. It just didn’t work out,” ISU left fielder Brady Shoemaker said.
ISU, which led the MVC by a game going into the final regular season series, ended its season on a seven-game losing streak. The NCAA aspirations, the national ranking the Sycamores briefly had, they all seemed a distant memory as No. 2-seeded ISU was the only team to go 0-3 at the MVC Tourney.
“It was a very frustrating three days for us. We didn’t at any time play the game we did that got us here. We have to get better at that next year. It was a learning experience for us,” ISU coach Lindsay Meggs said.
ISU appeared to regain its moxy with early offense and effective pitching by starter Jake Petricka. A two-run home run by Brian Jett in the second inning and a solo blast by Nick Ciolli in the third staked the Sycamores to a 3-0 advantage. Petricka only allowed one hit in the first three innings.
“We came in relaxed, maybe too relaxed, and were doing a lot of free-swinging,” SIU first baseman Mark Kelly said. “Once we calmed down and realized we should have fun, we were fine.”
Then the bottom fell out. An error by second baseman Brian Ramirez started a five-run Saluki flood in the fourth inning. A two-run double by Aaron Roberts, along with RBIs by Tyler Bullock, Jordan Sivertsen and Tony Lepore helped SIU take a 5-3 lead.
The SIU (24-28) advantage was 6-3 in the sixth when they put the game away. A four-run sixth inning, all but one of the runs were scored with two outs, finished the Sycamores off as ISU needed to use three pitchers in the inning to get out of trouble.
Jett’s second home run of the game came in the bottom of the sixth, but potential Sycamore rallies in the eighth (bases loaded) and ninth (runner at second) were stamped out by SIU’s bullpen.
Despite the bittersweet end to the season, ISU (33-21) finished with its best record since 2003 and it was its second-best record in the last decade.
Eleven seniors finished their ISU careers, including starters Ramirez, Jett, Brady Shoemaker and Bronco Lafrenz. Several more might have played their last games in a Sycamore uniform as juniors are eligible for the Major League Baseball draft and several ISU players could get drafted.
“I’m proud of our team, I’m proud of our accomplishments. The seniors turned the program around and got us back on the map in the Midwest,” Meggs said.
College
ISU baseball swept out of Wichita
Sycamores end season on 7-game losing streak
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ISU hurdler Swift becomes 5th Sycamore to make NCAAs
Indiana State sophomore Greggmar Swift became the second member of the men’s team and the fifth Sycamore overall to qualify for the 2012 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Finals at Drake University, placing second in the second heat of the 110 meter hurdle quarterfinals Saturday at the NCAA East Preliminary Round.
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MVP of the MVC: Lucas first Sycamore to earn Player of Year honors
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Sycamores try to catch Missouri Valley Conference tourney vibe
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FROM THE PRESS BOX: Subtle switch has fostered MVC baseball parity
When Indiana State was crowned as the regular season baseball champion of the Missouri Valley Conference last Thursday, it marked the fifth different regular season champion the league has had since 2005.
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ISU claims Missouri Valley Conference baseball title
Entering Thursday’s game against Indiana State, Missouri State starting pitcher Nick Petree had gone 72 1/3 innings without surrendering an earned run, an unofficial NCAA record.
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ISU baseball in familiar territory with MVC title on line
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A time for firsts: SMWC seniors have national title aspirations
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Win over SIU puts Sycamores in first place
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Major Clay takes fourth straight MVC high jump title
For the fourth straight year, Indiana State’s Major Clay will climb to the top spot on the awards podium as the Sycamore captured his fourth high jump championship at the 2012 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference outdoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday.
The competition was conducted at Cessna Stadium on the campus of Wichita State University. -
Edgewood takes Western Indiana Conference golf crown
Edgewood and senior Jackson Cowden took top honors in the Western Indiana Conference boys golf championship played Saturday at Idle Creek.
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North grad wins 10,000 at Big Ten Championships
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Top-seeded Rose-Hulman falls in opener of HCAC Tournament
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ISU's Ort getting hot at right time for Sycamores
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Terre Haute native getting national attention as freshman for Kentucky
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Top seed, home field doesn’t guarantee Rose success
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Metro roundup: ISU’s Lucas honored by Missouri Valley again
For the fifth time in the last nine weeks, Indiana State junior catcher Jeremy Lucas has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week.
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Sycamores top Shockers in 10 innings in MVC series opener
If free baseball is what you want, Indiana State has what you need. For the sixth time in the span of a month, ISU’s series opener went extra innings.
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ISU starting pitchers in rhythm heading into Wichita State series
“Gettting into rhythm” is such an oft-used cliché in sports that it’s hard to hear the term and fight the urge to not let it enter one ear and escape another.
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ISU goes to well too many times
Perhaps the most unnecessary pursuit for a Wabash Valley sports fan during the now-completed weekend was watching the first few innings of nonconference college baseball between Indiana State and visiting Nebraska-Omaha.
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ISU baseball living on the edge
Indiana State’s baseball team got its game against Nebraska-Omaha in Saturday between morning and evening rain showers. But in the wake of another walk-off 3-2 victory against the struggling Mavericks, one might be forgiven if they felt the Sycamores are walking between the raindrops a bit.
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PREP ROUNDUP: North Central baseball improves to 10-2
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METRO ROUNDUP: Jenkins, Goatee win inaugural Rush the Punter 5K
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Providing perspective: ISU’s vets have 2009 as window into 2012
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