Source: Provided Photo/Indiana State University Baseball Twitter/WISH-TV / other
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — The Indiana State Sycamores are heading to the Super Regional proud of the NCAA Baseball Tournament for the first time in school history.
The Sycamores scored in seven of nine innings en route to an 11-8 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes at Bob Warn Field in Terre Haute.
The atmosphere was electric all weekend long at the small baseball field on the north side of Terre Haute, where ISU earned the right to host its own Regional having one of the best records in college baseball. The school and the city brought in extra temporary seating to facilitate the massive amount of fans in Terre Haute as well as visitors from Iowa, North Carolina, and Wright State.
With the latter two teams eliminated, it came down to Iowa and Indiana State in an elimination game Sunday for the Hawkeyes who lost to ISU the night before.
The scoring went back and forth through the first six innings, but the floodgates opened when ISU outfielder Keegan Watson sent a three-run shot far over the dead left field wall into the cemetery next door. That gave ISU and 11-7 lead going into the final two innings in which the Sycamore defense only gave up one more run to the Hawkeyes.
The astounding thing about the game was how ISU managed to get on base. Sycamore batters were hit by a pitch ten times by Iowa pitchers. That is a new NCAA record. ISU’s Adam Pottinger was the receiving end of three of those HBPs.
All nine players in ISU’s line up either got on base or scored a run in the win.
With that, Indiana State advanced to their first Super Regional in school history. That is also considering that ISU has been to the College World Series before back in 1986, however, that was before the NCAA added the Super Regional round to the post-season tournament in 1999.
ISU awaits either #3 Arkansas or TCU in the Super Regional.
