March 4, 2007 INDIANA STATE OPENS HOME PORTION OF SCHEDULE WITH 6-2 VICTORY OVER SOUTH DAKOTA STATE TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - It took two days longer than anticipated, but it was worth the wait for head coach Lindsay Meggs’ home debut as skipper of the Sycamores, as Indiana State downed South Dakota State, 6-2 at Sycamore Field. Temperatures hovered near the freezing mark for much of the day. ISU improved to 3-1 on the season while the Jackrabbits fell to 4-6. The home opening game was slated for Friday afternoon, but cold and wintry conditions forced postponement until today. One last burst of winter on Saturday afternoon delayed the start of today’s action, and forced the postponement of the first game of a scheduled doubleheader until Monday. Once the Sycamores got the bats in their hands in the bottom of the first inning, it took little time to get on the board as senior Ryan Bond belted a roundtripper to left field to give ISU an early 1-0 lead. South Dakota State answered with a run of its own in the top of the second which knotted the score at one, before ISU put two on the board in the bottom half of the third. Bond led off the frame with his second homerun of the day to make it 2-1, ISU. Brett Siegmund singled to left field and moved over to third base on a Jackrabbit error. He crossed the plate on a wild pitch for the 3-1 advantage. In the bottom of the fourth, Sean Osborne reached base with one out after being hit by a pitch. He moved over to third after another hit batsman, and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Josh Abercrombie for the 4-1 lead. Casey Martin singled home Abercrombie in the bottom of the sixth for a 5-1 lead after he reached on an error earlier in the frame. ISU got an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh when Abercrombie grounded out softly to second base, allowing Strausborger to score from third. The aggressive Indiana State offense created the run when Strausborger walked, stole second and moved over to third on an earlier groundout. The Sycamores were able to take the 6-1 lead without the ball leaving the infield. South Dakota State made the score 6-2 in the top of the eighth on a single by Tyson Fisher which scored Tony Martin. The Jackrabbits loaded the bases and brought the tying run to the plate, but Adam Lindsay came in to strike out Jake Rogers to retire the side. Starter Ryan Hayes moved to 2-0 on the season with the victory. He allowed seven hits and just one run in seven innings of work. Hayes was also the winning pitcher in his first appearance of the year at Georgia State last week. Josh Varno came in to relieve Hayes, allowing three hits and a run in two-thirds of an inning. Adam Lindsay slammed the door on South Dakota State for the final inning and a third, posting three strikeouts and facing six batters. SDSU starter Erik Bess allowed seven hits and four runs (three earned) in four and a third innings of work. He fell to 1-1 on the season with the defeat. Bond continued his hot start, going 2-for-4 in the game with a pair of RBI as well as a pair of runs scored. Centerfielder Dave Brumagin was vital as well with three hits in five at bats. Josh Abercrombie was 0-for-4 in the game, but drove in a pair of runs and scored another. Indiana State continues it season-opening homestand on Monday, March 5 when they host South Dakota State in a scheduled doubleheader. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. (EST). The first game with be a seven inning affair, while game two will be scheduled for nine.
|