ROUNDUP: Sycamores beat Xavier on road for 14th baseball win

Mar. 17—Forget luck on St. Patrick's Day weekend. Instead, the Indiana State baseball team used big, key hits to beat Xavier on the Musketeers' home diamond on Saturday.

Randal Diaz homered and drove in three runs during Indiana State's eight-run fifth inning as the Sycamores topped Xavier 10-7, the ISU sports information office reported.

Then on Sunday, the Sycamores' comeback fell short in a 4-2 loss to Xavier in the series finale at Hayden Field in Cincinnati. Connor Misch and Hayden Christiansen both homered in ISU's late-inning rally.

ISU takes a 14-4 season record into an eight-game home stand, beginning with a 4 p.m. Tuesday game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Bob Warn Field.

In Saturday's win, the Sycamores sent 13 batters to the plate in the decisive fifth inning with Diaz starting the stretch with a two-run home run over the center field wall. Mike Sears and Dom Krupinski both drew bases-loaded walks in the inning before Grant Magill (two RBIs), Josue Urdaneta, and Diaz connected on three consecutive run-scoring singles to give ISU a 10-2 lead in the middle of the fifth.

Xavier battled back scoring four runs in the bottom of the fifth highlighted by Matt McCormick's two-run home run to right center and added another run in the seventh as Matthew DePrey scored on a double play ball, but the Sycamore bullpen highlighted by Jared Spencer (3-0) and Simon Gregersen (S, 2) held off the Musketeers offense in securing the series win.

Mike Sears added a pair of RBIs with a run-scoring triple and RBI single in his first multi-hit game of the season, while Diaz added two hits in the win. Luis Hernandez added his second stolen base of the season to highlight the ISU offense.

Brennyn Cutts went the first 4.0 innings allowing seven hits and six runs (three earned) while striking out five in the no-decision. Spencer went 3.1 innings allowing four hits and an unearned run while striking out four, before Gregersen worked a scoreless ninth in his second save of the season.

Xavier took advantage of six Indiana State errors in the contest and consistently had runners on base in the loss. Hayden Christiansen had a team-high three hits including a two-run home run in the first inning, while McCormick also homered in the loss.

Logan Schmidt (2-2) took the loss on the mound allowing five hits and seven runs over 4.2 innings of work. Connor Bailey, Jake Lambdin, and Nolan Hughes went the final 4.1 innings in relief on the mound.

In Sunday's game, Indiana State took the lead in the top of the third inning on Diaz's RBI single giving the Sycamores the early advantage over Xavier (9-11) starter Nick Boyle (3-0). ISU starter Luke Hayden kept the Musketeers' bats in check through the first five innings pitching out of several jams to keep the Sycamore lead intact midway through the game.

Major league baseball

—Herrin has strong outing — Terre Haute South graduate Tim Herrin pitched a scoreless ninth inning in relief for Cleveland in the Guardians' 4-2 spring training victory over Cincinnati on Sunday in Goodyear, Ariz.

The 27-year-old lefty struck out all three batters he face on nine pitches for his first save of the spring. Herrin has now pitched a scoreless and hitless inning in four of his last five spring outings.

High school baseball

—Carmi 12, Robinson 1; Robinson 13, BHRA 3 — At Robinson, Ill., the host Maroons split in a three-way Saturday at City Park.

In the loss to Carmi, A. Knoblett had two hits for the Maroons. In the win over BHRA, Knoblett, E. Robb and C. Aldrich had two runs batted in each. Robinson starter J. Parker pitched 4.2 innings and allowed three earned runs, while striking out three and walking one.

The Maroons (now 2-1) play host to Effingham St. Anthony at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

High school tennis

—Paris wins two of three — At Troy, Ill., the Tigers opened their season at the 32-team Troy Triad High School Tournament with boys tennis victories Saturday over Peoria Christian and Jersey, while also losing to Edwardsville's junior varsity unit.

Paris (2-1) plays host to Newton on March 28.

Paris 4, Peoria Christian 1

Singles — Drake Bartos (P) def. Tony Zhang (PC) 5-7, 6-4, 10-4; Hudson David (P) def. Elijah Chism (PC) 7-6(4), 6-3.

Doubles — Ian Durst/Samuel Loeb (PC) def. Marcus Mitchell/Robert Wells (P) 6-4, 4-6, 10-8; Eli Brinkerhoff/Devin Milner (P) def. Oliver Ayoub/Eli Sanderson (PC) 6-4, 4-6, 10-8; Carter Fox/Harris Romero (P) def. Jacob Hoerr/Simon Mann (PC) 6-0, 6-0.

Edwardsville JV 4, Paris 1

Singles — John Almos (E) def. Carter Fox (P) 6-1, 6-2; Ian McGinness (E) def. Harris Romero (P) 6-2, 6-0.

Doubles — Marcus Mitchell/Robert Wells (P) def. Kelen McDonald/Daniel Wang (E) 6-4, 7-6(4); Milo Kathriner/Lucas Rudd (E) def. Drake Bartos/Hudson David (P) 7-6(1), 6-4; Luke Tetzlaff/Ben Marshall (E) def. Eli Brinkerhoff/Devin Milner (P) 6-3, 6-2.

