May 31, 2019

By Tim McCaughan

Indiana State Athletics

Sycamores Claim First NCAA Tournament Win Since 1995 After Downing McNeese

NASHVILLE -- Indiana State baseball earned its first NCAA Baseball Championship victory since 1995 with an opening round win over McNeese by the score of 6-5 at the Nashville Regional, hosted by Vanderbilt. ISU raced out to an early lead but a big fifth inning home run from Dane Tofteland (Grande Prairie, Alta.) stopped a McNeese rally and then four scoreless innings of relief by Tyler Grauer made it hold up for the win.

The win over McNeese helped the Sycamores improve to 42-16 while the Cowboys fell to 35-25. The victory was also career win No. 200 for sixth-year head coach Mitch Hannahs. The Sycamores are in the midst of their 10th all-time appearance in the NCAA Basketball Championship and the first since 2014.

The Sycamores will take on either host Vanderbilt or Ohio State on Saturday, June 1 at 7 p.m. ET. Game broadcast information will be announced later this evening by ESPN, but all games this postseason will air on the ESPN family of networks.

Jake Mean finished the game 3-for-4 at the plate with a pair of RBI. Max Wright (Toronto, Ont.) and Luke Fegen were also 3-for-4 at the dish with Fegen adding an RBI. Tofteland only had one hit – but it was a two-run home run which staked the Sycamores to a lead after McNeese had tied the game in the top of the fifth inning.

Triston Polley went five innings and was saddled with all five McNeese runs. He earned the victory to improve to 8-1 on the year. Tyler Grauer scattered four hits and a walk over the final four innings for his team-leading ninth save.

McNeese struck first in the top of the first inning when they got a pair of one-out singles and then with runners on the corners and two outs Jake Derickson singled to right field to stake McNeese to the early 1-0 lead.

Things would stay that way until the bottom of the third inning when Luke Fegen and Clay Dungan opened the frame with a pair of singles. Jake Means cleared them both to push the Sycamores ahead 2-1 when he doubled to right center. Jarrod Watkins then made it four base hits in-a-row with a single to right field which moved Means over to third. With runners on first and third, Roby Enriquez doubled to right field to score Means. Chris Ayers reached on a fielder’s choice and a double played ended the Sycamore threat up ISU leading 3-1.

In the fourth inning, Fegen recorded a two-out single and moved to second on a wild pitch. Clay Dungan then followed with a single to right field to drive Fegen home and stretch the advantage out to 4-1.

With runners on first and second and one away in the top of the fifth inning, McNeese climbed back in the contest with a triple by Nate Fisbeck to whittle the Sycamore lead down to 4-3. Fisbeck knotted the game a batter later when Clayton Rasbeary recorded a sacrifice fly to right field.

The game would not stay tied for long despite two quick outs for the Sycamores in the bottom half of the fifth inning. Max Wright singled up the middle which also forced a McNeese pitching change. Bryan King entered the game for the Cowboys and Dane Tofteland drilled a ball over the left field fence to reestablish a 6-4 advantage -- for his fifth home run of the season.

Derickson led off the top of the sixth inning by being hit by a pitch which ended the day for Polley. Grauer entered the game and a pair of McNeese singles loaded the bases with one out. Dungan made a great save up the middle with a diving stop and flipped the ball to Watkins to get an out. Dungan kept the ball in the infield and got the out to preserve the 6-5 advantage.

Grauer recorded two quick outs in the top of the eighth inning, but he walked Reid Bourque and after a pair of stolen bases faced Payton Harden with two outs and a full count and runner on the third. Grauer coaxed a groundout back to the mound and his throw over to first sent the game into the bottom of the eighth with ISU clinging to a 6-5 lead.

Peyton McLemore was charged with the loss, falling to 1-1 on the season after allowing the go-ahead homer. Aidan Anderson went three and two-third innings and allowed 10 hits which turned into four runs for the Trees.

NEXT UP

The Sycamores will take on either No. 2 national seed Vanderbilt or Ohio State at 7 p.m. ET on the second day of the Nashville Regional.