TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State returns home to host the Missouri Valley's No. 2 team, Missouri State, for a weekend of MVC action at Price Field on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's doubleheader begins at noon ET, while the standalone game on Sunday begins at 11 a.m. ET. Fans can watch all three games on
The Valley on ESPN3.
LAST TIME OUT
Indiana State is coming off a midweek 7-3 victory over IUPUI, as well as four and one-third innings of a game at Butler that was cancelled in the fifth due to lightning. The Sycamores tagged IUPUI for 11 hits, led by a three-RBI day by
Gabi Carter.
Kenzie Ihle went the distance for her sixth complete game and 12th win of the year.
SCOUTING THE BEARS
Missouri State sits in second place in the Valley standings at the moment at 18-12 overall and 6-3 in Valley play. The Bears are a well-balanced team with a potent offense (plus-47 run differential, .402 team slugging) and a low team ERA of 2.65.
SERIES HISTORY
Missouri State holds a 59-25 advantage in the all-time series over the Sycamores.
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 .449 average on 35 hits through 33 games played and 25 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 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. Her .449 average ranks 23rd nationally and her .527 on-base percentage ranks 31st.
SUPER STOBER
Junior
Kylie Stober may have a 1-8 record in the circle, but she has been a far more productive pitcher than her record suggests. Stober holds a 4.94 ERA on the season, but in the past week she has pitched two complete games and recorded a 3.05 ERA – including an eight-inning, two-hit loss to Ball State that included holding the Cardinals to seven straight hitless and scoreless 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 also started making plate appearances for the Sycamores this past weekend, hitting .600 with three hits in five at-bats.
DOUBLE THE PLEASURE, DOUBLE THE FUN
The Sycamore defense knows how to turn a double play with 21 on the season – five coming this past weekend against Drake, pushing them to sixth in the NCAA this season. ISU had two games vs. Drake where they pulled off two double plays – including two impressive ones in the series finale off fly balls into the outfield. Indiana State's defense went the entire weekend without committing a single error.
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 twice in 104 at-bats all season -- ranking her as the hardest to strikeout in the Valley and ninth-hardest in all of the NCAA this season. Crissman, a career .311 hitter, is hitting .298 on the season with 22 RBI with two doubles, two triples, and an inside-the-park home run.
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 51-34 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 fourth in the Valley with a team batting average of .292. The Sycamores also rank highly in runs scored (first, 179) and walks (third, 114). The Sycamores have also been lethal on the base paths, currently leading the Valley with 56 stolen bases. When out-hitting an opponent, the Sycamores are 13-3.
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 .547 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.
