Friday belongs to the Sycamores ... again

May 15—If there's one thing that Indiana State has established in its fine season to date? It's that Friday belongs to the Sycamores.

For only the second Friday this season, ISU got to demonstrate its Friday prowess on its own diamond as hard-hitting Southern Illinois became only the second team to grace the Sycamores' presence at Bob Warn Field this season.

The first games of weekend series are usually played on Friday, and only twice in 11 series — against national-level powers Tennessee and Dallas Baptist — have the Sycamores fallen in a series opener.

The Salukis certainly made the Sycamores sweat for another series-opening win as SIU tied the game in the top of the 8th inning, but the Sycamores came up clutch when they had to. A two-out Aaron Beck RBI double in the bottom of the 8th proved to be the difference as ISU earned a 5-4 victory in a tense, exciting series opener.

The series matches the best pitching team (ISU) versus the best hitting team (SIU) in the Missouri Valley Conference and both teams demonstrated their strengths. Of course, the main reason ISU has been so dominant in series openers is ace Geremy Guerrero. He was excellent again, throwing seven innings, scattering seven hits, allowing two runs with seven strikeouts and no walks.

"When you've got Geremy on the mound on Friday? You know he's going to keep you in the game. We try to get to five in the run column on Fridays. I'm proud we didn't bow our heads and came back in the eighth to take it," ISU shortstop Jordan Schaffer said.

ISU (25-12, 12-5) put pressure on the Salukis (33-16, 10-11) right from the off. SIU starter Mike Hansell struggled. He hit Jordan Schaffer on the first at-bat and the bases were loaded four batters into the game via a single and a fielder's choice in which Wright was safe at second.

Jose Urdaneta delivered ISU's first run with a bases-loaded walk. Later, Mitch Barrow delivered a two-out double to make it 3-0.

ISU added another run in the fourth via a Schaffer sacrifice fly to make it 4-1, but when SIU turned to its best reliever — Kyle Back — the Sycamores began to have trouble.

ISU stranded five runners in the fourth and fifth innings and hit into a 4-6-3 double play in the sixth. With SIU's powerful offense, good as Guerrero is, it was unlikely four runs were going to cut it.

"There were a lot of at-bats throughout the game where we were anxious. I don't know if it's part of the final [home] weekend or what it is," Hannahs said. "It's uncharacteristic for us to pinch-hit in the fifth inning with the bases loaded, but I felt we needed [Brian] Fuentes to get a good swing. It didn't pay off, but we know how important those innings were. We just didn't capitalize."

Sure enough, SIU began to chip away. A two-out double by Trey Epps made it 4-2 in the seventh. In the eighth, SIU chased Guerrero with a leadoff single and closer Connor Fenlong entered.

Fenlong got what he wanted when SIU's No. 2 hitter, J.T. Weber, hit one back to him on the mound. However's Fenlong's throw to second pulled Schaffer off the bag. Everyone was safe and SIU was in a favorable spot.

Fenlong got the E1 for the play, but there was more to it than that.

"We switched the coverage late. Josue [Urdaneta, second baseman] normally would have had the bag on that, but we got a late call from the dugout as Conor was already set. Josue moved two feet to his left, but we couldn't relay that the Connor. Just one of those things where you have to play a play on the fly and I wasn't able to hold the bag," Schaffer explained

Fenlong still took responsibility.

"For me? That's on myself. I made a mistake. After that? I knew I had to come out big and do what I could do," Fenlong said.

With one out, Nick Neville — who had homered in the second — hit a dribbler up the first base line to knock in Cody Cleveland. With two outs, Phillip Archer delivered a sharp single to right to knock in Weber to tie the game.

ISU didn't flinch. By now Back was out of the game and ISU faced hard-throwing right-hander Trey McDaniel. He retired the first two Sycamores, but Schaffer hit a two-out single through the box to keep ISU's inning alive. He then stole second.

That's all Beck needed. He laced a liner into the right field power alley and Schaffer scored easily to make it 5-4. Fenlong shook off his eighth inning and retired the Salukis in order in the ninth.

"It felt great. Fenlong and G [Guerrero] were out there working their butts off for us and we had left some guys on-base. So when the time came up to help the team out? It felt good," said Beck, who explained his at-bat. "I had been sitting fastball for most of the game, but they weren't coming at me with that. So I sat curveball and he left one up for me."

The same two teams will play a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Saturday.

"For the most part, every Friday we've come out, Geremy's pitched it and we haven't made many mistakes. We've figured out how to score enough runs against their Friday guy. We're not going to knock it out of the park. We just have to pitch it, catch it and figure out different things to score here and there," Hannahs said.

ISU got good news elsewhere in the MVC. The Sycamores picked up a game on MVC leader Dallas Baptist as the Patriots lost at home to Bradley 8-4. DBU and Bradley played another game in a doubleheader that ended after the Tribune-Star's deadline.