2019 Indiana State Sycamores baseball team

The 2019 Indiana State Sycamores baseball team represented Indiana State University during the 2019 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Sycamores played their home games at Sycamore Stadium as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. They were led by head coach Mitch Hannahs, in his 6th season at Indiana State.

2019 Indiana State Sycamores baseball
MVC Tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Nashville Regional
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	43–18 (13–8 MVC)
Head coach	Mitch Hannahs (6th season)
Assistant coaches	Brian Smiley (10th season) Brad Vanderglas (3rd season) Pascal Paul (1st season)
Home stadium	Sycamore Stadium
Seasons ← 2018 2020 →

2019 Missouri Valley Conference baseball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 24 Dallas Baptist  ‍†‍‍y	14	–	7		.667			43	–	20		.683
Illinois State  ‍†‍‍y	14	–	7		.667			36	–	26		.581
No. 23 Indiana State  ‍‍‡‍y	13	–	8		.619			43	–	18		.705
Bradley  ‍‍‍	11	–	10		.524			31	–	19		.620
Evansville  ‍‍‍	11	–	10		.524			24	–	29		.453
Missouri State  ‍‍‍	10	–	11		.476			20	–	36		.357
Valparaiso  ‍‍‍	6	–	15		.286			14	–	36		.280
Southern Illinois  ‍‍‍	5	–	16		.238			26	–	29		.473
† – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of July 16, 2019[1] Rankings from D1Baseball

Previous season

The 2018 Indiana State Sycamores baseball team notched a 29–22 (11–10) regular season record and finished tied for third in the MVC Conference standings. The Sycamores reached the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference baseball tournament, where they were defeated by Missouri State in the semifinals. Indiana State did not receive an at-large bid to the 2018 NCAA Division I baseball tournament.^[2]

Personnel

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Seasons at Indiana State	Alma Mater
Mitch Hannahs	Head coach	6	Indiana State University (1989)
Brian Smiley	Associate head coach	10	University of Arkansas at Little Rock (2007)
Brad Vanderglas	Assistant Coach	3	Northern Kentucky University (2013)
Pascal Paul	Volunteer Assistant Coach	1	West Virginia University (2014)

Roster

2019 Indiana State Sycamores Roster[3]
	Pitchers 7 - Zach Frey - Junior 9 - Tyler Ward - Senior 10 - Evan Giles - RS Junior 15 - Austin Moralis - Junior 22 - Tristan Weaver - Junior 26 - Tyler Whitbread - Senior 27 - Ross Kramer - Junior 28 - Triston Polley - Senior 30 - Geremy Guerrero - Junior 32 - Collin Liberatore - RS Junior 35 - Jake Ridgway - Sophomore 36 - Austin Cross - Junior 37 - Tyler Grauer - Junior 38 - Max Klein - Freshman 40 - Will Buraconak - Junior		Catchers 12 - Max Wright - Junior 13 - Spencer Wiskus - Junior Infielders 1 - Jordan Schaffer - RS Sophomore 2 - Jarrod Watkins - Senior 5 - Jake Means - Senior 6 - Clay Dungan - Senior 8 - Dominic Cusumano - Freshman 11 - Nolan Brimbury - RS Junior 18 - Joe Boyle - RS Senior 19 - Mitch Barrow - Junior 20 - Hunter Lewis - Senior 23 - Dane Tofteland - RS Senior 25 - Romero Harris - RS Senior		Outfielders 3 - Luke Fegen - Senior 16 - Brandt Nowaskie - RS Junior 17 - Roby Enriquez - Senior 21 - CJ Huntley - Senior 24 - Ellison Hanna II - Junior 29 - Nick Barrett - RS Freshman 34 - Chris Ayers - Senior

