TERRE HAUTE —
A Missouri Valley Conference championship season has bloomed for the Indiana State baseball team in 2012. The Sycamores have been dominant through most of the season.
But it’s a near-unanimous belief among the Sycamores themselves that the seeds for 2012 were sown during a successful 2011 MVC Tournament run.
“It’s great to have as many guys back as we did from that tournament run. Until you’ve done it, you really don’t know what it’s all about and what to expect. Having that experience certainly doesn’t hurt,” infielder Koby Kraemer said.
ISU was the surprise at Omaha’s T.D. Ameritrade Park in 2011. The unfancied Sycamores were the No. 6 seeded-team, but they eliminated Illinois State and pushed Wichita State to the limit before finally bowing out one game away from the MVC Championship game.
This time, ISU heads to Missouri State — site of the 2012 MVC Tournament — as the No. 1-seeded team. The prize for the winner is the MVC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
In some ways, the vibe from 2011 to 2012 has changed. In other ways, it hasn’t.
“Every team gets to start over. That’s what we did last year. We told ourselves that the regular season was over, we could wipe it clean, and go for a regional bid,” ISU catcher Jeremy Lucas said “That’s what gave us the energy to play well. We’re going to have to do the same thing. We had a great season, but none of that matters until we win the tournament and get a guaranteed bid.”
ISU coach Rick Heller said the test ISU will have this year is to handle the pressure of being the favorite. The proverbial target is on the Sycamores’ backs. Heller said
“Nobody was worried about us [in 2011]. It’s a different deal when you get every team’s last effort,” Heller said. “For the other team, it’s just a nothing-to-lose type of feel. It makes teams play more at ease because they’re not expected to beat you. If you lose, big deal. It eases the pressure.”
No. 4-seeded Illinois State, No. 5-seeded Evansville and No. 8-seeded Creighton are in ISU’s group at the MVC Tournament. It is double-elimination within the group. The winner plays in a single-elimination championship game on Saturday.
Creighton (22-28, 6-14) is first for the Sycamores and the Bluejays — the defending champions — aren’t an easy mark despite their low seed.
“The team I didn’t want to play was Creighton because I know they’ve been looking forward to the tournament for a long time since they’ve been out of the race. Coach [Ed] Servais has been pumping them up with that,” Heller said.
Yes Servais has.
“It’s anybody’s opportunity on Tuesday. Records don’t mean anything at this time of year,” Servais said last Saturday after Creighton lost to Wichita State. “We match up with Indiana State well.”
Creighton will throw No. 1 starter Ty Blach against the Sycamores. ISU defeated Blach in a 6-3 victory in Omaha on April 6, a game in which Blach allowed five earned runs. Blach (5-5, 2.60) is usually more difficult to solve than that.
“Blach is a pretty hard thrower from the left side. It’s pretty rare. We’ve had some success against him. When we played against him, he didn’t have his best stuff,” Kraemer said.
ISU will go with No. 2 starter Sean Manaea today, but on the pitching front, ISU needs its bullpen to improve from recent performance. The Sycamores had a bullpen ERA of 7.88 against Missouri State. ISU’s ninth-inning ERA this season is 6.57. The Sycamores’ ERA is below four in every other inning.
Injury-wise, ISU is hoping to get infielder Jeff Miera back. Miera suffered an ankle injury against Wichita State on May 4. He is questionable for the MVC Tournament.
ISU last won the MVC Tournament in 1995.
Sizing up ISU’s opponents
The Missouri Valley Conference baseball tournament uses a double-elimination format among four teams in two groups. Indiana State is in Group A and it includes No. 4-seeded Illinois State, No. 5-seeded Evansville and No. 8-seeded Creighton.
Here’s a capsule look at ISU’s Group A opponents:
Illinois State
Record — 31-17, 10-9 MVC
Season series against ISU — Sycamores won 2 of 3 at Warn Field from March 30-April 1.
Pitcher to watch — Relief pitcher Kenny Long has a 1.93 ERA, pitches from multiple arm angles and is experienced.