Paris 3, Jersey 2

Singles — Drake Bartos (P) def. Isaac Wargo (J) 7-5, 7-5; Dylan Molloy (J) def. Hudson David (P) 6-3, 6-0.

Doubles — Marcus Mitchell/Robert Wells (P) def. Dax Goetten/Keegan Griffith (J) 7-5, 6-1;Paul Slusser/Noah Borkowski (J) def. Eli Brinkerhoff/Devin Milner (P) 6-7(6), 7-6(5), 10-5; Carter Fox/Harris Romero (P) def. Kutler Conrad/Michael Roberts (J) 6-4, 6-4.

College track

—Engineers place first, second; Bailey shines — Highlighted by a win in the women's pole vault by Terre Haute native Krislynn Bailey who hit the NAIA "A" Standard the SMWC women's track and field team finished third at the Rose-Hulman Early Bird Invitational on Saturday. The men's team picked up win in four events to finish fourth in the event.

Bailey, fresh off an 11th place finish at the NAIA Indoor Nationals, started the outdoor season off strong with a pole vault of 3.65 meters (11-11.75) to win the event and hit the NAIA "A" Qualifying Standard.

On the women's side DePauw won with 214 points while host Rose-Hulman was second at 143.5. The Pomeroys finished third with 68 points while Hanover (64) and Frankin (25.5) rounded out the field.

For the men, Rose-Hulman won with 192 points while DePauw was second with 123. Wabash College was third with 96 and the Pomeroys came in fourth with 77. Hanover (48) and Franklin (30) rounded out the team scores.

Savannah Lewis won the 100 meter dash with a time of 12.27 seconds while Jaci Stone was third in 12.58 and Hope McGuire captured fourth with a time of 12.59 seconds. Savannah Lewis finish second in the 200 meters with a time of 25.47 while Stone was third in 26.26 seconds.

In the women's 400 meter hurdles, Evelyn Morales captured fourth place in a time of 1:11.96. The women's 4 x 100 relay team of Stone, Lewis, Diamond Bryant and McGuire was second in 50.78 seconds.

Joining Bailey in the top five of the women's pole vault was Alyssa Winterstein with a jump of 2.45 meters (8-.5) who finished fifth. Stone was second in the women's long jump with a mark of 4.90 meters (16-1). Morales was fifth in the triple jump posting a mark of 10.20 meters (33-5.75).

On the men's side, Ahmad Benford finished third in the 100 meter dash with a time of 10.91. The speedy Benford was fifth in the 200 meters with a time of 22.58.

Xavier Rahe picked up the victory with a first place finish in the men's 400 meters with a time of 50.53 seconds. Alec Smith was fifth in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:20.08. In the 5,000 meter run, Thomas Chapman recorded a fiffh place finish with a time of 15:33.76.

The men's 4-by-100 relay team of Djibrille Salako, Xavier Rahe, Luke Frey and Benford won the event with a time of 43.63 seconds. Meanwhile, the 4-by-400 relay team of Jazaiah Douglas, Christian Woodard, Jaryn Patterson and Rahe was fourth in a time of 3:36.70.

Matthew Hayden finished fifth in the men's pole vault with a mark of 3.81 meters (12-6). Benford continued his strong day on the track and in the field with a win the men's long jump with a mark of 6.89 meters (22-7.25) while Luke Frey recorded a second place finish at 6.79 meters (22-3.5).

Javian Edwards recorded a victory in the men's triple jump with a mark of 13.92 meters (45-8). In the men's discus Cole Welch was fifth with a mark of 37.86 meters (124-2). Welch would go on to finish fourth in the javelin with a mark of 35.25 meters (115-8).

The Pomeroys returns to action on Thursday, March 28 when they will take place in the Marian Knights Open.

—Pomeroys honored by conference — Saint Mary-of-the-Woods' Savannah Lewis and Xavier Rahe have been named the River States Conference Women's & Men's Track Athletes of the Week, the RSC announced Monday.

Lewis finished first in the 100-meter dash and second in the 200-meter dash to highlight the SMWC running performances in the Rose-Hulman Early Bird Meet on Saturday. Both performances also marked new SMWC school records. The effort helped SMWC finish third as a team.

Rahe set a school record to win the 400-meter dash at the Rose-Hulman Early Bird Invitational with a time of 50.53 seconds. His effort helped SMWC place fourth as a team in the meet.

College men's volleyball

—Pomeroys fall at home — It was a thrilling five-setter for the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods men's volleyball team on Saturday afternoon at the Knoerle Center as the Pomeroys were able to capture both the second and fourth sets in the back-and-forth match before falling 3-2 to Mount Vernon Nazarene (25-20, 22-25, 25-17, 24-26, 15-11).

The Pomeroys dropped to 13-10, 2-8 WHAC while the Cougars improved to 12-5, 8-4 WHAC.

