Sycamores rally comes up short in Sunday finale

By Press release submission

May 18, 2022

Indiana State's ninth inning rally came up just short as the Sycamores fell in Sunday's series finale to Southern Illinois at Itchy Jones Stadium, 7-3.

The Sycamores (23-20, 8-10 MVC) mounted a late rally against SIU (39-13, 14-4 MVC) reliever Matthew Steidl in the top of the ninth inning as Luis Hernandez, Aaron Beck, and Parker Stinson all reached on two-out singles to load the bases. However, Jordan Schaffer's fly ball to center field was corralled by the SIU outfield to end the rally and the game.

Joe Kido continued to shine for the Sycamores over the weekend as the redshirt sophomore went 3-for-4 from the plate for his second multi-hit game in the series. Keegan Watson and Randall Diaz both doubled among their two hits, while Seth Gergely, Luis Hernandez, Aaron Beck, and Parker Stinson all recorded multi-hit games in the loss.

Luke Patzner (3-3) took the loss after allowing five hits and five runs over his 3.2 innings of work on the mound. Jack Parisi, Jake Ridgway, and Jared Spencer went the rest of the way to close out the contest.

Grey Epps plated five RBI with three runs coming on a crucial double in the bottom of the third inning to lead the Salukis in the game. Ryan Rodriguez added two hits and a pair of runs scored in the win.

Trey McDaniel (8-1) picked up the win after going 5.1 innings in relief of starter Jake Combs. McDaniel surrendered nine hits, but only one run scored while striking out five in the victory. Matthew Steidl went the ninth to close out the game.

How They Scored

Nathan Bandy put SIU on the scoreboard with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the second inning as Pier-Olivier Boucher came around to score to give the Salukis the early 1-0 lead.
Keegan Watson singled home Parker Stinson and Seth Gergely was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded scoring Jordan Schaffer to give the Sycamores the 2-1 lead in the top of the third.
Grey Epps connected on a bases-clearing, three-run double in the bottom of the third inning to highlight a four-run frame as the Salukis went back up 5-2 after the third.
Epps added to his day with a two-out, two-run single to right field scoring Boucher and Kaeber Rog in the bottom of the fifth inning to put SIU ahead 7-2.
Randall Diaz led off the top of the seventh with a double and came around to score on Aaron Beck's RBI groundout as the Sycamores cut the SIU lead down to 7-3.

News & Notes

Keegan Watson connected on his third double of the 2022 season in the bottom of the second inning, marking Indiana State's 39th game with a double this year.
Watson recorded his sixth multi-hit game of the 2022 season after hitting safely in his first two at-bats of the day. He finished 2-for-5 from the plate on the day.
Josue Urdaneta ran his on-base streak to eight games after his bunt single in the top of the sixth.
Seth Gergely posted his third multi-hit game of the weekend and 11th of the season as the redshirt junior continued his torrid hitting toward the end of the season. He finished 2-for-4 from the plate in the game.
Josue Urdaneta ran his on-base streak to seven consecutive games after reaching on a fielder's choice in the top of the sixth inning.
Joe Kido recorded his third multi-hit game of the season and second of the weekend on his way to finishing 3-for-4 on Sunday.
Kido's three hit game was also the first of his collegiate career.
Randall Diaz hit safely in all three games over the weekend and added his second multi-hit game against SIU (14th of the season) after finishing 2-for-4 from the plate.
Luis Hernandez picked up his sixth multi-hit game and second of the weekend with a 2-for-5 performance at the plate.
Aaron Beck added his seventh multi-hit game of the season with a 2-for-5 performance at the plate.
Parker Stinson added his fourth multi-hit game of the season with a 2-for-5 performance at the plate.
The Sycamores recorded their 25th double-digit hits game of the 2022 season and second of the weekend following the 17-hit contest on Sunday.
Indiana State's 17 hits tied for the third-most in a game by the Sycamores this season equaling their mark back on February 25 against Merrimack.

Up Next

Indiana State returns home for the final series of the 2022 regular season as the Sycamores welcome Dallas Baptist to Bob Warn Field for a three-game set on May 19-21. The weekend will also double as Senior Weekend and Alumni Weekend with festivities throughout the three days. First pitch in Thursday's opener is set for 6:30 p.m. ET and will be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.

Follow the Sycamores

For the latest information on the Sycamore Baseball team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Fans can also receive updates on Sycamore Athletics by downloading the March On App from both the App Store and the Google Play Store.

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PLAYERS MENTIONED

#21 Aaron Beck

OF 6' 6" 209 lbs Redshirt Senior L/R

#15 Seth Gergely

OF 6' 3" 187 lbs Redshirt Junior L/L

#4 Joe Kido

IF 5' 6" 153 lbs Redshirt Sophomore L/R

#35 Jake Ridgway

RHP 6' 2" 205 lbs Redshirt Senior R/R

#1 Jordan Schaffer

IF 6' 0" 180 lbs Redshirt Senior R/R