Schedule and results

2019 Indiana State Sycamores baseball game log[4]
Regular season (36–15)
February (7–1) Date Time (ET) TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall MVC February 15 6:00 pm at Jacksonville* John Sessions Stadium • Jacksonville, FL W 7–1 Guerrero (1–0) Santana (0–1) – 342 1–0 – Stats Story February 16 2:00 pm at Jacksonville* John Sessions Stadium • Jacksonville, FL W 13–7 Liberatore (1–0) Palmer (0–1) – 274 2–0 – Stats Story February 17 1:00 pm at Jacksonville* John Sessions Stadium • Jacksonville, FL W 8–3 Buraconak (1–0) Jones (0–1) Ridgway (1) 217 3–0 – Stats Story February 22 4:00 pm at UNC Wilmington* Brooks Field • Wilmington, NC W 1–0 Polley (1–0) Gesell (0–2) Grauer (1) 803 4–0 – Stats Story February 23 10:00 am Marshall* Brooks Field • Wilmington, NC W 4–1 Liberatore (2–0) Knight (0–1) Ward (1) 5–0 – Stats Story February 24 10:00 am Iona* Brooks Field • Wilmington, NC W 10–0 Whitbread (1–0) Untracht (0–1) – 6–0 – Stats Story February 26 4:00 pm ESPN+ at Western Carolina* Hennon Stadium • Cullowhee, NC W 8–4 Cross (1–0) McColloch (1–1) Ridgway (2) 494 7–0 – Stats Story February 27 4:00 pm ESPN+ at Western Carolina* Hennon Stadium • Cullowhee, NC L 9–10 Therrian (1–0) Giles (0–1) Corn (1) 387 7–1 – Stats Story
March (14–3) Date Time (ET) TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall MVC March 1 2:00 pm Austin Peay* Sycamore Stadium • Terre Haute, IN W 8–1 Polley (2–0) Vial (0–1) – 428 8–1 – Stats Story March 2 1:00 pm Austin Peay* Sycamore Stadium • Terre Haute, IN W 3–210 Ward (1–0) Martinez (0–1) – 387 9–1 – Stats Story March 8 6:00 pm at Mercer* Claude Smith Field • Macon, GA W 12–7 Polley (3–0) Gipson (2–2) Ridgway (3) 369 10–1 – Stats Story March 9 2:00 pm at Mercer* Claude Smith Field • Macon, GA W 7–3 Liberatore (3–0) Hall (2–2) Ward (2) 677 11–1 – Stats Story March 10 12:00 pm at Mercer* Claude Smith Field • Macon, GA W 9–4 Whitbread (2–0) Graveno (1–2) Ridgway (4) 352 12–1 – Stats Story March 13 4:00 pm ESPN+ Purdue* Sycamore Stadium • Terre Haute, IN W 4–3 Cross (2–0) Peterson (1–3) Grauer (2) 653 13–1 – Stats Story March 16 1:00 pm The Citadel* Sycamore Stadium • Terre Haute, IN W 5–1 Polley (4–0) Connolly (2–2) – 14–1 – Stats Story March 16 4:30 pm The Citadel* Sycamore Stadium • Terre Haute, IN W 4–2 Liberatore (4–0) Merritt (2–3) – 789 15–1 – Stats Story March 17 1:00 pm ESPN+ The Citadel* Sycamore Stadium • Terre Haute, IN W 8–0 Whitbread (3–0) Spence (2–2) – 345 16–1 – Stats Story March 19 4:00 pm ESPN+ Indiana* Sycamore Stadium • Terre Haute, IN L 14–15 Scott (1–0) Grauer (0–1) Lloyd (3) 1,108 16–2 – Stats Story March 22 7:00 pm Rutgers* City of Palms Park • Fort Myers, FL W 3–1 Grauer (1–1) Brito (3–2) – 263 17–2 – Stats Story March 23 6:00 pm Rutgers* City of Palms Park • Fort Myers, FL W 7–5 Giles (1–1) Gerace (0–3) Ward (3) 242 18–2 – Stats Story March 24 1:00 pm Rutgers* City of Palms Park • Fort Myers, FL W 4–3 Whitbread (4–0) Parkinson (0–1) Grauer (3) 178 19–2 – Stats Story March 26 6:00 pm ESPN+ #23 Illinois* Sycamore Stadium • Terre Haute, IN W 3–1 Ridgway (1–0) Harris (1–1) Ward (4) 685 20–2 – Stats Story March 29 4:00 pm ESPN3 at Missouri State Hammons Field • Springfield, MO L 5–611 Sechler (2–2) Grauer (1–2) – 165 20–3 0–1 Stats Story March 31 1:00 pm ESPN3 at Missouri State Hammons Field • Springfield, MO L 5–611 Juenger (1–2) Guerrero (1–1) – 20–4 0–2 Stats Story March 31 4:00 pm ESPN3 at Missouri State Hammons Field • Springfield, MO W 12–07 Whitbread (5–0) Cruikshank (0–1) – 1,003 21–4 1–2 Stats Story
