Blaine Kinsey
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, Ind.—After taking a brief break from Missouri Valley Conference play, the Indiana State softball team will return home to host the Bulldogs of Drake for three games at Price Field, beginning with a doubleheader on Friday. Due to the Easter Holiday, the two teams will play a doubleheader on Friday and single game on Sunday. The Sycamores enter the series with a 7-20 overall record and 1-2 in MVC play while the Bulldogs are 13-11 and 3-0 in league play. The Sycamores have been led so far this season by junior Brooke Riemenschneider who holds a .373 batting average and leads the team in doubles with seven. Senior outfielder Alexa Cavin is also hitting over .300 for the Sycamores at .356 with three doubles and a .434 on base percentage. As a team, the Sycamores are hitting .257. Live stats for the entire three-game series, along with full box scores and recaps can be found online at GoSycamores.com. A free live webcast 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 Wednesday, Mar. 23 when they fell in a single game on the road to the Hoosiers of Indiana in Bloomington. The Sycamores took advantage of Indiana errors and jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after the first half inning of play but were unable to hold off the Hoosiers who rallied to earn the 12-5 victory over the Sycamores. Junior outfielder Erika Crissman led the Sycamores going 2-4 at the plate with a double and two RBI's. Senior Alexa Cavin and freshman Shaye Barton also added RBI's for the Sycamores.
A Little History -- Drake
The Sycamores and Bulldogs have previously met 74 times with the Bulldogs holding a 44-30 all-time series advantage over the Sycamores. The first meeting between the two schools came during the 1984 season when the Sycamores swept a doubleheader 3-2 and 9-8 over the Bulldogs. Last season, the Sycamores won the first game of the series 2-1 in eight innings before falling 5-4 and 2-0 in the final two games of the series in Des Moines, Iowa.
Scouting The Bulldogs
Drake enters the three-game series holding a 13-11 overall record and perfect 3-0 record in Missouri Valley Conference play, having last seen the field on Tuesday in a doubleheader split with South Dakota State in Des Moines. Kailee Smith leads the Bulldogs offensively, hitting .339 and one of five Bulldog players hitting over .300 on the season. As a team, Drake holds a .379 batting average and .948 fielding percentage. In the circle, Nicole Newman leads the Drake pitching staff, holding a 2.46 ERA and 10-5 record over 96.2 innings pitched with 111 strikeouts. As a staff, Drake holds a 4.51 ERA on the season.
Turning Two
Now 27 games into the 2016 season, the Sycamores have been outstanding at turing double plays, recording 16, more than twice the number of Indiana State opponents. Nationally, the Sycamores rank 4th in Division 1 in double plays per game. The team's 16 double plays also lead the Missouri Valley Conference and is just eight away from the school record of 24. The team has also turned nine ground ball double plays on the season while only grounding into one double play offensively.
Remy Leads The Offense
Junior Brooke Riemenschneider has led the Sycamores offensively throughout the first half of the 2016 season and after 27 games, ranks in the top 10 of the Missouri Valley Conference in batting average at .373. Riemenschneider is also tied for the team lead in hits 25 and second on the team in RBI's 14, respectively and also leads the team with seven doubles which is just one away from her total of eight during the 2015 season.
Hitting The Three-Baggers
Now halfway through the 2016 season, junior Erika Crissman remains atop the Missouri Valley Conference in triples. The junior has three triples on the season and six in her career. Crissman hit three triples during her freshman season and now three as a junior. As a team, the Sycamores rank third in the MVC in triples with five.
Free Passes
Now in her senior season, senior Alexa Cavin is moving up the Indiana State career walks list as the senior now ranks fourth all-time at ISU in the category. Cavin has 54 career walks, just four away from second place. ISU assistant coach Megan Stone holds the record in that category with 69, set last 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.
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
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 three-game series against Drake at Price Field, the Indiana State softball team will hit the road for a week long tour of the state of Iowa. Indiana State will play a midweek doubleheader in Ames, Iowa against Iowa State on Wednesday before traveling to Cedar Falls, Iowa for a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series against Northern Iowa beginning on Saturday.
