Blaine Kinsey

GoSycamores.com

The Indiana State softball team took a break from Missouri Valley Conference play this week for a mid-week double header on the road at SEMO. The Sycamores dropped both games to the Redhawks and will not turn their attention toward in-state rivals, the Purple Aces of the University of Evansville. The Sycamores will attempt to pick up where they left off in MVC play with back-to-back series wins. The game can be heard online on the Sycamore softball Ustream channel as Eli Van Sickle will have the call. First pitch will be at noon and 2 p.m. on Saturday before wrapping up the series with a noon start time on Sunday.

Last time out

The Sycamores last saw the field on Wednesday, April 6 when they traveled to face the Ohio Valley Conference's Redhawks of Southeast Missouri State in a double header. The Sycamores junior first baseman Bailey Wittenauer hit a grand slam and senior center fielder Stephanie Jonson hit a two-run home run but it wasn't enough to put the Sycamores ahead. The Sycamores dropped both games of the double header 10-8 and 4-2 in Cape Girardeau, Mo. With the loss the Sycamores fall to 11-17 overall on the season.

A Little History - Evansville

This will be the 78th overall meeting between the Sycamores and the Purple Aces with the Sycamores holding the 40-37 advantage in the series. The last time the two teams met the Purple Aces won the first two games of a three-game series before the Sycamores won the finale. The two teams first met during the 1978-79 season with the Sycamores winning both games played that season. The Sycamores have also played the Purple Aces more times than any other opponent.

Scouting The Purple Aces

So far in the 2011 season the Purple Aces are 7-27 overall and 1-8 in Missouri Valley Conference play. Evansville last saw the field on Wednesday, April 6 when they dropped both games of a double header at home to the University of Missouri. The Purple Aces are led offensively by senior outfielder Jen Stahlhut who is batting .347 for the Aces with 34 hits and 18 RBI's. Junior infielder Amy Gaertner leads the team with four home runs and nine doubles and also is batting .277. 

Weather Issues

Along with many other teams, the Sycamores have had a particularly rough time with the weather this season. With Wednesday's game against Indiana being postponed, the Sycamores have now had six games cancelled or postponed due to either rain or cold temperatures this season.

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 one game and are 9-3 on the season when they are the first team to have a run cross home plate. The Sycamores are also 8-1 when leading after the fifth inning of play.

Freshman Baumgart Leads The Way

Now 26 games into the 2011 season, the Sycamores find themselves being led offensively by their lead off hitter,  freshman center fielder Alex Baumgart, who has a team leading .351 batting average and 25 hits and 17 runs scored with six RBI's. Baumgart is also second on the team in total bases with 28.

Using  The Long Ball

As the Sycamores are now 28 games into the season, Junior first baseman Bailey Wittenauer has been swinging the bat with power as she leads the team with home runs. Wittenauer already has four home runs on the season including a grand slam against SEMO, which makes 12 total home runs for the junior in a Sycamore uniform including a grand slam last season which puts her third in the ISU record book for career home runs and in a tie for sixth on the single season list. As a team the Sycamores have hit eight home runs which is a tie for 9th place in the ISU record book.

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 with the Indiana State University Softball fan page at www.facebook.com/SycamoreSoftball.

Whats Yet To Come

After this weekend's games the Sycamores will travel to Cape Girardeau, MO where they will square off against the Redhawks of Southeast Missouri State in a double header on Wednesday. The Sycamores will then return home on Saturday, April 9 to host a three game Missouri Valley Conference series against the Purple Aces of Evansville University beginning with a double header on Saturday.