Sycamores wrap up season at MVC tournament

The Sycamore baseball team (35-19, 10-10 MVC) wrapped up their 2010 season at the end of May and closed the chapter on yet another successful season—a season which saw success few teams see after losing their head coach and bringing in a new one.

The Sycamores began their quest for success on the road in Shreveport, La., where they swept a three-game series against Texas Southern. After that, it was off to San Antonio, where they dropped three of four games against the University of Texas-San Antonio.

They concluded February with a 4-3 record, but March saw a completely different team.

The Sycamores played 13 of 15 games at home that month and went 11-4 for March.

They won series against both Tennessee Martin and Western Michigan, as well as taking single games from Eastern Illinois and Chicago State at home. On the road, they obliterated St. Louis 14-9. The only games they lost were against Dayton on the road and dropping two-of-three against Illinois State at home.

April saw the Sycamores take to the road for 13 of 18 games to face some difficult foes. They started the month off by taking two games from Creighton, winning a 20-7 shellacking of Butler, taking two of three from The Citadel, who had recently been nationally ranked, and finally coming home to face Wichita State, which was the hardest MVC game they had played so far.

They took two of three from the Shockers, showing they could compete with anyone in the MVC this year.

After a few single games, the Sycamores headed to Southern Illinois, where they split two games, having the third game canceled due to rain.

After beating SIU-Edwardsville and dominating Indiana, the Sycamores came home again to face the Missouri State Bears for the final home series of the season.

Much like they had many times before, the Sycamores took two-of-three games from the Bears, before finishing the season on the road against SIU-Edwardsville, Evansville and Bradley, with a quick stop at Eastern Illinois.

The MVC season did not pan out well for the Sycamores at the end. They dropped two-of-three against both Evansville and Bradley, who were ranked at the bottom of the MVC.

Headed into the MVC tournament, the Sycamores were third in the MVC and had achieved the No. 3 seed for the tournament.

They beat Creighton in the opening round in walk-off fashion, which had become normal for the Sycamores. Next up was Illinois State, who they had struggled with all year.

It did not serve to be any different, as they dropped the game and faced Creighton again the next day, with the winner advancing to face Illinois State again.

After the Sycamores beat Creighton for the second time, they lost to the Redbirds again, ending their season.