Sycamores take home series from Missouri State; Move up in MVC

The Sycamore baseball team (29-13, 8-6 MVC) was in action at home this weekend and outscored Missouri State 21-9 in their final home series and conference series of the season, which was also the seniors’ last home series.

 Junior pitcher Jacob Petricka started off a good weekend for the Sycamores, pitching a complete game. Petricka struck out 11 batters and walked only three, en route to his seventh win of the season.

The Sycamore offense helped Petricka along the way, giving him an early three-run lead, two of those runs coming off a Robby Ort two-run homer in the first inning.

They never looked back, as Petricka allowed just one run in nine innings on the way to an 8-1 victory.

Game 2, played on Saturday, was a rainy game, and rain it did on the Bears day.

Joe Rodriguez started the game for the Sycamores, who won the game 10-3, despite a lackluster pitching performance from all six Sycamore pitchers who played in the game.

Rodriguez, who had eight strike outs to follow up Petricka’s 11 from the previous day, also walked six batters on his way to his fifth win of the season.

The Sycamores gave Rodriguez an early lead, much like they did for Petricka on Friday, as they scored five runs in the first and never looked back again.

The Bears had four errors on the game, half of which were in the first.

The Sycamores struggled in the later innings of the game with pitching, as they used five relievers to finish off the Bears.

Tyler Browning was able to come in late in the ninth inning and get two quick outs on two batters to seal the victory for the Sycamores.

Game three, Senior Day, on Sunday was a completely different story for the Sycamores, as they struggled with walks and pitching all day, walking nine batters and striking out only five.

The Bears scored three runs in the third, giving their starter Aaron Meade an early cushion to go to work.

They scored two more times, once in the sixth and again in the seventh, to give themselves a five-run lead.

The Sycamores had some fight in the tank late, as they scored two runs off the bat of Ben Ferrell in the eighth inning.

Ferrell came up late in the game, with Levi Ferguson at second and Jeremy Lucas on third. After Ferrell popped up to the outfield, everyone thought the fielder would catch the routine out. However, he dropped the ball, which allowed Ferguson and Lucas to score as Ferrell slid safely into second.

The Sycamores had a chance to tie the game at five runs apiece late in the ninth, after scoring one run to cut the Bears’ lead to 5-3.

They could not get it done, however, as Levi Ferguson struck out on a full count, ending the game for the Sycamores.

With the two wins on Friday and Saturday, however, the Sycamores were able to pass Evansville in the MVC standings to third place. They currently sit a game-and-a-half behind Wichita State for second place.

The Sycamores will be in action next on the road against Evansville for a three-game conference series, scheduled to start on Friday afternoon at 7 p.m.

The game can be heard on ESPN Radio AM 1130 & 1300.