Kentucky-Indiana State Baseball Preview

The Kentucky Bat ‘Cats will welcome the Indiana State Sycamores to Lexington for the first time since 2009 on Saturday for a three-game weekend series. Saturday will feature a doubleheader following Friday’s postponement due to rain.

The Sycamores head to town with a 2-5 record in the midst of a four-game losing streak. They dropped a single game at Miami (FL) and got swept by Northeastern last weekend.

Following back-to-back 15-run outings by the Kentucky offense, the ‘Cats sit at 6-2 with losses to Elon and Wright State. Indiana State is the first of four different teams Kentucky will play in a six-day span (Indiana State: March 4-5, Murray State: March 7, Ohio: March 8, Southern Illinois: March 10-12).

The Sycamores last won the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in 2019 and have made just one College World Series appearance (1986). Some notable Indiana State baseball alumni include current San Francisco Giants LHP Sean Manaea, SS Clint Barmes, and longtime Montreal Expo 1B Wallace Johnson.

Indiana State Impact Players

Sophomore catcher Luis Hernandez has been the Sycamores’ most impressive offensive player so far this season. Hernandez is batting .333 with a team-leading nine hits in 27 at-bats. He also leads Indiana State in SLG% (.556) and total bases (15). This series will be a battle of talented backstops with Hernandez and UK’s Devin Burkes. 1B Mike Sears is Indiana State’s team leader in home runs hit with two. He is also the team leader in RBI (eight) and strikeouts (18). Sears will giveth and taketh.

The Sycamore pitching staff has been less than stellar this season, posting a cumulative 7.54 ERA on the year. RHP Brayden Lybarger (1.93 ERA), RHP Cameron Holycross (3.00 ERA), and RHP Aaron Moss (3.86 ERA) have been their best to offer so far. Where their pitching has failed, their defense has been elite. Indiana State currently ranks 16th in the entirety of the NCAA with a .989 fielding percentage.

Kentucky Impact Players

2B Émilien Pitre has been Kentucky’s most consistent offensive player for the Wildcats this season, leading the team in batting average (.448) and hits (13). C Devin Burkes trails closely behind with 12 hits and leads the ‘Cats with two home runs hit. Burkes is also the team leader in doubles (seven) and RBI (16). In his second start of the season on Tuesday, 3B Reuben Church knocked four base hits and reached base six times. It’s good to see him get going.

Where Indiana State’s pitching has doomed the Sycamores, Kentucky’s pitching has propelled the ‘Cats. Zack Lee and Travis Smith anchor a pitching staff that holds a cumulative 2.79 ERA split between 17 pitchers and posts an 87:22 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Other than one slip-up against Wright State, the pitching staff has been dominant so far this season.

Kentucky is 6-4 all-time against Indiana State and has won its last three matchups against the Sycamores. This three-game series kicks off Saturday at 1:00 p.m. EST at Kentucky Proud Park.

Game 1: Saturday, March 4th, 2023 (Kentucky Proud Park – 1:00 PM)
Game 2: Saturday, March 4th, 2023 (Kentucky Proud Park – 4:30 PM)
Game 3: Sunday, March 5th, 2023 (Kentucky Proud Park – 1:00 PM)