Marko Zolnjan led the way with 18 kills in the contest while Manase Fetulimoeata posted nine. Brayden Baxter had three service aces. At the net, Joey Anderson recorded four blocks while Ethan Martins posted 33 set assists and Brycen Yadao had 11 digs.

Kills the match were knotted at 49 while each team recorded 11 blocks and The Woods finished with 24 digs.

In the fourth set, Andrej Lindner recorded a kill to get the Pomeroys within 15-14. After a point from the Cougars, Fetulimoeata recorded a kill and then Brayden Baxter had a service ace to knot the score at 16. Baxter came right back with another service ace and Yammiel Martinez recorded a kill for the 18-16 lead.

MVNU would tie the score once again but Martinez came back with a kill to push The Woods ahead 19-18. SMWC took a 24-23 lead off a Cougar attack error and broke a 24-all tie with another point to lead 25-24. Lindner finished off the set and knotted the match at two sets each with a kill for the 26-24 victory.

The Woods would trail in the fifth set before a kill from Zolnjan and a service ace by Christian Green knotted the score at 5. The Cougars ran out to a 9-6 lead, but Zolnjan scored on a kill and then recorded a service ace to inch close at 9-8. SMWC would get as close again as 14-11 but the Cougars scored the final point for the 15-11 win.

The Pomeroys are back in action and take on Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference foe Lourdes University on Friday, March 22 at 7 p.m. inside the Knoerle Center. SMWC will also face off against Lourdes on Saturday, March 23 at noon.

College softball

—SMWC streak continues — Saint Mary-of-the-Woods softball stretched their winning streak out to eight games as they swept a pair of contests over visiting Alice Lloyd College on Saturday afternoon at the SMWC Softball Field. The Pomeroys won the first game by the score of 6-2 and came back to win the nightcap by the score of 4-0 behind a complete game shut out from Marin Jacobs.

The Pomeroys improved their season record at 12-8, 5-3 RSC with the victories while Alice Lloyd fell to 12-8, 1-3 RSC.

Alice Lloyd took a 1-0 lead as they scored on a wild pitch in the top of the first inning before Neveah Pender reached on an error to score Lyric Krause to knot the score at 1. In the third inning, Makalya Jackman tripled to drive in Abbi Henderson and Jaselyn Conn recorded a sacrifice fly to score Jackman for the 3-1 advantage. In the fifth inning, Jaleigh Crawford doubled to score Conn and then Emily Singleton singled to score Crawford to stretch the advantage to 5-1. Jackman would single in the sixth inning to send home Justyce Rohrabaugh for the 6-1 lead.

Emily Fitzwater picked up the victory by pitching four innings of two hit softball while Summer Rocha recorded three innings of two-hit shut out relief for the save. Jackman finished 2-of-4 with two RBI at the plate while Crawford was 2-of-3 with a RBI and Justyce Rohrabaugh added a 2-of-3 performance at the plate.

In the day's second contest, Rohrabaugh stole third base and went home on an error in the third inning to stake the Pomeroys to a 1-0 lead. Neveah Pender posted an RBI triple in the fourth inning to score Maddi Smith and then Ruby Gray's RBI single would score Pender for the 3-0 advantage. Pender's sacrifice fly in the fifth stanza scored Krause for the 4-0 lead.

Marin Jacobs picked up the victory in the circle as she tossed seven innings of four-hit, shut out softball with a pair of strike outs. Krause was a perfect 3-of-3 at the plate with a run scored while Gray finished 2-of-3 hitting with an RBI. Pender drove in two runs during the contest.

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods returns to action on Friday, March 22 when they host River States Conference foe Oakland City for a pair of games beginning at 3 p.m. before returning on Saturday, March 23 to take on Brescia College for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.

—Bradley takes series at ISU — At Price Field in Terre Haute, Indiana State won Saturday's second game of a three-game series against Missouri Valley Conference foe Bradley, after the Braves won the series opener on Friday. The Sycamores then lost the series finale Sunday by 11-0.

Hailey Griffin (3-3) took the win in the circle Saturday for Indiana State, throwing a complete game where she recorded five strikeouts, while allowing only four hits and zero runs scored in the victory on Saturday. Griffin went the first 4.0 innings where she recorded no hits.

The Sycamores scored runs in the second, third, fourth, and sixth inning in the 7-0 victory over Bradley.

On Sunday, ISU lost via a six inning run-rule at 11-0.

Indiana State (13-15 overall, 2-3 in the MVC) struggled hit. ISU's two hits came in the third inning from Abi Chipps and Morgan Goodrich against Bradley's Sydney Kennedy (8-4).

The Braves started their lead in the second inning where they scored one run with a solo home run by Kiersten McCoy. The Sycamores trailed 1-0 until the fifth inning where the Braves connected on six hits and drove in five runs highlighted by a 3-run home run by Abbott Badgley.

Next, ISU travels to Northern Iowa for a three-game MVC series, starting at 6 p.m. Friday in Cedar Falls.