PEORIA, Ill. – The hot bats cooled off Thursday night as Indiana State's upset bid run through the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament ended with a 4-0 loss to host Bradley.
Indiana State (19-35), after back-to-back double-digit hit games, would only scrape together six hits and be unable to push a run across the plate in the loss. The ninth-seeded Sycamores had previously upset No. 8 Loyola (11-8) and No. 5 Missouri State (10-8) in the league's postseason tournament.
Bradley (29-20) found a way to shut down an offensive threat that Loyola and Missouri State couldn't solve, thwarting Indiana State's scoring chances throughout the game, particularly in the fifth inning with two runners in scoring position. Credit that to the complete game performance by Julie Kestas (8-3), whose shutout performance allowed only six hits and no walks while striking out three.
Bella Peterson led the Sycamore offense with a 2-for-3 performance while
Leslie Sims was 1-for-3 with a stolen base. She will enter her senior year at Indiana State already holding the school record for career steals (80) and runs scored (109) and just 28 steals away from a MVC career record.
No Bradley player recorded more than one hit but it was Taise Thompson who sent the first run across the plate with a bases loaded hit by pitch in the first inning. Allison Apke and Thompson had back-to-back RBIs in the second to push the lead to 3-0 while a sacrifice fly in the fifth by Jillian Navarro sent the final run of the game home for Bradley. Thompson finished the day 1-for-2 with two RBI.
Arielle Blankenship (7-11) was charged with the loss after allowing three runs on five hits in 2.0 innings as she walked two and struck out one.
Tessa Sims came on in relief and did a yeoman's job of holding the Braves, allowing just one run on two hits in the final 4.0 innings.
The loss ends the 2019 season for the Sycamores with the team losing only three players to graduation. However, two of those players,
Shaye Barton and
Brooke Mann, received all-conference honors this year.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
In a week of hot hitting, this accolade goes to a pitcher.
Tessa Sims allowed just one run – a sacrifice fly – on two hits in 4.0 innings in the circle in a yeoman's performance against one of the best hitting teams in the country.
STAT OF THE GAME
The offense may have been a bit subdued, but the base running was not. Indiana State, entering the week ranked 17
th in the nation in stolen base percentage (.902), was 2-for-2 on the base paths in the game with
Leslie Sims and
Bailey Martin each swiping a base.
PITCHERS OF RECORD
RECORDS UPDATE
- Indiana State: 19-35 (2-1 Postseason)
- Bradley: 29-20 (1-0 Postseason)
NOTABLES
- Indiana State falls to 4-7 all-time against Bradley in the MVC Tournament with a 35-64 mark against the Braves all-time.
- The 2019 season marked just the fourth time since 2000 that Indiana State has recorded multiple wins in the MVC Tournament.
- Bella Peterson finished the tournament just one double shy of tying the MVC Tournament record for doubles in the tournament. She recorded three over her three games.
- Leslie Sims finishes the 2019 season with 80 career stolen bases, setting a new school record and leaving her just 18 stolen bases shy of tying the MVC record.
- Sims also finishes her junior campaign with 109 career runs scored, also a new Indiana State school record.
- Shaye Barton finishes her collegiate career with 89 RBI, tying her for third in Indiana State history with Katie Armour (2006-09).
- Barton finished the week with a .636 percentage (7-for-11) with six runs scored and seven RBI.
- Bella Peterson finished the MVC Tournament hitting .583 (7-for-12) with two runs scored and six RBI.
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.
