Indiana State University Athletics

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State opens Missouri Valley Conference Tournament play Thursday when the fifth-seeded Sycamores face No. 8 seed Bradley at Buel Field in Des Moines, Iowa.
 
Indiana State (25-27, 12-14) may have dropped the three-game regular season series to the Braves (20-29, 9-15) but still finished three spots ahead of Bradley in the final regular season standings. The fifth-place finish marks Indiana State's highest finish in league play since 1991.
 
Thursday's game will start at Noon ET/11 a.m. CT and will be broadcast live on ESPN+, the subscription service priced at $4.99 per month as part of the new ESPN app.
 
All three games in the regular season between Indiana State and Bradley were either determined by one run or in extra innings. This will be the first meeting between the two teams in the postseason since 1993.
 
The winner will face No. 4 Valparaiso on Friday at Noon ET/11 a.m. CT in the single-elimination bracket.
 
Quick Hits
• For the first time since 2015, Indiana State is playing in the second week of May as the Sycamores head to the MVC Tournament for the first time in four years.
• The 25-27 (12-14) mark by the Sycamores places the team in fifth place in the Missouri Valley Conference by win percentage after being selected to finish 10th (last).
• Indiana State's fifth place finish in The Valley marks the best league finish for the Sycamores since 1991.
• Leslie Sims enters the week needing only five hits to tie and six hits to solely claim the school record for base hits in a single season.
• Indiana State is 34-63 all-time against Bradley. That includes a 1-2 mark this year and a 5-5 mark over the last 10 meetings. In the nine times the two teams have met in the postseason, Bradley holds a 6-3 advantage.
• With its 6-3 win over Evansville on April 18, the Sycamores had already matched their Missouri Valley Conference win total from a year ago.
• A young team this year, Indiana State only has four upperclassmen (juniors and seniors) on its 18-member roster.
 
Swami? Sammy? Sycamores! I was WAY Off!
Originally projected to finish last in the Missouri Valley Conference by a vote of the league coaches, Indiana State finished the 2018 season fifth in The Valley. The Sycamores, boasting eight freshmen, 10 newcomers overall and a first year (to the program) head coach have confounded expectations to date and are looking to clinch a spot in the upcoming MVC Tournament.
 
Best Finish Since 1991
After finishing fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference this year, the Sycamores recorded the program's highest finish in league play since tying Missouri State for fifth in the 1991 season. This year also marked only the sixth time in program history the Sycamores have registered double-digit conference wins with the only other times being 1986 (11 wins), 1989 (10), 2006 (12), 2009 (10) and 2015 (13).
 
Guess Who's Back? Back Again.
The Sycamores are back. Tell a friend. Indiana State is making its return to the MVC Tournament for the first time since 2015 as the Trees will be the No. 5 seed in the 2018 MVC Tournament. This will mark just the Sycamores' sixth postseason appearance since 2000.
 
Pooch is the First
Sycamores head coach Michael "Coach Pooch" Perniciaro became the first head coach at Indiana State to take his team to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in his first in Terre Haute since The Valley began limiting teams in its conference tournament in 1995. Since then, Linda Derk (1996), Tom Rupert (1999), Brenda Coldren (2003) and Shane Bouman (2012) all failed to qualify for the conference tournament in their first year guiding Indiana State.
 
Close to 2015's Overall Win Total
Indiana State needs only two more wins to match the win total of 27 wins set during the 2015 campaign when the Sycamores won the MVC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Regionals. In a transition year last season, interim head coach Tori Magner led the Sycamores to 24 wins just a year after the Sycamores registered only 16 wins.
 
Speedy Sycamores
Indiana State enters this week's action ranked 76th in the nation and third in the Missouri Valley Conference in stolen bases per game. The Trees are averaging 1.19 swipes per contest.
 
ConsistenTree
Indiana State sophomore Leslie Sims has been the most consistent Tree to date at the plate this season. She enters this week's play ranked second the Missouri Valley Conference with a .404 batting average while her on-base percentage of .467 ranks her fourth in The Valley.
 
Sims in The Valley Rankings

Category	National	MVC	Stat
Batting Average	58th	2nd	.404
Stolen Base Percentage	1st	1st	1.000 (24-24)
Steals	62nd (per game)	T-1st	24
Hits	48th	2nd	65
On Base Percentage	109th	4th	.467

 
Sims with the Elite Speed
Leslie Sims enters this week's action as one of six players in the nation and the only Missouri Valley Conference player that remains perfect in stolen base attempts (with over 20 attempts on the season). Additionally, her 24 steals ranks tied for first overall in The Valley. The Sycamore sophomore is currently 24-for-24 on the base paths this season.
 
More than just that, Leslie Sims has more stolen bases this season than three other Valley teams and a total of 56 teams across the nation.
 

Perfect on the Paths (min. 20 attempts)		Steals in The Valley
Player, School	SB-SBA	Player/School	SB
Lindsay Reed, California	30-30	Leslie Sims	24
Cali Harrod, Florida	29-29	Illinois State	20
Lacy Tolfree, Central Michigan	26-26	Loyola	19
Leslie Sims	24-24	Bradley	17
Aralee Bogar, Iowa	23-23	53 other teams	>24
Skylar Cook, Utah Valley	22-22

 
So It's No Surprise
So it's really no surprise that Leslie Sims is currently tied for fourth all-time at Indiana State in career steals. Sims has equaled the 44 career steals registered by Emily Stuck (1997-2000) and is 11 swipes away from matching the 55 steals by Krista McFarren (1981-83) that ranks third in school history.
 
Flower Power
Bella Peterson is cool. (In all fairness, she has been begging for that statement to be in a game story this year). Regardless, she is quite fashionable in the field and at bat as she wears a flower in her hair, as opposed to the traditional ribbons and bows.
 
It is seemingly working for her. She enters the MVC Tournament ranked 127th nationally and leading the league in doubles per game (0.27), ranked second in total doubles (12), seventh in The Valley in batting average (.365) and ninth in slugging percentage (.548).
 
Trees Turn Two
Indiana State's defense has been seemingly on point with runners on base this year. The Sycamores enter this week's action ranked 48th in the nation and fourth in The Valley with an average of 0.40 double plays turned per game.
 
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, Twitter and Instagram.