DES MOINES, Iowa – Sycamore Softball hits the road for its first Valley road trip of the season to take on the Drake Bulldogs this Saturday and Sunday. Fans can watch live on
The Valley on ESPN3.
First pitch for the doubleheader on Saturday is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET, with the finale on Sunday scheduled for noon ET.
LAST TIME OUT
Indiana State is coming off a tough extra-inning 2-1 loss to Ball State on Wednesday, which followed an exciting series win at home vs. UNI last weekend -- which included two walk-off wins and a narrow one-run loss. The Sycamores opened the series with a nine-inning slugfest with the Panthers, prevailing on an RBI fielder's choice in the bottom of the ninth, 5-4. In the second game of the doubleheader UNI came out on top 4-3 in a tight contest, but the Sycamores closed out with an exhilarating six-run rally from a 5-0 deficit in the bottom of the seventh to win 6-5.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Drake currently stands at 16-16 on the season and 0-6 in Valley play. The Bulldogs were picked to win the MVC in the coaches preseason poll. Drake pitcher Nicole Newman, who started the year 7-3 with 94 strikeouts and a 1.27 ERA, is injured and out for the season.
SERIES HISTORY
Drake owns a 46-31 advantage in the all-time series.
LESS-LIE IS MORE
Freshman
Leslie Sims has started her Sycamore career off with a bang as ISU's batting average leader -- mostly out of the nine spot in the batting order. Sims leads Indiana State and ranks fourth in the Valley with a .444 average on 28 hits through 29 games played and 21 games started. Sims is primarily a speed demon on the base paths, using her legs for bunt singles and 15 stolen bases on the season -- tied for the second-most in the Valley this year. Sims also owns an inside-the-park grand slam vs. Wright State. She is one of five final Valley players to be batting over .400 this year.
GOING THE DISTANCE
Indiana State might have a small pitching staff with only two starters and one reliever, but the Sycamores are in good hands when it comes to starters
Kenzie Ihle and
Kylie Stober. Both are capable of riding a game out as long as possible, as evidenced by the last week of action for the Sycamores. Ihle threw a nine-inning complete game victory against UNI in the series opener before throwing seven complete in yet another walk-off win in the series finale. Stober, meanwhile, is coming off her finest outing of the season with an eight-inning loss to Ball State, in which she gave up just two hits and zero earned runs.
BATTLING BACK
Indiana State's pitching staff has shown some considerable resiliency throughout the season in keeping the Sycamores in the game and being able to get out of jams. For instance, the Sycamores have been able to fight back and go 3-1 in games where the ISU pitching staff has yielded two or more home runs to opponents.
WORKHORSE
Starting pitcher
Kenzie Ihle has transitioned nicely to Division I softball as Indiana State's workhorse in the circle in 2017. Ihle has made 22 appearances in 29 games ISU has played in this season, throwing 106.2 innings of 190.2 total by Indiana State this season. She currently leads ISU in ERA at 3.87 and is second in the Valley with 11 wins at an 11-7 record with 62 strikeouts and holding opponents to a .267 average.
LATE-INNING DRAMA
Indiana State has been no stranger to extra inning games and late-inning theatrics this season, as this past weekend vs. UNI and a midweek loss to Ball State proved. The Sycamores opened the series with their fourth extra-inning game of the season in a nine-inning walk-off win over UNI. The Sycamores took the series finale and the series win on another walk-off, this time in regulation, on an RBI sacrifice fly to cap off a six-run rally in the final frame to erase a 5-0 UNI lead. On Wednesday, the Sycamores fell 2-1 in extra innings after seven scoreless in a pitcher's duel. In those extra-inning games this season, the Sycamores are 2-3 – with the other win coming at Louisville.
PRODUCING WHEN IT COUNTS
ISU has been in so many close games late and extra innings contests because the offense has refused to back down in the later innings. The Sycamores have outscored opponents 50-32 in the sixth and seventh innings combined this season and have been able to scrape together six wins when trailing in the fifth inning or later.
A TEAM THAT HITS TOGETHER…
The Sycamores have been a consistently offensive team in 2017, currently sitting at third in the Valley with a team batting average of .297. The Sycamores also rank highly in on-base (second, .387), runs scored (second, 169), hits (third, 234), RBI (third, 141) and walks (third, 108). The Sycamores have also been lethal on the base paths, currently leading the Valley with 55 stolen bases. When out-hitting an opponent, the Sycamores are 12-2.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP
All five Sycamore seniors have been crucial to the Indiana State lineup as of late, with all five -- SS
Kassie Brown, OF
Erika Crissman, OF
Rylee Holland, C
Brooke Riemenschneider and 1B
Mary Turitto -- starting a combined 120 games this year. Combined, they own a .284 batting average and 61 RBI on the season.
WHAM BAM, THANK YOU MANN
Sophomore catcher
Brooke Mann is having a superb first season at Indiana State as the top slugger for the Sycamores in 2017. Mann leads ISU with 29 RBI, six home runs and a .585 slugging percentage. Mann was named the MVC Player and Newcomer of the Week for her five-game stretch down in Florida at USF's Under Armour Showcase. In those five games she put up a slash line of .833/.895/1.417 with 10 RBI, one double and two three-run dingers.
DELLA DELLA GHER, Y'ALL
Freshman
Della Gher should technically still be in high school, but instead she's currently leading the Missouri Valley and ranks third in the NCAA in saves as a key member of Indiana State's pitching staff. Gher, who graduated early from Paris High School in Paris, Ill., in December, entered ISU's spring break trip with a shaky 12.90 ERA and brought that all the way down to a then team-leading 3.55 after a superb showing in seven appearances across ISU's eight games in Florida. Overall, she put up a 0.78 ERA down in Florida, going 1-0 to improve to 2-0 on the season and recording all four of her MVC-leading saves in 18.0 innings pitched.
For the latest information on the Sycamore Softball team, make sure to check out
GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including
Facebook and
Twitter.
