Blaine Kinsey
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, Ind.—After an eight-game road trip, the Indiana State softball team will return home for a five-game Missouri Valley Conference home stand beginning with a doubleheader on Wednesday against Loyola. The Sycamores enter the doubleheader with an 11-27 overall record and 5-8 in MVC play while the Ramblers are 18-18 and 2-10 in MVC play. The Sycamores have been led offensively this season by junior Brooke Riemenschneider who is hitting .355 with 33 hits and 18 RBI's while senior Alexa Cavin is also above .300 on the season at .352. As a team, Indiana State holds a .266 batting average and .961 fielding percentage. The Sycamores, as a team, also rank second in the NCAA in double plays turned with 27, which also leads the Missouri Valley Conference. Live stats for both games along with full box scores and recaps will be available online at GoSycamores.com. A free live video stream will also be available online at GoSycamores.com and Ustream at Ustream.tv/channel/indiana-state-softball.
Last Time Out
The Indiana State softball team last saw the field on Sunday when they won their second Missouri Valley Conference series of the season 2-1 on the road against Southern Illinois. Sophomore pitcher Bailey Benefiel earned the win in game one, throwing a complete game, three-hit shut out to win 3-0. After missing the first 35 games of the season due to a non-softball related medical issue, senior pitcher Taylor Lockwood returned to the circle, making her first start on Sunday and throwing a 13-inning, complete game two-hitter to get the 2-1 extra inning victory.
A Little History -- Loyola
The Sycamores and Ramblers have previously met 13 times with the Sycamores holding the 7-6 all-time series advantage. The two teams first met during the 1988 season when the Sycamores swept a doubleheader 6-1 and 11-0. Last season, the two teams split a doubleheader in Chicago, losing the first game 7-6 in 14 innings before winning the second 9-6. The Sycamores then won the series against the Ramblers with a 7-6, 10 inning, victory in Terre Haute.
Scouting The Ramblers
The Ramblers enter the midweek doubleheader with an 18-18 overall record and 2-10 record in Missouri Valley Conference play, having last seen the field on Sunday in a 6-5, 13 inning, loss to Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. The Ramblers have been led offensively by Erica Nagle who is hitting .471 with 56 hits while Brooke Wyderski is hitting .416 and Katy LaCivita is also over .300, hitting .314. In the circle, the Rambler pitching staff holds a 3.60 ERA with four pitchers holding individual ERA's between 3.22 and 3.90 with 135 strikeouts. As a team, Loyola also holds a .960 fielding percentage.
Turning Two
Now 38 games into the 2016 season, the Sycamores have been outstanding at turing double plays, recording 27, more than twice the number of Indiana State opponents. Nationally, the Sycamores rank second in the NCAA Division 1 in double plays per game. The team's 27 double plays also leads the Missouri Valley Conference and is a new Indiana State school record. The team has also turned 11 ground ball double plays on the season while only grounding into two double play offensively.
Making A Comeback
After missing the first 35 games of the season due to a non-softball related medical issue, senior pitcher Taylor Lockwood returned to the circle against Southern Illinois and picked up right where she left off after her junior campaign. After pitching four innings in relief on Saturday, Lockwood made her first start on Sunday, pitching a 13-inning, complete game, two-hitter with seven strikeouts to earn the series win over the Salukis.
Offense Leads The Way
Junior Brooke Riemenschneider leads the Sycamore offense now more than halfway through the 2016 season as she holds a .355 batting average and is one of two players hitting over .300 as senior Alexa Cavin is hitting .353. Riemenschneider's average ranks 10th in the Missouri Valley Conference overall. Riemenschneider's nine doubles are also more than she recorded during her sophomore season.
Swinging The Bat
Despite hitting just .270 as a team on the season, the bats for the Indiana State softball team have come alive during Missouri Valley Conference play as the team leads the league with a .351 average in league games. Six of the Sycamores eight home runs on the season have also come in MVC games by five different players (Barton, Cavin, Malchow, Crissman & Riemenschneider).
Free Passes
Now in her senior season, senior Alexa Cavin is moving up the Indiana State career walks list as the senior now ranks third all-time at ISU in the category. Cavin has 56 career walks, just two away from second place. ISU assistant coach Megan Stone holds the record in that category with 69, set last season. Cavin also ranks 15th in Indiana State history in total games played with 184.
Scoring Those Runs
Despite being a freshman, Shaye Barton has been a catalyst for the Sycamore softball team this season and she leads the team in total runs scored with 24. In the eight Missouri Valley Conference games the team has played, Barton has scored a team high 12 times. The freshman is also second on the team in hits with 31 and second on the team in total bases with 43. Barton is also the Sycamore team leader in two-out RBI's with 9.
Hitting The Three-Baggers
Now more than 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 lead the MVC in triples with six.
Advancing Runners
After setting the Indiana State record for sacrifices last season, the Indiana State softball team again leads the Missouri Valley Conference in that category in 2016. The Sycamores currently have 58 sacrifice bunts and five sacrifice flies. The Sycamores have also advanced runners at a .481 percentage with freshman Bailey Martin leading the way in that category at 28 for 42 (.667). With runners on third and less than two outs, the Sycamores record RBI's 52% of the time.
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.
Leading Things Off
Senior Kelsey Montgomery has found her groove as the Sycamores leadoff batter as she currently holds a .525 batting average in inning leadoff situations. In the 22 games Montgomery has batted in the leadoff roll, she has recorded 11 leadoff hits and reached base 14 of 22 times for a .636 on base percentage. Out of those 14 occasions she has reached base, Montgomery has come around to score six times. The senior is also second on the team lead in runs scored with 20.
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.
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.
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 Missouri Valley Conference doubleheader, the Sycamores will continue their five-game home stand when they host the Purple Aces of Evansville in a three-game series beginning on Saturday. The two teams will play a doubleheader beginning at noon on Saturday before wrapping up the series with a single game on Sunday. It will also be Alumni Weekend at Price Field as all alumni are invited back to be recognized.
