March 13, 2019

By Tim McCaughan

Indiana State Athletics

Sycamores Take Down Purdue in Midweek Action; Win Sixth Straight

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Indiana State baseball picked up its sixth consecutive victory Wednesday evening at Bob Warn Field as the team took down in-state for Purdue, 4-3. With the win over the Boilermakers, ISU improved to 13-1 on the season.

Indiana State loaded the bases in the first and jumped out in front on a RBI groundout from Joe Boyle to score third baseman Jake Means who earned a one-out walk earlier in the inning. ISU tacked on two more runs in the third when hot-hitting Max Wright (Toronto, Ont.) doubled off the wall in left to bring in Roby Enriquez and Romero Harris to push the Sycamore lead to 3-0.

Left-hander Geremy Guerrero took a perfect game into the fifth inning before Purdue used back-to-back base hits to get into the scoring column and cut into the Sycamore lead. Seth Gergely tripled to the gap in left before being brought home on a single from Tyler Powers.

The Boilermakers (3-12) tied the game in the sixth after setting up runners on second and third with no outs following a leadoff walk and a double. Cole McKenzie brought home Purdue’s Evan Albrecht on a sacrifice fly before Skyler Hunter crossed the plate following a balk.

Luke Fegen would drive in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth on a single through the left side which allowed Jarrod Watkins to score after the senior singled up the middle with one out to spark the rally. The base hit by Fegen was one of three for the senior outfielder on the day.

With the bases loaded and one out in the eighth, southpaw Tyler Grauer entered from the bullpen and induced a ground ball double play to shortstop to end the inning and keep the Boilermakers off the scoreboard. The junior went on to close out the game and record his second save of the season.

Fegen led the Trees with three base hits while Enriquez, Watkins and CJ Huntley each tallied two hits in the win.

Guerrero went five complete and allowed three earned runs while striking out six and walking just one in the no decision. Austin Cross earned the victory in two innings out of the bullpen to improve to 2-0 on the year. Cross struck out three of the six batters he faced and did ot allow a base runner.

Austin Peterson was charged with the loss after giving up the go-ahead run in the sixth. He tossed three innings in relief, falling to 1-2. Purdue starting pitcher Bo Hofstra went four innings and gave up five hits while striking out two.

Indiana State returns to the field Friday as the team begins a three-game series with The Citadel. Fans with a valid Military ID will receive two free tickets to each game for Military Appreciation Weekend. First pitch on Friday and Saturday is set for 2 p.m. while the finale will begin at 1 p.m. Sunday.