FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Indiana State Softball will take momentum from a walk-off win in the series finale against Missouri State upstate with a midweek contest at Fort Wayne on Wednesday.
First pitch is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
SERIES HISTORY
Indiana State holds a 7-3 advantage in the all-time series against Fort Wayne.
TURITTO TO THE RESCUE
Senior
Mary Turitto only had two hits this past weekend against Missouri State, but they were both monumental in ISU's comeback for the walk-off 3-2 victory on Sunday. Turitto led off the sixth with a solo home run on a 1-2 count, her second of the season and sixth of her career, to give the Sycamores some momentum to hold Missouri State in the top of the seventh. Tied 2-2 in the bottom half, it was Turitto coming through in the clutch again, sailing a long double off the left field wall for the game-winning walk-off hit – her second this Valley season after a game-winning RBI sac fly against UNI two weeks ago. In Valley play, Turitto is slugging .500.
SHE'S GOING THE DISTANCE
Junior
Kenzie Ihle has shown incredible resilience in her first season at Indiana State, throwing eight complete games and ranking fourth in the Valley with 135.2 innings pitched – with three complete games tossed just this past week. Ihle in 21.0 innings this past week, she had a 2.00 ERA, bringing her season ERA down to 3.66. She fanned 18 batters, including 13 along in two games against Missouri State, while holding batters to a .265 average. Her 84 punchouts this season ranks sixth in the Valley, and her 33 in MVC play ranks fourth. And, after a rough start in the strikeout/walk ratio department, she has clawed her way back to a positive ratio with her 84 strikeouts against 83 walks.
TOUGH OUT
Senior
Erika Crissman is no pushover, as her stat line this season can attest. The Los Alamitos, Calif., native has only struck out three times in 114 at-bats all season. Entering last week it was just two in 100 at-bats, which ranked as the best ratio in the Valley and ninth-best in the NCAA. Crissman, a career .309 hitter, is hitting .289 on the season with 22 RBI on two doubles, two triples and an inside-the-park home run.
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 .424 average. 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 third-most in the Valley this year. Sims also owns an inside-the-park grand slam vs. Wright State. She is one of four Valley players to be batting over .400 this year. Meanwhile, her .500 on-base percentage ranks tied for second in the Valley.
SUPER STOBER
Junior
Kylie Stober may have a 1-9 record in the circle, but she has been a far more productive pitcher than her record suggests. Stober holds a 4.68 ERA on the season, but she has thrown five complete games this season – including a week-stretch where she recorded a 3.05 ERA and tossed an eight-inning, two-hit loss to Ball State with seven hitless innings. Her first start vs. Drake began the same way with three perfect, extending her hitless streak to 10.0 IP before Drake broke the game open.
Stober has also started making plate appearances for the Sycamores, currently batting .500 with five hits in 10 at-bats, including a key one late in ISU's walk-off win vs. Missouri State.
DOUBLE THE PLEASURE, DOUBLE THE FUN
The Sycamore defense knows how to turn a double play with 21 on the season, ninth-most in the NCAA this season. ISU had five in one weekend alone against Drake, including two games with two double-plays. Indiana State went the entire weekend without committing an error, a streak that eventually reached 28.0 innings before committing one late against IUPUI.
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 53-36 in the sixth and seventh innings combined this season and have been able to scrape together seven wins when trailing in the fifth inning or later. In addition, the Sycamores have won on walk-off hits three times in the last month, with two walk-offs vs. UNI and one in the finale against Missouri State this past week.
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
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