CHICAGO – Indiana State heads north to Loyola for a midweek Valley doubleheader this Wednesday, the first part of a three-game series against the Ramblers that will wrap up at home next Wednesday, April 26. Fans can watch both games live on
The Valley on ESPN3.
LAST TIME OUT
Indiana State is coming off a three-game sweep at Wichita State, which slugged .645 en route to 22 runs scored on the Sycamores. ISU jumped out to a 6-0 lead in Game One, but WSU starter Katie Malone -- the MVC's top pitcher at 22-8 -- settled in and shut the Sycamores down then and in Game Three as well.
SCOUTING THE RAMBLERS
Loyola stands at 20-19 overall and with the same MVC record as Indiana State (3-12), but are coming off an impressive series win against Southern Illinois. The Ramblers are only batting .223 as a team this season, but a strong team ERA of 2.32 (with opposing batters hitting just .256) has helped keep Loyola in games.
SERIES HISTORY
Indiana State owns a 9-7 advantage in the all-time series vs. Loyola.
SIMS ON PACE
Freshman
Leslie Sims has been one of the top hitters in the Valley for quite some time this season, remaining as one of just four left in the Valley to be batting over .400 at her current average of .408. If she can stay above the .400 mark by season's end, she will be the first .400 hitter at Indiana State since 2009 when both Katie Armour (.424) and Meredith Simpson (.405) did so. Sims would also be the fourth-ever to do so when including Lea Twigg's 1994 average of .402.
LESS-LIE IS MORE
Freshman
Leslie Sims has started her Sycamore career off with a bang as ISU's batting average leader. Sims leads Indiana State and ranks fourth in the Valley with a .408 average. Sims is primarily a speed demon on the base paths, using her legs for bunt singles and 17 stolen bases on the season -- second-most in the Valley this year. Sims also owns an inside-the-park grand slam vs. Wright State – one of three Sycamore inside-the-park grand slams this season. She is one of four Valley players left to be batting over .400 this year. Meanwhile, her .482 on-base percentage also ranks fourth in the Valley.
CLIMBING THE CAREER RANKS
Speaking of Sims' exploits in the record books, several other Sycamores are moving up in several career categories.
#13 Kassie Brown, Sr., SS
4th, Career Runs - 95
T-7th, Career Sac Bunts - 34
T-7th, Career Stolen Bases - 34
10th, Career Hits - 155
10th, Career Batting Average - .327
10th, Games Started - 185
#8 Erika Crissman, Sr., OF
2nd, Career RBI - 97
5th, Career Triples - 9
6th, Career Fielding - .988
T-6th, Career Runs - 82
7th, Career Hits - 168
10th, Career Stolen Bases - 32
T-10th, Career Walks - 48
#5 Della Gher, Fr., P
T-3rd, Career Saves - 4
#3 Rylee Holland, Sr., OF
5th, Career HBP - 18
T-5th, Career Runs - 88
T-7th, Career Sac Bunts - 34
#23 Brooke Riemenschneider, Sr., C
T-2nd, Career Walks - 58
8th, Career RBI - 75
T-9th, Career Home Runs - 9
CLIMBING THE SEASON RANKS
Several Sycamores have already started to climb the single-season lists as well.
#5 Della Gher, Fr., P
1st, Saves - 4
#18 Kenzie Ihle, Jr., P
T-7th, Wins – 13
#12 Brooke Mann, So., C
T-8th, Home Runs - 6
T-9th, RBI - 30
#20 Leslie Sims, Fr., 2B
2nd, Batting Average - .408
3rd, On-Base - .482
8th, Stolen Bases - 17
#17 Mary Turitto, Sr., 1B
T-4th, Double Plays – 14
GOING LONG
The Sycamores have only hit 12 home runs this season, but when they go yard it almost always means good things in the win column. Indiana State is 9-1 when hitting at least one home run as opposed to 9-21 when not hitting the long ball. On the opposite end, the Sycamores are 8-12 when allowed at least one opponent home run.
LATE CONSISTENCY
The Sycamore pitching staff has done an incredible job shutting the door on opponents, making Indiana State 11-0 when leading in both the sixth and seventh innings. Furthermore, only three teams have been able to claw back when ISU has led after the fourth inning, opposed to seven Sycamore wins. One of those teams was Wichita State, who currently ranks second in the MVC and fought back from a 6-0 deficit in the fourth inning in Game One of the series this past weekend.
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 four times in 129 at-bats all season, currently registering as the 24th-hardest strikeout in Division I this season.
DOUBLE THE PLEASURE, DOUBLE THE FUN
The Sycamore defense knows how to turn a double play with 22 on the season, 12th-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.
TURITTO TO THE RESCUE
Senior
Mary Turitto only had two hits against Missouri State, but they were both monumental in ISU's comeback for the walk-off 3-2 victory on April 9. 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.
She followed that performance up with a 2-for-3 outing at Fort Wayne, which included an RBI double.
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 56-42 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.
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.
