Indiana State University Newsroom

The Indiana State Sport Network is now broadcasting home baseball and softball games onto ESPN3.

Broadcasting the games has introduced new challenges to the Student Media team lead by Seth Payne, sports video manager.

"Baseball is more drawn out," Payne said. "There is time in between pitches and innings, so it is a slower-paced game than football and soccer, both of which we have broadcasted before."

The on-air announcers need to prepare additional information so the games are interesting for the viewers.

"The announcers need to do more preparation to have more to talk about because they need to fill more space," Payne said. "We also prepare graphics to give the viewers more to look at while the games are going."

Chase Eyrich, a junior communication student from Bourbon, Ind., has been with the sports network since fall 2015 and has announced the baseball and softball games.

"The pace of the game is different (from) any other sport we work with, so trying to figure out how to fill that space with the right amount of content has been difficult," Eyrich said.

The production team has to work with more than the equipment. They also must work with the weather.

"The home opener on March 17 was cold and misty with rain, and Saturday was cold and windy," Payne said. "Sunday had nice, decent weather. We were able to focus on the game and production instead of fighting with the weather."

As long as games are being played, the sports network will broadcast. Equipment is covered with rain gear, cleaned with microfiber cloths and supported with sandbags so that the game can still air during inclement weather.The sports network's 12- to 15-person team arrives to the stadium four hours prior to the games start to set up.

"It takes about two and a half hours to set up our equipment," Payne said. "I want my team to have time to troubleshoot and make sure everything is working plus have about a 45-minute break for food and drink. The games can be long, and we want them to make it through comfortably."

Once the game ends, it takes approximately an hour and a half to load the equipment.

"I expect there to be some struggles for us," Eyrich said. "We haven't worked with the two sports before so everyone has to get a feel for what they are doing. I think we have strong and motived people on our team that will put in the work to help make our productions better each time."

Caleb Hess, a sophomore information technology student from Chrisman, Ill., has been working with Student Media since August 2015. He currently works as a video operator for the sports network.

"Every sport is shot completely different and creates a new and exciting challenge to capture the best video possible of each event," Hess said. "My favorite part of baseball and softball so far are the homeruns. There have been a few so far, and they are always exciting."

About 50 students are currently involved in the sports network.

"Our application will reopen in the fall. No prior experience is necessary in production or sports. We will teach our workers everything they need to know to succeed," Payne said.

The sports network will produce 19 more games this semester.

Games are available both on and off campus through ESPN3.com. On campus, viewers can search "Indiana State University" on ESPN3 and watch either live games or games dating back 30 days. Off campus, games are available once a cable provider login is provided on ESPN3's website.

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Photos: https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Media-Services/Submitted-Photos/Staff-Uploads/i-Ttq7SwC/0/L/2%20ISSN-L.jpg

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Media contact: Morgan Gallas, strategic communication specialist, 219-246-1805 or mgallas@sycamores.indstate.edu