TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State will host its final home series of the season this weekend against Southern Illinois. All three games have been moved up one day due to anticipated weather, with the doubleheader scheduled for Friday at noon and 2:30 p.m. ET, and the series finale scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday.
ISU will honor five seniors following Game Two on Friday:
Kassie Brown,
Erika Crissman,
Rylee Holland,
Brooke Riemenschneider and
Mary Turitto.
Fans can watch both games on Friday live on
The Valley on ESPN3.
LAST TIME OUT
Indiana State is coming off a close 3-2 loss to Loyola on Wednesday after a one hour, 50 minute rain delay with the winning run at the plate with one out in the bottom of the seventh. The Sycamores started a late rally before the delay, cutting the Rambler lead to 3-2 following an RBI double by
Gabi Carter. The Ramblers would escape, though, with two quick outs once play resumed for the season series sweep.
SCOUTING THE SALUKIS
Southern comes into this weekend 26-21 overall and 13-7 in Valley play and boast a well-balanced team. At the plate, sluggers Shaye Harre and Merri Anne Patterson have combined for 13 HR and 67 RBI. Harre currently leads the league in doubles (15) and owns 20 more walks than anyone in the MVC (47). In the circle, starter Brianna Jones owns a very impressive strikeout-to-walk ratio of 113/28.
SERIES HISTORY
Southern Illinois holds a 23-69 advantage in the all-time series vs. Indiana State.
SYCAMORE SENIORS
Indiana State will honor five seniors following Game Two vs. Southern Illinois on Friday afternoon: shortstop
Kassie Brown, outfielder
Erika Crissman, outfielder
Rylee Holland, catcher
Brooke Riemenschneider and first baseman
Mary Turitto. All five have had illustrious Sycamore careers, and all five were members of the 2015 MVC Tournament Championship team that went to the first NCAA Tournament in school history.
#3 OF Rylee Holland
Rochester, Ind. // Rochester HS
185 games played, 157 games started
AVG/OBP/SLG: .282/.349/.294
133 hits, 89 runs
4 doubles, 1 triple, 56 RBI
31 walks, 19 HBP
39 sac bunts
21 stolen bases
.968 fielding percentage
#8 OF Erika Crissman
2014 Second-Team All-MVC
Los Alamitos, Calif. // Los Alamitos HS
187 games played, 169 games started
AVG/OBP/SLG: .306/.368/.416
172 hits, 85 runs
26 doubles, 9 triples, 6 home runs, 98 RBI
50 walks
33 stolen bases
.988 fielding percentage
#13 SS Kassie Brown
Mt. Zion, Ill. // Mt. Zion HS
197 games played, 191 games started
AVG/OBP/SLG: .326/.380/.331
159 hits, 96 runs, 2 doubles, 29 RBI
36 walks
44 sac bunts
36 stolen bases
.938 fielding percentage
#17 1B Mary Turitto
Cottage Grove, Minn. // Park HS
120 games played, 95 games started
AVG/OBP/SLG: .258/.316/.376
72 hits, 27 runs
15 doubles, 6 home runs, 49 RBI
19 walks
22 sac bunts, 5 sac flies
.986 fielding percentage
#23 C Brooke Riemenschneider
Chatham, Ill. // Glenwood HS
187 games played, 162 games started
AVG/OBP/SLG: .275/.360/.386
130 hits, 63 runs
28 doubles, 8 home runs, 75 RBI
58 walks
17 sac bunts
14 stolen bases
.968 fielding percentage
CLIMBING THE CAREER RANKS
As the season draws to a close, several Sycamores are moving up in the all-time career top-10 categories:
#13 Kassie Brown, Sr., SS
3rd, Career Sac Bunts - 44
4th, Career Runs - 96
6th, Career Stolen Bases - 36
8th, Games Started - 191
10th, Career Hits - 159
9th, Career Batting Average - .326
10th, Games Played - 197
#8 Erika Crissman, Sr., OF
2nd, Career RBI - 98
5th, Career Triples - 9
6th, Career Fielding - .988
7th, Career Runs - 85
7th, Career Hits - 172
T-7th, Career Walks - 50
T-10th, Career Stolen Bases – 33
#5 Della Gher, Fr., P
T-3rd, Career Saves - 4
#3 Rylee Holland, Sr., OF
5th, Career HBP - 19
5th, Career Runs - 89
5th, Career Sac Bunts - 39
#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-6th, Wins - 14
#12 Brooke Mann, So., C
T-8th, Home Runs - 6
T-6th, RBI - 31
#20 Leslie Sims, Fr., 2B
T-5th, Batting Average - .390
T-5th, Stolen Bases - 19
7th, On-Base - .459
#17 Mary Turitto, Sr., 1B
T-4th, Double Plays - 14
DOMINANT IHLE
Junior
Kenzie Ihle had a superb weekend series against Evansville, blanking the Purple Aces 1-0 in the series opener and nearly throwing a no-hitter in a Game Three loss on Sunday. In Game One, Ihle was dominant with a 12-strikeout performance – a career-high at ISU and the most by a Sycamore pitcher since March 7, 2012 (Lindsey Beisser, 12, vs. Sacred Heart). In that first game, Ihle yielded just four hits and only allowed one baserunner to reach third base all day (with two outs in the bottom of the seventh) and had four innings with multiple punchouts (including two innings where she struck out the side). In the series finale, Ihle was literally unhittable for five complete innings, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning in a similarly dominating performance. The Purple Aces ended up rallying in the sixth, but Ihle still struck out eight – pushing her weekend total to 20 strikeouts. In 12.2 innings pitched against Evansville, she allowed just six hits (including only two in the finale). With 14 wins this season, she ranks tied for sixth on the single-season all-time list at Indiana State. Her 113 punchouts this season also ranks tied for fourth overall in the conference, and her 62 in in MVC play ranks second. Ihle was one of the best JUCO pitchers in the nation at Des Moines Area Community College the last two seasons, leading the NJCAA in strikeouts per game (10.1) in 2016 and setting a new DMACC school record for wins with a 31-3 record in two seasons.
FLASHING THE LEATHER
The Sycamore defense has been consistently solid this season, and recently they've been flawless. ISU is currently on a streak of 29.2 consecutive innings without committing an error – the second such streak of at least 20 innings this season as the Sycamores also went 28.0 innings without one across three games at Drake and six innings without one at IUPUI earlier this month. Indiana State currently ranks third in the Valley in fielding percentage at .964, and still leads the Valley in double plays turned with 23. In MVC play, the Sycamores rank second with a .974 fielding clip. Senior shortstop and Preseason All-MVC honoree
Kassie Brown is a big part of that, ranking ninth overall in MVC play with 93 assists.
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.