Batter to watch — Second baseman Kevin Tokarski is sixth on the Redbirds in batting average at .309, but he causes chaos in other ways. Tokarski is patient at the plate (37 walks) and has stolen 14 bases in 19 attempts.
Overview — Illinois State was the one of the few teams in the league that failed to achieve balance. The Redbirds can hit, as evidenced by their .280 league batting average, but Illinois State also had the second-worst league-only ERA at 5.06.
Evansville
Record — 31-25, 10-11
Season series against ISU — Sycamores won 2 of 3 in Evansville from March 23-25.
Pitcher to watch — If ISU plays Evansville, it is likely to face No. 2 starter Kyle Lloyd. Lloyd was 5-3 with a 3.01 ERA and struck out nine Sycamores on March 24.
Batter to watch — Shortstop Eric Stamets is an Aces’ stalwart. He led the Aces with a .311 average and led the MVC with 30 stolen bases.
Overview — Like most other MVC teams, Evansville has pitchers that can lock down on any given day — the Aces had a league-only ERA of 4.14. Evansville was less consistent at the plate with a league-only batting average of .235 and just four home runs.
Creighton
Record — 22-28, 6-14
Season series against ISU — Sycamores won 2 of 3 in Omaha from April 6-8.
Pitcher to watch — Given that No. 2 starter Erik Mattingly held the Sycamores hitless for nine innings on April 7, he might seem to be the choice, but ISU probably won’t see Mattingly. No. 1 starter Ty Blach was considered to be one of the best arms in the conference entering the season. He “struggled” with a 5-5 mark and 2.60 ERA.
Batter to watch — Third baseman Chance Ross is emblematic of the aggressive way the Bluejays play under Ed Servais. He hits (.287), he draws walks (25), he can bunt (six sacrificies) and he puts pressure on teams on the basepaths (13 steals).
Overview — Creighton — the defending league champion — had no pitching problems … the Bluejays had a league-only ERA of 3.54, third-best in the MVC. Hitting was another issue. The Bluejays batted just .215 in MVC play this year and had just 32 extra-base hits. If the Jays’ bats don’t wake up, it’ll be a short stay in the Ozarks.
— Todd Golden
MVC baseball tournament
At Missouri State
Double-elimination within group. Single-elimination championship game
Group A — No. 1 Indiana State, No. 4 Illinois State, No. 5 Evansville, No. 8 Creighton
Group B — No. 2 Missouri State, No. 3 Wichita State, No. 6 Southern Illinois, No. 7 Bradley
Tuesday (all times EDT)
Game 1 — No. 4 Illinois State (31-17, 10-9) vs. No. 5 Evansville (31-25, 10-11), 10 a.m.
Game 2 — No. 1 Indiana State (41-15, 14-7) vs. No. 8 Creighton (22-28, 6-14), 1:30 p.m.
Game 3 — No. 3 Wichita State (35-23, 12-9) vs. No. 6 Southern Illinois (28-27, 9-12), 5 p.m.
Game 4 — No. 2 Missouri State (37-18, 13-7) vs. No. 7 Bradley (26-25-1, 8-13), 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday
Game 5 — Game 1 vs. Game 2 losers, 10 a.m.
Game 6 — Game 3 vs. Game 4 losers, 1:30 p.m.
Game 7 — Game 1 vs. Game 2 winners, 5 p.m.
Game 8 — Game 3 vs. Game 4 winners, 8:30 p.m.
Thursday
Game 9 — Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 5, 10 a.m.
Game 10 — Loser Game 8 vs. Winner Game 6, 1:30 p.m.
Game 11 — Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9, 5 p.m.
Game 12 — Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 10, 8:30 p.m.
Friday
Game 13 — Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9, 1:30 p.m.*
Game 14 — Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 10, 5 p.m.*
* if neccessary
Saturday
Championship game, 8 p.m.
College
Sycamores try to catch Missouri Valley Conference tourney vibe
- College
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ISU track sending record 22 to postseason
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ISU baseball hoping Manaea can get its MVC Tournament moving in right direction
Indiana State’s baseball team has been waiting all season for its stars to align.
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ISU's athletic treasure trove
Think of every championship that Indiana State has won in each of its sports, past and present. Think of every tournament — postseason or regular season — which the Sycamores have claimed as their own.
