Blaine Kinsey

GoSycamores.com

After dropping the series finale at home to the Redbirds of Illinois State on Tuesday and a washout of a scheduled Wednesday contest with Eastern Illinois, the Indiana State softball team (14-28, 3-16 MVC) will return home to face the Bluejays of Creighton (31-24, 9-9 MVC) for a three-game series and the final home series of the season. The first two games of the series are secheduled to be played on Saturday in a double header with the game set to start at 12 p.m. with the second game scheduled for approximately 2 p.m. The final game of the series will be on Sunday at 12 p.m. when it will be senior day to honor the team's lone senior, left fielder Stephanie Jonson. The Sycamores enter this weekend's games sitting in ninth place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings as the Bluejays enter the series in 6th place. The Sycamores will be trying to end a nine-game losing skid and to get their first win since April 13 against IUPUI. Live stats of all three games of the series will be available on GoSycamores.com and live audio will also be available on GoSycamores.com as Eli Van Sickel will have the call.

Last time out
After having Wednesday's game against Eastern Illinois cancelled due to weather, the Sycamores last saw the field on Tuesday, April 26 when they dropped a 10-7 decision to the league leading Redbirds of Illinois State. The Sycamores rallied throughout the game but the Redbird offense had an answer every time. Junior first baseman Bailey Wittenauer went 4-4 at the plate in that game with a home run and five runs batted in to lead the Sycamores.

A Little History - Creighton
This will be the 46th overall meeting between the Sycamores and Bluejays with Creighton holding the 39-7 overall series advantage over the Sycamores. The two teams first met during the 1992-93 season when the Bluejays defeated the Sycamores by a final score of 2-11. The two teams last met during the 2009-2010 season when the Bluejays defeated the Sycamores in two games 6-0 and 6-5 in Omaha, Neb. The last game played at Price Field between the two teams resulted in a 1-0 Sycamore win.

Scouting The Bluejays
Creighton enters this weekend's games with a 31-24 record and 9-9 in league play which is good enough for sixth place in the MVC standings. The Bluejays have been led throughout the season by freshman outfielder Ellen Homan who is batting .321for the Bluejays with 45 hits and 11 runs batted in. Sophomore catcher Amy Baker is the team's power hitter with 15 home runs, 28 RBI's and 80 total bases on the season. On the mound for the Bluejays, freshman pitcher Becca Changstrom leads the team with a 2.00 ERA on the season with a 15-8 record, 16 complete games and 139 strikeouts.

Moving On Up
With a home run against Illinois State, junior first baseman Bailey Wittenauer moved up into second place on the ISU career home run list with 15, passing Stacey Sparger and she is now behind only Meredith Simpson who tallied 20. The junior also moved up into a tie for second  place with Audrey Childress on the ISU single season home run list with seven and moved up to fourth place in career RBI's with 79, just 10 out of first place.

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.

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 April 22 game against Bradley and the April 27 game against Eastern Illinois being cancelled, the Sycamores have now had eight 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 .306 and has 37 hits and 26 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 this weekend's Missouri Valley Conference matchup with the Bluejays of Creighton, the Indiana State softball team will have the week off before traveling to face the Panthers of Northern Iowa next Saturday and Sunday for the final series of the season. The series is set to begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday with a double header before wrapping up on Sunday with the third and final game, also beginning at 1 p.m.