Blaine Kinsey
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, Ind.—After playing their first home games of the season over the weekend, the Indiana State softball team will hit the road once again for a single game in-state rival Indiana on Wednesday where the team will be looking for its third straight victory over the Hoosiers. The Sycamores have been led offensively by junior Brooke Riemenschneider who is hitting .375 and top 10 in the Missouri Valley Conference in batting average while senior Alexa Cavin is also hitting over .300 on the season for the Sycamores at .357. The team is also on pace to break last season's school record for runs scored in a season as they near the halfway point in their 2016 campaign. Live stats for Wednesday's game against Indiana, along with full box scores and recaps can be found online at GoSycamores.com. A free live radio broadcast can also be found online at GoSycamores.com or on Ustream at Ustream.tv/channel/indiana-state-softball.
Last Time Out
The Indiana State Softball team last saw the field on Sunday, Mar. 20 when they fell in the rubber match of their opening Missouri Valley Conference series. The Sycamores got the victory in the opening game of the series to stay perfect in home openers under head coach Shane Bouman, making it five in a row. The Sycamores used a lot of offense and took advantage of Bradley fielding errors to win the first game 14-13 in eight innings. In the final two games of the series, the Sycamores couldn't keep the high powered offense going as they fell in the final two games of the series.
A Little History -- Indiana
The Sycamores and Hoosiers have previously met 67 times with the Hoosiers holding the 52-15 all-time series advantage. The first meeting between the two schools came during the 1978 season when the Hoosiers won a 9-5 game. The Sycamores have won the last two meetings against the Hoosiers including a 9-1 six inning victory last season in Terre Haute.
Scouting The Hoosiers
Indiana enters the mid-week matchup with a 16-10 overall record, having last seen the field on Sunday, Mar. 20 in a 4-1 loss to Wright State in Bloomington, Ind. The Hoosiers have been led offensively by Rebecca Blitz who is hitting .367 and one of three players hitting over .300 for Indiana. In the circle, Tara Trainer leads the pitching staff with a 1.89 ERA and 8-6 record over 81.1 innings pitched with 110 strikeouts. As a team, the Hoosiers hold a .238 batting average, .968 fielding percentage and 2.42 earned run average.
Sycamores In Home Openers
With their 14-13 victory over Bradley on Saturday, the Indiana State softball team extended its win streak in home openers to five, the same number of years head coach Shane Bouman has been at Indiana State. The home opener win streak also marks the longest in Indiana State history. Three of the five wins have also come against Missouri Valley Conference foes.
Remy Leads The Offense
Junior Brooke Riemenschneider has led the Sycamores offensively throughout the early part of the 2016 season and after 26 games, ranks in the top 10 of the Missouri Valley Conference in batting average at .375. Riemenschneider is also tied for the team lead in hits and RBI's with 24 and 14, respectively and also leads the team with seven doubles which is just one away from her total of eight during the 2015 season.
Career First
After not having any home runs as a team through the first two weekends, freshman Monqiue Castillo crushed her first career home run to left center against Troy on Mar. 5. Not only was it her first career home run, it also was her first career Grand Slam as the bases were loaded. Later in the game, freshman Shaye Barton also added her first career home run to straight away center field.
Turning Two
Now 26 games into the 2016 season, the Sycamores have been outstanding at turing double plays, recording 14, twice the number of Indiana State opponents. That number also ranks the Sycamores second in the Missouri Valley Conference, behind only Wichita State who has 15. The team has also turned nine ground ball double plays on the season while only grounding into one double play offensively.
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.
Lockwood Senior CLASS Finalist
Senior pitcher Taylor Lockwood was named one of the 30 finalists for the 2016 Senior CLASS award. Lockwood was nominated for the award because of her excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community. A national media committee will select ten finalists for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award in March. Those 10 names will then be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote.
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.
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
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).
On To The Next One
Following the midweek game against Indiana, the Indiana State softball team will return home once again for a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series against Drake in their final home games for the month of March. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Friday at Price Field beginning at 2 p.m. before playing the finale at noon on Saturday due to the Easter Holiday.
