Blaine Kinsey
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, Ind.—After opening the 2016 season indoors, the Indiana State Softball team will head south to SEC Country for their first outdoor games of the season as they take part of the Tiger Invitational hosted by Auburn University. The Sycamores enter the weekend with a 2-2 record after defeating the University of Iowa 3-2 to end play at the Total Control Sports Invitational. The Sycamores have been led offensively by junior Brooke Riemenschneider who holds a .444 batting average with two doubles and two RBI's while freshman Shaye Barton holds a .375 batting average with a double and three RBI's. In the circle for the Sycamores, freshman Abby Klopp leads the pitching staff with a 1.12 ERA and 2-2 record over 25.0 innings pitched and hitters are hitting just .221 against her. Live stats for all four games of the Tiger Invitational can be found online at GoSycamores.com. A free live webcast will also be available online at Ustream.tv/channel/indiana-state-softball. Fans can also follow the team through social media on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and SnapChat.
Last Time Out
The Indiana State Softball team last saw the field on Sunday, Feb. 21 when they defeated the University of Iowa 3-2. Sophomore pitcher Abby Klopp pitched 6.2 innings to earn the win and added two RBI's and her first career triple while senior Mallory Schneid also had an RBI double to help lead the Sycamores to the win, the teams first over the Hawkeyes.
A Little History -- Tiger Invitational Teams
Combined between the four teams at the Tiger Invitational, the Indiana State Softball team holds a 14-34 all time record. The Sycamores have played Western Illinois the most and trail the series 13-31. The team also hold a 1-0 record against Boston College while the Sycamores are still looking for its first win over St. John's with an 0-1 all-time record and Auburn with an 0-2 all-time record.
Scouting St. John's
The Red Storm enter the weekend with a 2-3 overall record having last seen the field in a 4-0 win over Illinois on Feb. 14. The Storm have been led so far by Brittany Garcia who holds a .467 batting average with seven hits, two doubles and three RBI's. As a team, the Red Storm hold a .274 batting average. In the circle for St. John's Grace Kramer leads the staff with a 1.64 ERA and 2-1 record in 11.0 innings pitched.
Scouting Boston College
The Eagles enter the weekend with a 4-6 overall record having last seen the field in a 3-2 win over Northwestern on Sunday. Boston College has been led so far by Chloe Sharabba who holds a .379 batting average with 11 hits, three doubles, four RBI's and seven runs scored. In the circle for Boston College, Jessica Dreswick leads the staff with a 1.63 ERA over 27.2 innings pitched with 22 strikeouts and a save.
Scouting Western Illinois
The Leathernecks enter the weekend with a 3-6 overall record having last seen the field in a 1-0 win over Illinois Chicago on Sunday. The Leathernecks have been led so far by Payton Abbott who holds a .417 batting average with 10 hits, two doulbes and a triple. In the circle for the Leathernecks, Kacyee Hart leads the staff with a 3.79 ERA and 2-2 record over 24.0 innings pitched with 16 strikeouts.
Scouting #3 Auburn
The Tigers enter the weekend with a 10-1 overall record, having last seen the field in an 18-1 five inning victory over Fordham. The Tigers have five players hitting over .400 with at least 20 at bats on the season led by Tiffany Howard who is hitting .563. In the circle, both Makayla Martin and Marcy Harper each hold an ERA under 1.00 at 0.93 and 0.95, respectively. At No. 3 nationally, this will be the first game the Sycamores have played against a top five ranked team.
Sycamores In Ranking Nationally
After one weekend of play, the Sycamores find themselves near the top of multiple stat categories nationally as they are in a three-way tie for number one nationally in double plays per game. The team also ranks third in the nation in triples per game. Defensively, the Sycamores rank 15th nationally in fielding percentage at .980 and 35th in the NCAA in Earned Run Average at 1.93.
Sycamores Going Dancing
When the Sycamores defeated the Missouri State Bears to win the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Title, not only did they earn the programs first ever conference tournament title under the Missouri Valley banner, they also earned the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. This marks the first time in Indiana State history that the team has advanced to the NCAA Tournament, since begining softball in 1978. The Sycamores used a balance offensive attack and strong pitching to defeat the Nos. 1-2-3-4-5 teams in the league over their last five games. Once at the NCAA Regional, the Sycamores secured the programs first ever post season victory with a 2-1 eight inning win over Louisville in their second game of the weekend.
Player of the Year To Assistant Coach
Megan Stone gained recognition for her record shattering senior season when she was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, prior to the start of the 2015 MVC Tournament. It marked the first outright winner for the Sycamores in school history. Stone shattered 16 combined single season and career records at Indiana State. Following the conclusion of her senior season, Stone began her coaching career and is now an Assistant Coach for the Sycamores.
Upsetting The League
Not only did the Sycamores win their first ever Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Title, the team also became the lowest seed to ever win the tournament. The Sycamores entered the weekend as the eight seed with a 13-13 record in league play before defeating #5 Southern Illinois, #4 Wichita State, #1 Drake and #2 Missouri State to win the title.
Family Ties
While the MVC Tournament Championship was the first for the Sycamores in the MVC era, Indiana State also won a conference tournament championship in the Gateway Conference in 1986. Sophomore outfielder Rylee Holland's mother Carla was on that team, making it a family affair in winning championships at Indiana State. Holland's mother was also an outfielder for the Sycamores.
Historical Wins
For the second consecutive season, the Sycamores knocked on the door of the most wins in school history in 2015. The team finished with 27 wins in back-to-back years for the third most wins in a season in ISU history.
Most Wins In School History
31-1989
28-1986
27-2014, 2015
26-1992
Moving On Up
After breaking eight season team records in 2014 the Indiana State Softball team added six more broken records to its resume in 2015. The team set school marks in Runs Scored, RBI's, Hit By Pitch, Sacrifice's, Saves and Double Plays turned.
Historical Wins Part II
With an 8-5 win in the 2015 regular season finale against Nothern Iowa, the Indiana State softball team broke the school record for Missouri Valley Conference wins in a season with 13. They also became the first team in school history to defeat every conference opponent at least once in the same season.
1. 2015 (13-13)
2. 2006 (12-15)
3. 1986 (11-6)*
4. 1989 (10-5)*
2009 (10-15)
6. 1984 (9-6)*
2014 (9-17)
* prior to 3-game series
Sycamore Softball Online
Keep up to date with Sycamore Softball all over the web and mobile this season. Full stats, box scores and recaps will continue to be available on GoSycamores.com. Every home game along with the majority of road cames can also be heard world wide free of chardge online at GoSycamores.com and home games and select road games will offer a free webcast. However, you can also follow the Sycamores on Facebook (Facebook.com/SycamoreSoftball), on Twitter (@IndStSoftball), on SnapChat (sycamore-sb) and new for 2016, Instagram (@IndStSoftball). Highlights and interviews will also be available Sycamore Softball social media along with Youtube.com.
On To The Next One
Following the Tiger Invitational, the Sycamores will head South once again when they travel to Nashville, Tennesee for the Purple and Gold Challenge, hosted by Lipscomb University. The Sycamores will face off against Youngstown State and Furman on Friday before playing Troy on Saturday and wrap up action against Lipscomb on Sunday. All four games will feature free live video available online at Ustream.tv/channel/indiana-state-softball.