April (11–5) Date Time (ET) TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall MVC April 3 6:00 pm BTN+ at Purdue* Alexander Field • West Lafayette, IN W 4–3 Ward (2–0) Johnson (0–2) Grauer (4) 1,430 22–4 – Stats Story April 5 6:35 pm BTN+ at Michigan State* John H. Kobs Field • East Lansing, MI L 0–110 Diaz (1–3) Ward (2–1) – 1,654 22–5 – Stats Story April 6 4:00 pm BTN+ at Michigan State* John H. Kobs Field • East Lansing, MI W 2–1 Liberatore (5–0) Tyranski (0–6) Grauer (5) 1,536 23–5 – Stats Story April 7 1:00 pm BTN+ at Michigan State* John H. Kobs Field • East Lansing, MI L 0–6 Sleeman (2–1) Whitbread (4–1) – 1,438 23–6 – Stats Story April 9 5:00 pm at #27 Michigan* Ray Fisher Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI W 8–710 Ward (3–1) Weiss (2–2) Grauer (6) 442 24–6 – Stats Story April 10 5:00 pm BTN+ at #27 Michigan* Ray Fisher Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI L 4–66 Weisenburger (1–0) Klein (0–1) – 369 24–7 – Stats Story April 12 6:30 pm ESPN+ Valparaiso Sycamore Stadium • Terre Haute, IN W 13–27 Polley (5–0) Tieman (2–6) – 560 25–7 2–2 Stats Story April 13 1:00 pm Valparaiso Sycamore Stadium • Terre Haute, IN W 8–0 Liberatore (6–0) Fields (2–4) – 26–7 3–2 Stats Story April 13 4:00 pm Valparaiso Sycamore Stadium • Terre Haute, IN W 11–5 Ward (4–1) Rhodehouse (1–1) – 898 27–7 4–2 Stats Story April 16 7:30 pm SECN+ at #6 Vanderbilt* Hawkins Field • Nashville, TN L 1–7 Hickman (5–0) Guerrero (1–2) – 2,810 27–8 – Stats Story April 20 6:00 pm ESPN+ at Evansville Charles H. Braun Stadium • Evansville, IN L 2–6 Lukas (5–3) Cross (2–1) Parks (5) 227 27–9 4–3 Stats Story April 21 1:00 pm ESPN+ at Evansville Charles H. Braun Stadium • Evansville, IN W 8–2 Liberatore (7–0) Croner (5–4) – 28–9 5–3 Stats Story April 21 4:00 pm ESPN+ at Evansville Charles H. Braun Stadium • Evansville, IN W 6–4 Grauer (2–2) Parks (1–2) – 228 29–9 6–3 Stats Story April 26 6:30 pm ESPN3 Southern Illinois Sycamore Stadium • Terre Haute, IN W 6–3 Polley (6–0) Hiser (3–3) – 678 30–9 7–3 Stats Story April 27 12:00 pm ESPN3 Southern Illinois Sycamore Stadium • Terre Haute, IN W 7–2 Liberatore (8–0) Givens (3–6) – 632 31–9 8–3 Stats Story April 28 1:00 pm ESPN3 Southern Illinois Sycamore Stadium • Terre Haute, IN W 7–4 Ward (5–1) Yeager (2–2) Grauer (7) 567 32–9 9–3 Stats Story
May (4–6) Date Time (ET) TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall MVC May 1 7:00 pm BTN+ at Illinois* Illinois Field • Champaign, IL L 2–5 Sefcik (2–1) Klein (0–2) Acton (15) 613 32–10 – Stats Story May 3 6:00 pm ESPN+ at Illinois State Duffy Bass Field • Normal, IL L 3–4 Headrick (6–3) Grauer (2–3) – 316 32–11 9–4 Stats Story May 4 3:00 pm ESPN+ at Illinois State Duffy Bass Field • Normal, IL W 13–1 Liberatore (9–0) Lindgren (4–4) – 554 33–11 10–4 Stats Story May 5 2:00 pm ESPN+ at Illinois State Duffy Bass Field • Normal, IL W 6–1 Whitbread (6–1) Walker (3–7) Ward (5) 368 34–11 11–4 Stats Story May 10 7:30 pm at Dallas Baptist Horner Ballpark • Dallas, TX L 2–128 Martinson (7–3) Polley (6–1) – 828 34–12 11–5 Stats Story May 11 9:30 pm ESPNU at Dallas Baptist