TERRE HAUTE — When Ryan Strausborger led off the bottom of the first inning with a homer Sunday afternoon at Bob Warn Field at Sycamore Stadium, it did a couple of things for the Indiana State baseball team.
It showed the Sycamores, who went their first nine games without hitting a ball out of the park, that such a hit was possible, a theme that first baseman Phil Liniger expanded upon twice later in the game.
Just as importantly, it established that the Sycamores were going to answer every threat from visiting Tennessee-Martin. Every time the Skyhawks scored Sunday, ISU matched or bettered that total — at least until the visitors got three meaningless runs in the top of the ninth that made the final score 12-7 in favor of the home team.
“That was nice to see,” coach Rick Heller said of his team’s repeated answers. “We didn’t do that much [Saturday, when the two teams split a doubleheader].”
UT-Martin had scored in the first on a two-out double by Ty Nelson, but Strausborger evened that score on the third pitch of the bottom of the inning. ISU got an unearned run in the third inning, set up by Levi Ferguson’s leadoff bunt single, but the Skyhawks took advantage of a brief spell of wildness by Sycamore starter Jason Van Skike to get two runs in the top of the fourth for a 3-2 lead.
That advantage also was brief. In the bottom of the inning Tyler Graham was hit by a pitch, Robby Ort tied the game again with a run-scoring double, and Liniger put the Sycamores ahead to stay with the first of his two homers for the day. A single by Ferguson, a walk to Jordan Pearson, a double steal and Strausborger’s sacrifice fly made it 6-3 before the inning was over.
Liniger added another two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth and continued his six-RBI onslaught with a run-scoring single in the seventh and an RBI double in the eighth.
“I was seeing the ball fine,” the junior college transfer said after the game. “I did some extra work before the game. I struggled a bit [Saturday, an 0-for-4 performance in ISU’s 4-3 loss], and the coaches helped me out. I hope I can carry this out for the rest of the week.”
“It was nice to see Ryan and Phil hitting like that,” Heller said. “For us to win a championship, those guys will have to do that most days.”
Strausborger and Graham added eighth-inning triples, enabling Graham to score four runs, and Ferguson finished with three hits to make the first series in the renovated ballpark a successful one.
“I was real happy with how we came out and played today,” Heller said. “We had a long day yesterday, but we came out with a lot of energy and played good baseball.
“It’s good to win a series,” the coach added. “We swung the bats a lot better, we played errorless baseball — it was a real positive day.”
Liniger indicated that he and his teammates were quite happy with their first games in their refurbished home.
“I never played on [artificial] turf my whole life, and that’s something I always wanted to do,” he said.
Speaking of the series as a whole, Liniger noted, “It started off rough, but we learned from our mistakes and capitalized on them.”
If the rain stops, ISU has another home game Tuesday afternoon against Eastern Illinois. And on March 19 the Sycamores start a nine-game homestand that lasts the rest of the month and includes the first Missouri Valley Conference Series of the season against Illinois State on March 26-28.
Indiana State University
Related Photos
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Race to the plate: Indiana State's Jordan Pearson begins his slide past Tennessee-Martin catcher Ty Nelson as the throw to home plate comes in Sunday at Bob Warn Field. Pearson beat the tag and scored a run for the Sycamores during their home game against the Skyhawks. Joseph C. Garza
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Through the rain: Indiana State pitcher Jason Van Skike delivers a pitch in a steady drizzle during the Sycamores' game against Tennessee-Martin Sunday at Bob Warn Stadium. Joseph C. Garza
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Tribune-Star/Joseph C. Garza Going for the double play: Indiana State's Jordan Pearson throws to first plate after he forced out Tennessee-Martin's Cory Stooksbury (14) during the Sycamores' game against the Skyhawks Sunday at Bob Warn Field. Joseph C. Garza
Discussion
Playin' long ball: ISU uses home runs to secure series victory over UT-Martin
- Indiana State University
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Is this ball rolling? Can Sycamores keep finding their shooting stroke?
Can Indiana State expect any carryover from its record-setting shooting performance Saturday when the Sycamores resume Missouri Valley Conference play against Illinois State at 7:05 p.m. today in Hulman Center?
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Time for a pick-me-up
Indiana State’s magnificent 3-point shooting duo of Brittany Schoen and Anna Munn connected at crucial times Sunday in Hulman Center.
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Indiana State connects on all 12 of its 3-point shots vs. SIU and sets three NCAA records in process
When you’re a shooter and you’re in a slump, the boilerplate cure is to summon amnesia, forget about your struggles and keep on shooting.