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Ort sets ISU RBI record in 16-7 win
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Bradley ends 16-game MVC losing streak against ISU
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Behind 16 hits and Manaea's pitching, ISU beats Bradley
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ISU baseball team builds on success with 14-2 rout
Indiana State’s baseball victory over Alcorn State on Friday would take on more meaning Saturday if the Sycamores could build momentum and pick up on the good work they did in Friday’s ninth-inning rally.
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.
“It was a really good experience for everybody. It felt great to finally come out here and put some things together. It’s also really nice when your offense puts a lot of runs on the board,” Moore said.
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. -
Johnson, Lyke win MVC titles for ISU
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ISU earns badly-needed win
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ISU’s Mascari and Hope win MVC track & field titles
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ISU pole vault tradition continues with help from its author
Pole vault is track and field for the adrenaline junkie, Indiana State senior Nicole Hope proclaimed during a recent practice at Marks Field.
To catapult oneself about 14 feet into the air with a large $500 fiberglass pole on a daily basis is a risky endeavor.
“We have to be fearless. You can’t be afraid at all,” said Hope, who has also catapulted herself into the NCAA’s elite in the event, ranking 15th in the NCAA with her leap of 13-feet, 9 1/4. -
Sycamores searching for answers after seventh loss in eight games
These are the bad times for the Indiana State baseball team.
The will is there for the Sycamores to pull out of their worst slump of the season, but the results are not. The suffering continued on Wednesday at Bob Warn Field as Eastern Illinois defeated ISU 5-3. -
METRO ROUNDUP: ISU men's track picked first in MVC Championships, women second
The Indiana State men’s track team has won the last two Missouri Valley Conference outdoor championships, but the women have not stood on the top podium since 1999.
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North grad Welker helps Whitson earn first NCAA bid as coach
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METRO ROUNDUP: Rose-Hulman wins HCAC all-sports trophy
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Rose tallied 66.5 points for its finishes in 11 men’s sports, just ahead of Franklin with 66. Hanover was third with 53 points. -
METRO ROUNDUP: Rose-Hulman tennis falls in HCAC semifinal
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Manaea fights off bad hip, wet weather to toss four innings
Mother Nature has been the bane of the Indiana State baseball team’s existence all season. Eight games wiped due to weather are a testament to that. So it was no surprise, though no less disappointing, when she didn’t deal Indiana State pitcher Sean Manaea the greatest hand on Saturday as he tries to recover from a hip injury.
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ISU track enjoys big night at IU's Billy Hayes Invitational
The Indiana State Sycamores either won or finished as the top collegian in 12 events, led by the record-breaking performance of senior Brandon Pounds at the 2013 Billy Hayes Invitational Friday at Indiana University.
Pounds broke his own school record to win the men’s hammer throw. -
Lansing looking for more home games for next fall
Indiana State’s men’s basketball team is looking for a few good games.
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The Sycamores have filled in most of the blanks in their nonconference schedule, but as ever, ISU coach Greg Lansing would like to visit the friendly confines of Hulman Center a bit more often. -
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. -
Metro roundup: ISU hands out spring awards
The Indiana State University athletic community, along with family, friends and fans, paused Tuesday night to honor the spring sports teams at the Terre Haute Savings Bank Spring Sports Banquet.
Most of the ISU teams are still in competition with the baseball team having 13 games left of its regular-season schedule before beginning the Missouri Valley Conference tournament May 21, the softball team with just three games left of the docket this coming weekend against Southern Illinois and the track and field program with just one more meet before beginning its postseason events.
The ISU women’s golf team is the team that has ended at this time, with the group recording a sixth-place finish at the MVC championships one week ago. -
METRO ROUNDUP: Rose baseball wins another thriller
Rose-Hulman earned its third victory in its last at-bat in the last five days with a 6-5 win over Franklin in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference baseball Tuesday night at Art Nehf Field.
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ISU relay teams enjoy strong day at Drake Relays
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Indiana State baseball series canceled
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Metro roundup; Five Wabash Valley players on Terre Haute Rex team
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