EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Indiana State returns to the Hoosier State but will hit the road for the short trip south to Evansville this weekend for a key Valley matchup. Fans can watch all three games on Saturday and Sunday live on
The Valley on ESPN3.
LAST TIME OUT
Indiana State is coming off a doubleheader sweep at Loyola, where the Ramblers took the first two games of the series season 5-3 and 3-0. The Sycamores rallied late but couldn't overcome a 4-0 deficit in the first inning of Game One, and were held to just three hits in the Game Two shutout.
SCOUTING THE PURPLE ACES
Evansville stands at 19-24 overall but has been on a tear in Valley play at 10-7. Overall on the season the Purple Aces own a -63 run differential, but in MVC play UE has an edge of +13. Evansville is led by one of the top two-way players in the Valley, Morgan Florey, who is 13-6 with a 1.85 ERA and 164 strikeouts in the circle, and a .322 average, nine home runs and 29 RBI at the plate.
SERIES HISTORY
The Sycamores hold a slight 47-46 edge over Evansville in the all-time series.
SIMS ON PACE
Freshman
Leslie Sims has been one of the top hitters in the Valley for quite some time this season, remaining as one of just four left in the Valley to be batting over .400 at her current average of .413. If she can stay above the .400 mark by season's end, she will be the first .400 hitter at Indiana State since 2009 when both Katie Armour (.424) and Meredith Simpson (.405) did so. Sims would also be the fourth-ever to do so when including Lea Twigg's 1994 average of .402.
Sims is primarily a speed demon on the base paths, using her legs for bunt singles and 17 stolen bases on the season -- third-most in the Valley this year. Sims also owns an inside-the-park grand slam vs. Wright State – one of two Sycamore inside-the-park grand slams this season. Meanwhile, her .487 on-base percentage also ranks third in the Valley.
GOING LONG
The Sycamores have only hit 12 home runs this season, but when they go yard it almost always means good things in the win column. Indiana State is 9-1 when hitting at least one home run as opposed to 9-23 when not hitting the long ball. On the opposite end, the Sycamores are 8-12 when allowing at least one opponent home run.
CLIMBING THE CAREER RANKS
Speaking of Sims' exploits in the record books, several other Sycamores are moving up in several career categories.
#13 Kassie Brown, Sr., SS
T-3rd, Career Sac Bunts - 43
4th, Career Runs - 95
T-7th, Career Stolen Bases - 34
T-9th, Career Hits - 156
T-9th, Games Started - 187
10th, Career Batting Average - .327
#8 Erika Crissman, Sr., OF
2nd, Career RBI - 97
5th, Career Triples - 9
6th, Career Fielding - .988
T-6th, Career Runs - 82
7th, Career Hits - 169
10th, Career Stolen Bases - 32
T-10th, Career Walks - 48
#5 Della Gher, Fr., P
T-3rd, Career Saves - 4
#3 Rylee Holland, Sr., OF
5th, Career HBP - 18
T-5th, Career Runs - 88
7th, Career Sac Bunts – 37
#23 Brooke Riemenschneider, Sr., C
T-2nd, Career Walks - 58
8th, Career RBI - 75
T-9th, Career Home Runs - 9
CLIMBING THE SEASON RANKS
Several Sycamores have already started to climb the single-season lists as well.
#5 Della Gher, Fr., P
1st, Saves - 4
#18 Kenzie Ihle, Jr., P
T-7th, Wins - 13
#12 Brooke Mann, So., C
T-8th, Home Runs - 6
T-6th, RBI - 31
#20 Leslie Sims, Fr., 2B
2nd, Batting Average - .413
3rd, On-Base - .487
8th, Stolen Bases - 17
#17 Mary Turitto, Sr., 1B
T-4th, Double Plays - 14
LATE CONSISTENCY
The Sycamore pitching staff has done an incredible job shutting the door on opponents, making Indiana State 11-0 when leading in both the sixth and seventh innings. Furthermore, only three teams have been able to claw back when ISU has led after the fourth inning, opposed to seven Sycamore wins. One of those teams was Wichita State, who currently ranks second in the MVC and fought back from a 6-0 deficit in the fourth inning in Game One of the series last week.
DOUBLE THE PLEASURE, DOUBLE THE FUN
The Sycamore defense knows how to turn a double play with 23 on the season, 12th-most in the NCAA this season. ISU had five in one weekend alone against Drake, including two games with two double-plays. Indiana State went the entire weekend without committing an error, a streak that eventually reached 28.0 innings before committing one late against IUPUI.
TOUGH OUT
Senior
Erika Crissman is no pushover, as her stat line this season can attest. The Los Alamitos, Calif., native has only struck out five times in 136 at-bats all season, currently registering as the 33rd-hardest strikeout in Division I this season.
For the latest information on the Sycamore Softball team, make sure to check out
GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including
Facebook and
Twitter.