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Perfect game: ISU shoots NCAA record 12-for-12 from 3-point range in win over SIU
Indiana State set an NCAA record for 3-point percentage and consecutive 3-pointers made Saturday afternoon in Hulman Center, connecting on all 12 attempts during a 78-68 win over Southern Illinois.
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‘Frustrated’ Sycamores regroup to face Southern Illinois
Indiana State’s men’s basketball struggles have hit one Sycamore senior hard.
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Thomas nets double-double as ISU women end losing streak
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Freezing in Peoria: Sycamores fall at last-place Bradley
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MVC’s worst a tantalizing option for ISU
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Sycamores can’t slow down Stutz, Wichita State
All or nothing.
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Sycamores can’t stop Stutz, Shockers
All or nothing. It was that kind of game for Wichita State center Garrett Stutz. Unfortunately for Indiana State’s men’s basketball team, the “all” came in the second half.
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McWhorter’s fortunes rise with ISU’s
More so than any other Sycamore, Steve McWhorter might embody the decline and the recent rise of the Indiana State men’s basketball team.
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Johnson dominates again for ISU track
Felisha Johnson continued to dominate women’s weight throw while two Indiana State hurdlers moved into today’s finals after solid performances in the preliminaries Friday at the Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame.
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Indiana State women lose at Illinois State
Playing short-handed again, Indiana State’s women suffered their sixth straight Missouri Valley Conference basketball loss Friday night, falling 78-67 to host Illinois State.
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ISU grinds out win
Drake’s men’s basketball played three overtimes on Saturday; Indiana State played two on Sunday.
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Sycamores introduce 27 football recruits
Christmas came a bit late, or quite early, depending on your point of reference, but 27 recruits were welcomed to the Indiana State football program on National Signing Day at Hulman Center on Wednesday.
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With a modest winning streak — two in a row would certainly qualify as modest — the Indiana State men’s basketball team would like to move on to momentum.
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How badly did Indiana State want to get Butler as its BracketBusters opponent?
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Sycamores need 2 overtimes to claim win at Evansville
Indiana State men’s basketball coach Greg Lansing constantly talks about how the Sycamores need to match Evansville’s toughness.
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Schoen scores 1,000th point in ISU loss
Brittany Schoen scored a game-high 20 points Sunday, becoming the 24th Indiana State women’s basketball player to reach the 1,000-point career mark, but host Wichita State pulled away in the final minutes for a 74-63 win over the Sycamores in Koch Arena.
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Sycamores will have to match Aces’ toughness
Indiana State men’s basketball coach Greg Lansing has an enduring respect for the toughness Evansville coach Marty Simmons coaxes out of his Purple Aces.
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Mattox’s 31 not enough for ISU women
Indiana State pulled within 63-57 with a 6-0 run with 8 minutes, 50 seconds remaining Friday night at JQH Arena, but the Sycamores lost 84-70 to host Missouri State in a Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball game.
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VICTORY! Sycamores shake losing streak against UNI
With 4 minutes, 20 seconds to go, Indiana State’s men’s basketball led by 10 points and seemed to be on their way to a comfortable victory over Northern Iowa.
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ISU not without options at quarterback
With the graduation of Ronnie Fouch, Indiana State coach Trent Miles has a big hole to fill at quarterback for the 2012 season.
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MVC play-in round a stronger possibility for ISU
If you’re familiar with the Beetle Bailey comic strip, a classic scene depicts Sarge hanging from a branch growing out of the side of a cliff with Beetle looking down from above.
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TILL IT'S OVER: Mahan’s emergence comes at a good time
In the preseason of her second year, Indiana State women’s basketball coach Teri Moren spoke with excitement about having more “pieces” to fit together for a winning puzzle.
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Halfway to ninth: No. 18 Creighton blows out ISU
The defensive job the Indiana State men’s basketball team did on Creighton super sophomore Doug McDermott might be the envy of the Missouri Valley Conference.
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TODD GOLDEN: Indiana State men caught between expectation, reality
The Missouri Valley Conference is hush-hush on how it puts together its matchups for the annual conference schedule.
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ISU women focusing on turnovers today
The ISU women will be concentrating on hanging on to the ball today against Drake in Hulman Center.
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ISU women nipped at buzzer
Creighton sophomore Carli Tritz — blanketed by Indiana State senior Brittany Schoen — had just two points at halftime Friday in Hulman Center.
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ISU needs to find chip on its shoulder
When one looks back at the totality of Indiana State’s 2010-11 men’s basketball season, there’s a recurrent theme that tied together the high points in a 20-14 campaign. A recurrent theme that might give ISU a lifeline in what has been a disappointing 2012 season.
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