TERRE HAUTE —
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.
Jeff Miera scored the winning run on a throwing error on a one-out, two-strike bunt by Landon Curry. With Miera at second base and Tyler Wampler at first, UNO pitcher Josh Bullock fielded the bunt and attempted to force Miera at third base.
Miera was already at the bag, however, and to make matters worse for the visiting Mavericks, Bullock air-mailed his throw down the left field line. Miera scampered home and beat the throw to score the winning run.
The game-winning run provided relief as much as release for the Sycamores, who didn’t figure to struggle as much as they have to score runs against the 11-32 Mavericks. ISU (34-10) has a .207 batting average in the series and has stranded the paucity of runners it’s had — 14 in all.
The good news for the Sycamores is that its pitching has been more than a match for a game UNO pitching staff. ISU starter Sean Manaea was sharp as he struck out eight Mavericks and allowed just two hits in eight innings of work. The ISU sophomore southpaw has allowed two earned runs or fewer in six of his last seven starts.
“I’ve been able to keep hitters off-balance with my off-speed stuff. I think that’s something all of the starters have been doing a good job of lately,” Manaea said.
UNO took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning on a Alex Mortensen single. ISU answered in the fifth inning as Jeremy Lucas hooked a two-run home run around the left field foul pole to put the Sycamores up 2-1.
It stayed that way until the ninth. UNO’s Brady Hohl singled off reliever Devin Moore and scored on a two-out Caleb Palensky double into the right field gap. Moore didn’t allow any further damage, but it was 2-2.
Forced to bat in the bottom half of the ninth, ISU did the proverbial little things to position itself for the victory. Miera led off the ninth and slapped a base hit to right. UNO center fielder Hohl and right fielder Cody Brown briefly got crossed-up trying to field the gapper and an alert Miera pounced. He motored into second with a double.
After Wampler walked, Curry fell behind in the count against Bullock trying to lay down a sacrifice bunt. Curry still had the bunt sign for a risky two-strike attempt and laid down a perfect bunt down the left field line.
As Bullock’s throw sailed into left field, Miera — who had already slid into the bag — wasn’t aware the play was at his base. But once signaled by ISU coach Rick Heller, who man’s the third base coaching box, he beat the throw home.
“I slid in just to make sure I’d be safe. I didn’t even know he had thrown to third. I realized it when coach was yelling, ‘Go! Go!’ Never did I think they’d throw to third. Hats off to Curry for getting the bunt down with two strikes, that’s hard to do,” Miera said.
Heller was philosophical about ISU’s hitting slump.
“It’s hard to get the pitching and hitting to come together. In all of the years I’ve done this, its been so few times when everything was clicking — hammering the ball and getting the pitching — it just seems like it never happens as much as you want it to. We’re in one of those stretches right now,” Heller said.
ISU clinched its eighth consecutive series win with the victory Saturday. It closes out the UNO series at noon today. Ryan Torgerson (7-1, 2.88) gets the start for the Sycamores.
College
Related Photos
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Trot: Indiana State catcher and West Vigo product Jeremy Lucas rounds the bases after a two run home run against Nebraska-Omaha. The Sycamores defeated the visitors 3-2 with a run in the bottom of the ninth.
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Gone: Indiana State's Jeremy Lucas watches his home run head over the left-field wall. The blast put the Sycamores up 2-1 over the visiting Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks.
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Tribune-Star/Jim Avelis Well begun: Indiana State pitcher Sean Manaea of Wanatah, Ind., started the game for the Sycamores in their non-conference game with Nebraska-Omaha. He gave up just one run in seven innings. ISU won 3-2 with a run in the bottom of the ninth.
Discussion
ISU baseball living on the edge
Another ninth-inning win
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Mission accomplished.
The Sycamores were aggressive from the opening inning at the plate and starting pitcher Devin Moore gave them eight valuable and effective innings on the mound as ISU defeated Alcorn State 14-2 at Bob Warn Field.
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Moore’s eight innings of work were as valuable as gold to an ISU team that is short on quality arms due to injury and ineffectiveness. He didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning and one of the two runs he conceded was unearned. -
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Manaea fights off bad hip, wet weather to toss four innings
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Pounds broke his own school record to win the men’s hammer throw. -
Lansing looking for more home games for next fall
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Secret weapon: Kelsey Rosselli finishing Woods career with a bang
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ISU baseball gets back into rhythm with victory
Baseball is a rhythm game. With contests every day or five times a week in the case of many college programs, you have the chance to build on success or wallow in a slump.
Mother Nature took that rhythm away from Indiana State’s team last week. After a 7-1 loss to Indiana on April 24, ISU was supposed to play a three-game series at Tennessee-Martin, but it was wiped out by rain.
So the rhythm was disturbed, but perhaps that wasn’t a bad thing.
ISU was in a five-game losing streak before its unintended vacation and the Sycamores made a move in the right direction Wednesday with a 7-0 win over DePauw at Bob Warn Field.
“It was a disappointing weekend. We went all the way down to Tennessee and didn’t get to play. We sat around in the hotel room. We came here and it was still raining. It was nice to get out and see some live pitching,” ISU center fielder Landon Curry said. - More College Headlines
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