Horner Ballpark • Dallas, TX L 1–8 Johnson (8–2) Liberatore (9–1) – 801 34–13 11–6 Stats Story May 12 3:00 pm at Dallas Baptist Horner Ballpark • Dallas, TX L 3–7 Carraway (4–1) Whitbread (6–2) Hines (3) 686 34–14 11–7 Stats Story May 16 6:30 pm ESPN+ Bradley Sycamore Stadium • Terre Haute, IN L 5–9 Cook (5–1) Ward (5–2) – 456 34–15 11–8 Stats Story May 17 6:30 pm ESPN+ Bradley Sycamore Stadium • Terre Haute, IN W 12–8 Liberatore (10–1) Olson (1–2) – 428 35–15 12–8 Stats Story May 18 2:00 pm ESPN+ Bradley Sycamore Stadium • Terre Haute, IN W 10–2 Whitbread (7–2) Lund (5–4) – 540 36–15 13–8 Stats Story
Postseason (7–3)
MVC tournament (5–1) Date Time (ET) TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall MVC May 22 7:30 pm ESPN+ (4) Evansville (3) Duffy Bass Field • Normal, IL W 7–0 Polley (7–1) Lukas (5–6) – 37–15 – Stats Story May 23 8:00 pm ESPN+ at (2) Illinois State (3) Duffy Bass Field • Normal, IL L 7–10 Anderson (3–0) Ward (5–3) Gilmore (11) 694 37–16 – Stats Story May 24 12:00 pm ESPN+ (8) Southern Illinois (3) Duffy Bass Field • Normal, IL W 4–1 Whitbread (8–2) Steidl (3–4) Guerrero (1) 38–16 – Stats Story May 24 10:00 pm ESPN+ at (2) Illinois State (3) Duffy Bass Field • Normal, IL W 10–6 Ward (6–3) Wicklund (4–4) – 39–16 – Stats Story May 25 3:00 pm ESPN+ (1) Dallas Baptist (3) Duffy Bass Field • Normal, IL W 9–5 Moralis (1–0) Reeves (1–1) Grauer (8) 40–16 – Stats Story May 25 7:15 pm ESPN+ (1) Dallas Baptist (3) Duffy Bass Field • Normal, IL W 16–38 Ridgway (2–0) Towns (2–2) – 326 41–16 – Stats Story
NCAA tournament (2–2) Date Time (ET) TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Win Loss Save Attendance Overall MVC May 31 1:00 pm ESPN3 (3) McNeese State (2) Hawkins Field • Nashville, TN W 6–5 Polley (8–1) McLemore (1–1) Grauer (9) 3,248 42–16 – Stats Story June 1 7:00 pm ESPN3 at (1) Vanderbilt (2) Hawkins Field • Nashville, TN L 5–8 Rocker (9–5) Liberatore (10–2) Eder (3) 3,626 42–17 – Stats Story June 2 3:00 pm ESPN3 (4) Ohio State (2) Hawkins Field • Nashville, TN W 10–5 Whitbread (9–2) Smith (7–5) Ridgway (5) 3,289 43–17 – Stats Story June 2 9:00 pm ESPN3 at (1) Vanderbilt (2) Hawkins Field • Nashville, TN L 1–12 Hickman (8–0) Guerrero (1–3) – 3,626 43–18 – Stats Story
Legend:        = Win        = Loss      Bold = Indiana State team member
"#" represents ranking. All rankings from Collegiate Baseball on the date of the contest. "()" represents postseason seeding in the MVC Tournament or NCAA Regional, respectively.

Rankings

See also: 2019 NCAA Division I baseball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final
Coaches'[5]	—	—*		RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	—	RV	RV*	RV*	RV
Baseball America[6]	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	25	25*	25*	—
Collegiate Baseball^[7]	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	30	—	—	—
NCBWA†[8]	—	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	28	28*	28*	30
D1Baseball[9]	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	23	23*	23*	23

^ Collegiate Baseball ranked 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranked 30 teams weekly during the season.
† NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
* A new poll was not released for this week, so for comparison purposes, the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.