Blaine Kinsey
GoSycamores.com
After dropping both games of a double header on the road to the Braves of Bradley Saturday, the Indiana State softball team (14-25, 3-13 MVC) will return home to Price Field when they host the Redbirds of Illinois State (30-14, 16-3 MVC) Tuesday before they travel to face the Panthers of Eastern Illinois University (34-9, 21-3 OVC) Wednesday for their final non-conference game of the season. Tuesday's game against the Redbirds marks the final game of the three-game season series and is set to begin at 4 p.m. at Price Field while Wednesday's game on the road against the Panthers is set to begin at 5 p.m. in Charleson, Ill.
Last time out
The Sycamores last saw the field on Saturday when they dropped both games of a double header on the road to the Braves of Bradley University in Peoria, Ill. The Sycamores took an early 2-1 lead in game on of the double header but the Braves came back to win the first game 5-2. In game two the Braves pulled out to a 4-0 lead over the Sycamores before ISU came back and cut the lead to 4-3. The Braves piled on the runs in the last few innings to win game two by a final score of 10-3.
A Little History - Illinois State
This will be the 84th overall meeting between the Sycamores and Redbirds with the Redbirds holding the 71-13 advantage over the Sycamores. The two teams first met during the 1980-81 seson when the Redbirds took a 6-2 decision over the Sycamores. The two teams met most recently on April 20, 2011 when the Redbirds won both games of a double header 9-0 and 5-1 in Normal, Ill.
Scouting The Redbirds
The Redbirds enter the mid-week series with a 30-14 record overall and are in a tie for first place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with a 16-3 record. The Redbirds are led this season by senior second baseman Kara Nelson who is batting a team leading .412 with 87 total bases on the season. Sophomore catcher/ utility player Elizabeth Kay also has a team leading 13 home runs and 41 runs batted in. On the mound junior Jordan Birch leads the Redbirds with a 14-3 record with a 2.89 ERA with 123 strikeouts on the season.
A Little History - Eastern Illinois
This will be the 70th overall meeting between the Sycamores and Panthers with the Panthers holding the 40-29 series advantage over the Sycamores. The two teams first met during the 1977-78 season when the Panthers took a 0-7 decision in Terre Haute, Ind. The last meeting between the two teams took place on Feb. 27 at the Magic City Classic hosted by UAB when the Panthers beat the Sycamores 5-1. The Panthers also defeated the Sycamores on Feb. 13 when the Panthers got the 2-1 win.
Scouting The Panthers
The Panthers enter Wednesday's matchup with a 34-9 record overall and are first place in the Ohio Valley Conference standings with a 21-3 record. The Panthers are led offensively this season by sophomore outfielder Melise Brown and junior catcher Hailee Hanna. Brown boasts a .401 batting average for the Panthers with seven doubles, seven home runs and 26 home runs while Hanna is batting .348 with seven home runs and 21 runs batted in. On the mound the Panthers have two pitchers with an ERA under two as senior Amber May has an 18-4 record on the season with a 1.30 ERA and 178 strikeouts. Freshman Stephanie Maday is 13-4 on the season with a 1.53 ERA and 93 strikeouts.
Offensive Explosion
During the season series with Southern Illinois the Sycamore bats came to life as they recorded a total of 26 runs in the three-game series off of 27 hits. The team also had a total of 10 home runs prior to the weekend and then hit six home runs and had a total of 23 RBIs against Southern Illinois. In addition, all but one of the Sycamore batters recorded a hit in the series.
Moving On Up
With her two home runs against Southern Illinois, Bailey Wittenauer moved up into a tie for second place with Stacey Sparger on the ISU career home run list with 14, behind only Meredith Simpson who tallied 20. The junior also moved up into third place on the ISU single season home run list with six and moved up to fifth place in career RBI's with 74.
Returning To The Lineup
After missing 14 games each due to injury, the Sycamores will got a bit of personnel relief when both sophomore outfielder Kim Pierce and junior pitcher/designated player Lindsey Beisser returned to the lineup against Southern Illinois. Pierce went 3-6 at the plate with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored for the Sycamores. Beisser was unable to get a hit in her first two games back but was hit by a pitch on two occasions.
Weather Issues
Along with many other teams, the Sycamores have had a particularly rough time with the weather this season. With the March 30 game against Indiana being postponed, and the April 22 game against Bradley, the Sycamores have now had seven games cancelled or postponed due to either rain or cold temperatures this season. The Sycamores have also had four games delayed due to poor weather conditions.
Off To A Quick Start
So far this season it has been a battle to get on the scoreboard first for the Sycamores. The Sycamores have only lost four games and are 11-5 on the season when they are the first team to have a run cross home plate. The Sycamores are also 11-1 when they lead their opponents after the conclusion of the fifth inning.
Freshman Baumgart Leads The Way
For the first 34 games of the 2011 season, the Sycamores found themselves being led offensively by their lead off hitter, freshman center fielder Alex Baumgart, who continues to bat .311 and has 37 hits and 24 runs scored with eight RBI's. Baumgart is also second on the team in total bases with 40.
Using The Long Ball
As the Sycamores are now 41 games into the season, the team has been hitting the ball with power as they have a total of 18 home runs so far on the season which puts them fourth in the ISU all-time record book, just two out of third place. Junior first baseman Bailey Wittenauer has led the team with six home runs this season including a grand slam against SEMO. The Sycamores also have 59 extra base hits on the season.
Felker Named MVC Pitcher Of The Week
Indiana State softball picked up its first Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week award for the 2011 season on March 7th with the selection of sophomore right-handed pitcher Kristen Felker. Felker pitched a complete game Sunday giving up no earned runs and struck out nine batters to get the win for Indiana State over Holy Cross at the Rebel Games Classic in Orlando, Fla. Felker, a native of Defiance, Mo. and a physical education major, now has 20 strikeouts in her four games of the 2011 season.
Follow ISU Softball Online
Keep up to date with Sycamore softball all over the web this season. full stats, box scores and recaps will continue to be available on www.GoSycamores.com. However, you can also follow the Sycamores on Facebook at the Indiana State University Softball fan page available at www.facebook.com/SycamoreSoftball.
Whats Yet To Come
Following the midweek matchup with Eastern Illinois, the Sycamores will return home to host their final home Missouir Valley Conference series of the season when they play the Bluejays of Creighton University for a three-game series. The series will get underway with a double header on Saturday beginning at noon with the second game set for approximately 2 p.m. The two teams will then wrap up the series on Sunday with the game set to begin at noon with all three games being played at Price FIeld.
