Sears' go-ahead double spurs ISU win; Sycamores 3 games up in MVC
May 6—Home is a good place for the Indiana State Sycamores baseball team.
ISU won for the 14th time in 15 games at Bob Warn Field on Sunday, beating visiting Belmont 6-4 in Missouri Valley Conference action. The victory improved coach Mitch Hannahs' team's records 34-10 overall and 17-4 in the MVC. ISU holds a three-game lead in the standings over second-place UIC and Evansville, both of which are 14-7 in league games.
In Sunday's win, Mike Sears connected on the go-ahead RBI double in the bottom of the seventh inning and Cam Edmonson and Simon Gregersen combined for 5.1 innings of scoreless relief as ISU secured the series sweep over Belmont.
ISU tied the game up at 4-4 in the bottom of the fifth inning on Sears' RBI single scoring Parker Stinson as the Sycamores battled back against Bruins (22-25, 9-12) throughout the contest, according to an Indiana State sports information report. Edmonson kept the Belmont bats at bay going 2.2 innings of one-hit relief before turning the ball over to Gregersen (1-0) in the top of the seventh.
Gregersen forced an inning-ending double play to limit Belmont's chances in the frame, before the Indiana State bats came through in the bottom of the inning against Belmont reliever Hank Liss (2-3). Stinson drew a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch setting the stage for Sears.
The Sycamore third baseman drove a 1-1 pitch into the left center gap one-hopping the wall allowing Stinson to score on the one-out double to put Indiana State ahead 5-4. Grant Magill followed with a single to shallow center and the Belmont centerfielder misplayed the ball allowing Sears to score on the play to give ISU the two-run advantage.
Gregersen pitched around a one-out walk in the top of the eighth inning and retired the final five batters he faced to close out the contest and pick up his first win of the 2024 campaign.
Sears, Randal Diaz, and Carlos Pena all posted multi-hit efforts on Sunday afternoon as the Sycamores connected on 10 hits in the win. Sears and Pena both doubled twice on the day, while Stinson scored three runs.
Luke Hayden went the first 3.2 innings in the Sunday start allowing four hits and four runs (two earned), while striking out five. Edmonson went the next 2.2 innings striking out three, while Gregersen went the final 2.2 frames with a strikeout to close out the contest.
Indiana State finishes a six-game home stand next weekend, when second-place Evansville visits Bob Warn Field for a three-game series Friday through next Sunday. Friday's opener starts at 4:30 p.m.
