TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State continues what is now a 12-game road trip this weekend when the Sycamores head to Iowa for a three-game series at Drake.
The weather-altered series will feature a single game on Saturday, March 30 followed by a doubleheader on Sunday, March 31. All three games will be aired live on The Valley on ESPN (ESPN3).
Series History
Indiana State trails Drake in the all-time series, 48-31, and a lot of that success for Drake has come in recent years. The Bulldogs have won eight straight games over ISU and have held the Sycamores scoreless in six of the last seven contests.
Three Things to Know
- Traveling Trees
Mother Nature is at it again. Thanks to her antics, and the desire to play as many games as possible, Indiana State is now on a 12-game road swing. Indiana State last played at home on Saturday, March 23 and now will not play at home again until Southern Illinois visits the Wabash Valley on Apri 13.
- Front-Loaded Schedule
As the conference season gets underway in The Valley, there is no rest for the weary. Entering the third weekend of league play, Indiana State will face (arguably) the top three teams in the league in consecutive weeks - Northern Iowa, Illinois State and Drake. Those teams have combined for a 13-3 MVC record (as of Mar. 25) while the remaining six teams in the conference have a combined 16 league wins.
- Speed vs. Speed
When Indiana State plays at Drake this weekend, it will likely be a showcase of speed versus speed (regardless of how sloppy the weather may make the basepaths). The Sycamores rank third in the Valley with 49 steals this season while Drake is right on their heels with 48 steals, ranking fourth. However, the Trees find more success, on average, than almost the entire rest of the league when it comes to stealing bases. Indiana State ranks second among Valley teams in stolen base percentage so far this season (with a minimum of 25 steal attempts) with a .907 success rate (49 of 54) behind only Loyola's .909 rate (50 of 55). This week's opponent, Drake, is last in the league with just 48 successful steals out of 67 attempts, a .716 rate overall.
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.
