By Todd Golden
The Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE
May 03, 2008 11:52 pm
—
Any thought that the Indiana State baseball team would have a better day at the mound than it did Friday against Missouri State were dashed right from the get go on Saturday.
ISU starter Matt Shelton threw 11 balls before throwing a strike to start the game. It never got better for the Sycamores, in fact, it got much worse. ISU was once again ineffective on the mound and the Bears took advantage for a 16-4 victory shortened by the 10-run rule in the seventh inning.
“Right now, we’re an absolute mess on the mound. When the season ends, we’ll figure out what to do, but the season isn’t over and we need to find a way to get the ball over the plate,” said ISU coach Lindsay Meggs, whose Sycamores have given up 31 runs in two games during the Missouri State series.
All but one of the runs ISU gave up Saturday was earned. Starter Shelton last just an inning-plus, allowing five earned run. Brendon Smith allowed five more earned runs in 11/3 innings. Josh Varno went 31/3 innings, but also allowed five earned runs. All but one Missouri State starter had a base hit. The Bears had 13 base hits overall, walked six times and two more reached base after being hit by pitches, yet, Missouri State stranded just seven men.
ISU had taken the lead in its previous six Missouri Valley Conference games (winning only two), but Shelton’s rough outing put paid to that streak. Considering the bases were loaded with no outs, ISU was lucky to escape with a 2-0 deficit in the first. Ben Carlson’s sacrifice fly and a RBI single by Chris Playter accounted for the Bears’ runs.
A RBI double by Brady Shoemaker in the bottom of the first halved Missouri State’s lead, but ISU wasn’t as lucky in the second as it was in the first when it came to minimizing damage on the mound.
Missouri State led off the second with a hit batsman, single, double, a walk, and a single — the singles by Dallas Hord and Brayden Drake and the double by Ben Woodbury all scored runs before the Sycamores retired a batter.
“[For Shelton], it’s a mechanical and a mental thing. He can’t seem to repeat the same arm slot two pitches in a row. And when he does, his concentration is poor. It’s a guy we can’t count on at the present time,” Meggs said.
Despite that, Meggs said ISU is in no position to make rotation changes.
“We’d make [rotation changes] if we could. We would have made them a long time ago if we had the depth. It’s part of building the program. The biggest challenge since I’ve been here is lack of depth on the mound. Those are the types of guys we’re trying to find,” Meggs said.
Shelton was relieved by Smith midway through Missouri State’s second inning onslaught and he allowed just one more run as the Bears took a 6-1 lead.
Smith wouldn’t escape ISU’s woes in the third as Missouri State administered more punishment. After a leadoff walk, Smith retired the next two Bears before the wheels fell off. A RBI triple by Woodbury, RBI single by Nolan Keane, and RBI double by Drake blew the game open and sent Smith packing. Carlson hit a RBI single off Josh Varno as the Bears enjoyed their second straight four-run inning.
After that, it was a matter of whether ISU (13-28, 6-11) would hold Missouri State scoreless in any inning. The Bears (32-14, 15-5) tacked on another four-spot in the sixth, but the Sycamores finally did it in the seventh when Chad Dawson kept the Bears off the board.
ISU dropped a 11/2 games below Southern Illinois in the race for the sixth and final spot for the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. The Sycamores finish their series with the Bears at 1 p.m. today.
Missouri State 16, ISU 4
MSU ab r h bi ISU ab r h bi
Woodbury cf 4 4 3 5 Strsbrger 2b 4 1 1 1 Keane rf 2 4 2 1 Brumagin 3b 3 1 1 0
Welch rf-2b 1 0 0 1 Schmidt cf 3 0 1 1
Drake 3b 4 1 2 2 Shoemaker lf 2 0 1 1
Carlson dh 4 0 1 2 Oliver dh 3 0 0 0
Playter ss 5 0 2 3 Jett ph 1 1 1 0
Mazzola 1b 4 1 1 1 Ciolli rf 3 0 1 1
Overstreet ph 1 0 0 0 Del Real ss 1 1 0 0
Mantle lf-rf 4 2 1 0 Ramirez ph 1 0 0 0
Conway 2b-lf 4 2 0 0 Caple 1b 4 0 0 0
Hord c 2 2 1 1 Osborne c 3 0 0 0
Totals 35 16 13 16 Totals 28 4 6 4
Missouri State 244 114 0 — 16
Indiana State 100 101 1 — 4
E — Drake (11), Mazzola (5), Conway (7); Brumagin 2 (7). LOB — MSU 7, ISU 11. 2B — Woodbury (11), Drake (14), Strausborger (6), Shoemaker (13), Ciolli (7). 3B — Woodbury 2 (4), Keane (3). HR — Mazzola (7). S — Hord (3), Schmidt (8). SB — Conway (8).
IP H R ER BB SO
Missouri State
Baumann (W, 5-3) 6 4 3 1 5 3
Dyer 1 2 1 1 0 0
Indiana State
Shelton (L, 3-5) 1 3 5 5 3 1
Smith 12/3 4 5 5 2 1
Varno 31/3 5 6 5 1 2
Dawson 1 1 0 0 0 1
HBP — by Shelton (Conway); by Varno (Carlson); by Baumann (Osborne, Brumagin). PB — Hord 2. T — 2:43. A — 192.
Next — Indiana State (13-28, 6-11) plays host to Missouri State (32-14, 15-5) today.
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