TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Returning home for the first time in 10 days and the last time until May, Indiana State will play host to Missouri Valley Conference foe Evansville on Wednesday with a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. at Price Field.
The twinbill will be broadcast live on The Valley on ESPN3.
The Sycamores (20-19, 7-7) have not been at home since April 8 and, after Wednesday, will not return home until May 5.
Quick Hits
• Indiana State returns home with a midweek doubleheader with MVC foe Evansville.
• The Sycamores have won four of their last six games including a 5-3 come-from-behind win at Southern Illinois Saturday.
• The 20-19 (7-7) mark by the Sycamores places the team in fourth place in the Missouri Valley Conference by win percentage after being selected to finish 10th (last).
• Southern Illinois enters the weekend having lost five of their last seven games.
• Indiana State has a slight 48-45 lead in the all-time series and has won seven of the last 10 meetings.
• The Trees have only lost one of the last five season series to the Purple Aces.
• A young team this year, Indiana State only has four upperclassmen (juniors and seniors) on its 18-member roster.
ConsistenTree
Indiana State sophomore Leslie Sims has been the most consistent Tree to date at the plate this season. She enters this week's play ranked third in the Missouri Valley Conference with a .400 batting average while her on-base percentage of .462 ranks her sixth in The Valley.
Mighty Leslie At Bat
Well Leslie Sims may not be a power hitter but that makes her no less effective at the plate. The Sycamore sophomore enters this week's action ranked in the top 105 nationally in batting average. That makes her a dangerous threat when you consider her speed...
Sims with the Speed
Leslie Sims enters this week's action as the only Missouri Valley Conference player that remains perfect in stolen base attempts (with over 10 attempts on the season). The Sycamore sophomore is currently 17-for-17 on the base paths this season. When you look at Valley players with a minimum of five stolen base attempts this year, only Sims and Illinois State's Riley Strandgard (7-for-7) remain with a perfect rate.
So It's No Surprise
So it's really no surprise that Leslie Sims is currently tied for sixth all-time at Indiana State in career steals. Her 37 swipes matches the 37 stolen bases recorded by Kassie Brown (2014-17) to rank sixth in program history. Sims needs only five more steals to move into a tie for fifth to match the 42 steals recorded by Sara Lemond (2000-03).
What a B1G Win
With Indiana State's 3-2 victory over Purdue on April 11, the Sycamores recorded their first win over the Boilermakers since 1999. That also marked ISU's first win over a Big Ten program since the 2016 season with the Trees recorded a 3-2 victory over Iowa. That Hawkeye team was then led by current Indiana State volunteer assistant coach Kaitlyn Mullarkey.
Trees Turn Two
Indiana State's defense has been seemingly on point with runners on base this year. The Sycamores enter this week's action ranked 59th in the nation and third in The Valley with an average of 0.38 double plays turned per game.
Defensive Standouts
Despite having such a young roster, Indiana State has been a relatively clean team in the field this season. Entering this week's action, the Sycamores rank 49th nationally and third in The Valley with a .969 fielding percentage.
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, Twitter and Instagram.
