Feb. 14, 2019

Sycamore Baseball Opens 2019 Season at Jacksonville Friday

By Tim McCaughan

Indiana State Assistant Director of Communications

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Indiana State baseball returns to the diamond this weekend with a trip to Florida to open the 2019 season with a three-game series at Jacksonville. Friday’s opener is set for a 6 p.m. ET first pitch while Saturday’s contest will begin at 2 p.m. before the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m. Fans will have the ability to follow the Sycamores via Twitter for live updates at @IndStBaseball.

Seasoned Returners

Indiana State will be one of the most seasoned and veteran units in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2019, returning eight starters from the field and all three starting pitchers from a year ago. In total, the Sycamores return 22 letter winners from a third-place team. Eight of the nine returning fielders are seniors and two of the three returning starting pitchers are four-year players. In total, the Sycamore roster bolsters 14 seniors, 16 juniors, two sophomores and a trio of freshmen.

Strong Up The Middle

Two of the strongest players in the lineup for Indiana State come from the middle infield in seniors Clay Dungan and Jarrod Watkins. The duo combined for 135 base hits and 21 stolen bases. Dungan started all 55 games for the Sycamores, hitting .283 to go with a .369 slugging percentage and a .355 on-base percent. He also finished as the team leader in doubles with 14. Watkins was one of four Sycamores to finish over .300 in the box with a .304 average as the leadoff man. In total, Watkins finished with 12 doubles, a pair of triples and 18 RBIs. He was named to the All-MVC Defensive team after finishing the season with a .974 fielding percentage.

Back On The Mound

On the mound, Indiana State brings back left-handers Triston Polley and Tristan Weaver to go along with right-hander Tyler Ward. The trio started 37 games a year ago and combined for 224.2 innings of action. Polley finished 2018 with a 7-2 overall record to go along with a 3.53 earned run average while Ward went 6-3 with a 3.66 ERA, striking out 55 and walking just 13 batters. Weaver struck out 41 in 66.1 innings and finished 3-5 on the year.

Sycamores With Two On Preseason All-MVC List

Two Sycamores were tabbed to the Preseason All-MVC list in seniors Triston Polley (LHP) and Jarrod Watkins (2B). Polley started a team-high 15 games for the Sycamores on the mound in 2018. He finished with a 7-2 record and a 3.53 ERA while pitching a team high 94.1 innings. The southpaw allowed just 37 earned runs and held opponents to a .233 average against. Watkins started all 55 games for the Sycamores his first year in the program in 2018. He was an immediate impact player in the middle infield, earning an MVC All-Defensive nod. He finished second on the team with a .305 batting average going for 69 hits in 226 at bats. Watkins doubled 12 times to go along with two triples while driving in 18 RBIs and scoring 35 runs.

Grauer Named To Stopper Of The Year Watch List

Indiana State baseball junior pitcher Tyler Grauer was one of 75 players named to the 2019 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association’s initial watch list for the Stopper of the Year award. The award is given to the top relief pitcher in NCAA Division I baseball with this being the 15th year of the award. Grauer was a standout reliever during his sophomore season, making 21 appearances for the Sycamores. He pitched 25.1 innings and finished with a 3.76 ERA. The left-hander struck out 20 and allowed just seven walks en route to a 3-0 record. Grauer also closed out all three save situations he faced. In total, 26 conferences have representation on the list with at least two players coming from 17 different leagues. Grauer is one of three relief pitchers to be on this list representing the Missouri Valley Conference.

Looking At Jacksonville

Jacksonville enters the 2019 season fresh off a No. 2 seed at the Gainesville Regional. The Dolphins wrapped up last season with the 23rd-best RPI in the nation. JAX returns nine position players and five pitchers from a 40-21 team a year ago. Infielder Scott Dubrule is the top returning offensive players from 2018 after leading the Dolphins with a .348 batting average, a .409 on-base percentage and 85 hits. The ace of the pitching staff is right-hander Tyler Santana who finished with a 10-2 record, a 3.76 ERA while retiring 58 opponents via strikeouts.

All-Time Vs. Jacksonville

Indiana State and Jacksonville have met just two times with both meetings coming in the 1989 postseason. The Sycamores dropped the opening game of the of the Starkville Regional to the Dolphins 3-2 before ending Jacksonville’s season with a 9-4 win.

Long Road Swings To Start

Opening weekend of the 2019 season will be an 850-mile (1,700 round trip) bus trip for the Sycamores as they make their way to Jacksonville, Fla. It doesn’t get any easier for the team as week two features a trip to Wilmington, N.C., an 835-mile journey. The Sycamores will then head back to Western Carolina for two games, a 373-mile trip before making their way back to Terre Haute (1,756 round trip).

He Doesn’t Go Down Easy

Jarrod Watkins finished 2018 with a .305 batting average over 55 starts. Another area he excelled at was his strikeout numbers or lack thereof. Watkins was the toughest to strikeout in the Missouri Valley Conference at a 12.6 at bats per strikeout rating. In 226 at bats, Watkins has struck out just 18 times. Watkins ranked 28th nationally in the category.

Wear It

Senior Roby Enriquez was hit-by-pitch 27 times in 2018, finishing second in the nation in the category. Enriquez averaged 0.51 HBPs per game which was tops in the country. As a team, Indiana State finished sixth nationally in hit-by-pitches with 105 total. Third baseman Jake Means was hit 14 times while Dane Giesler and Luke Fegen were hit 10 times apiece.

You Can Run -- But I Wouldn’t

Sycamore Max Wright is one of the best behind the plate in the MVC. The sophomore has had just 22 opponents look to swipe a base with 12 of those runners being thrown out. He is the top defensive catcher in the MVC with the next best starting catcher being challenged is Matt Duce of DBU with 31 steal attempts against.

Great Dane

Okotoks Dawgs’ grad OF-INF Dane Tofteland (Grande Prairie, Alta.) finished 2018 with a .194 batting average after 19 base hits in 98 at bats. He played action in 30 games, making 25 starts primarily in the outfield. Tofteland homered in back-to-back games, first against Lipscomb and again at Middle Tennessee. He drove in 16 runs and scored 15 runs, finishing the season with four doubles, a pair of home runs and a triple ... Tofteland drew 10 walks and was hit-by-pitch four times while going 5-for-6 on stolen base opportunities. He had three multi-hit games and drove in a season high six RBIs at Middle Tennessee with a three-run home run and a double.