EVANSVILLE, IN ? With a potential Missouri Valley Conference tournament berth on the line, the Indiana State Sycamores (19-28-1, 7-15 MVC) took on the Purple Aces (24-20, 10-12 MVC) of Evansville this afternoon, a team that has already guaranteed themselves a spot in the MVC tournament. The Sycamores, who can secure a spot in the tournament with just one win against the Aces, dropped both games of the afternoon.
Game One
With two outs, the first inning saw two Sycamore hits with
Leslie Fakes registering a bunt-single through the left side and reaching third off a Katie Armour double to left center. Both runners were left stranded when Audrey Childress grounded out to second as the Sycamores were unable to capitalize.
Neither team would score a run until the bottom of the fifth inning when the Aces Brittany Herald hit an RBI-single up the middle with two runners on base to give the home team a 1-0 lead.
The Aces would increase that lead an inning later and add on a couple of insurance runs as Cassey Kemna tripled down the left field line to score Jennifer Stahlhut who reached first base on a Sycamore fielding error. Laura Rather followed with an RBI-single through the right side to score her senior teammate Kemna from third to put the score at 3-0 in favor of the Aces.
The Sycamores would try to mount a comeback in the seventh inning as Katie Iocoangeli and Kelsey Anderson both hit singles to put runners on first and second. Once again, both runners were left stranded as the Aces defense would not allow a Sycamore run.
Katie Armour took the loss for the Sycamores. In six innings of work, the junior pitcher gave up eight hits and three runs, two of which were unearned.
Armour and Lindsey Starwalt both recorded two hits apiece and Fakes, Iocoangeli, and Anderson each tallied one.
Senior pitcher Jacki Bradley threw all seven innings for the Purple Aces, surrendering seven hits, and registering her eleventh win of the season.
Today was Senior Day at UE and all three of the Aces RBI's came from seniors.
Game Two
Although the first two hits for the Sycamores were doubles in the first and second innings respectively, it would be the Aces who would again be the first team to score.
In the bottom of the third inning, with Meagan McCurdy on the mound, Krista Price reached first base on a Sycamore third basemen fielding error, stole second, and advanced to third on yet again another Sycamore fielding error. Kristen Shirk then followed with a double to right field to score Price. Herald, who had an RBI in the first game, registered her second RBI of the afternoon when she hit a double to centerfield to bring in Shirk from second and give the Aces a 2-0 lead. Both runs would be unearned.
The Sycamores finally saw some scoring action as Anderson hit her third homerun of the season with a runner on first to tie the ballgame at 2-2.
The Aces took a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning off a 2-RBI single through the left side by Amanda Ockomon with runners on second and third. Both runs again would be unearned as one runner reached first base on an error by McCurdy and the other reached after three outs should have been made.
The Sycamores would not go down without a fight as they once again tried to mount a comeback in their last at-bat. Christina Meyers singled to right field and advanced to second on a throwing error as Fakes reached first base on a fielder's choice. Armour also reached first on a fielder's choice, Fakes advanced to second, and Meyers was out at third base unassisted. Childress kept the Sycamore hopes alive as she hit an RBI-single to centerfield to score Fakes. However, 3-4 is as close as the Sycamores would get as they lost both games of a doubleheader to the Purple Aces.
McCurdy picked up the loss as she gave up four hits and four runs, only one of which was earned.
Although the Sycamores lost both games, their MVC tournament hopes are still alive. Bradley and UNI are the other teams who are fighting with Indiana State for a post-season spot. With Bradley losing the first game against SIU, they are no longer a threat to the Sycamores in the final standings. However, UNI pulled out a thrilling 5-4 victory against the Illinois State Redbirds in the final inning which means the Sycamores post-season has yet to be determined. If UNI sweeps the Redbirds and the Sycamores lose their third game tomorrow, the Panthers would jump the Sycamores in the standings and become the eighth seed in the tournament. However, the Panthers MUST sweep the Redbirds; one win would not be enough. Regardless of how the Panther-Redbird series goes, a Sycamore victory tomorrow would seal their fate and advance Indiana State to post-season play.
Tomorrow's series finale and last regular season game is slated for 1:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Live stats are available via http://livestats.internetconsult.com/evansville/softball. The game can also be heard on 91.5 WUEV.
