TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State softball will host Valparaiso for a three-game series this weekend at Price Field to open Missouri Valley Conference play.
 
The Sycamores enter the weekend 12-10 after finishing their tournament slate last weekend at the Golden Eagle Classic in Cookeville, Tenn. where ISU went 2-2.
 
The series will begin Saturday afternoon with a single game with first pitch set for 3 p.m. ET. Sunday will be a doubleheader with game one beginning at 12 p.m. ET. Live stats will be available for each game.
 
Last Time Out
With the tournament being shifted to Sunday-Monday due to inclement weather, Indiana State began their Sunday afternoon with a loss to Bellarmine before defeating Quinnipiac in the second game of the day.
 
Monday's first game was a rematch against Quinnipiac with saw junior Lexi Benko throw a no-hitter in a 9-0 win over the Bobcats. She struck out five batters to complete the first ISU no-hitter since 2016 when Taylor Lockwood no-hit Loyola Chicago. The win gave Benko six for the 2022 season. The Sycamores fell 7-4 in the tournament finale to Tennessee Tech.
 
Lexie Siwek finished the weekend 7-for-10 including three multi-hit games. Isabella Henning was right behind her, going 6-for-12 while driving in six runs with a pair of doubles and a home run.
Amanda Guercio homered twice over the weekend, launching solo shots in both games against Quinnipiac.
 
Weekend Preview
Valparaiso comes to town with an 8-9 record, already eclipsing their win total from 2021. The Beacons are led by Amanda Eberhart who is in her first season as head coach for the program. Eberhart brings seven years of head coaching experience at the Division I level, most recently spending the last three years as the head coach at Omaha, and also has eight seasons of experience on staff at Big Ten programs.
 
The Beacons return 14 of 19 letterwinners from last season's squad for the 2022 campaign. In all, 77.6% of Valpo's plate appearances are back for this season and 89.8% of last season's inning pitched return as well.
 
Senior outfielder Peyton Moeder currently leads the team with a .315 batting average, collecting 17 hits while driving in seven runs. She also has scored a team-high 11 runs while stealing four bases. Junior infielder Ryan Milkowski owns a .302 average at the plate, with a team-high four doubles and two home runs as well as 12 RBIs.
 
In the circle for the Beacons, sophomore Madison Wathan has a team-best 2.76 ERA over nine appearances. She owns a 3-1 record this season while striking out 14 batters. Junior Easton Seib comes into the weekend with a 5-3 record and a 3.50 ERA. She's racked up a team-high 30 strikeouts across 42 innings this season.

Indiana State leads the all-time series over Valparaiso 16-5. The Sycamores swept the 2021 season series 4-0, including a 9-5 win in the MVC Tournament in Evansville.
 
Sycamore Offense Heating Up
The Sycamores had arguably their best weekend of the season at the plate, racking up 26 runs on 38 hits including 10 for extra-bases at the Golden Eagle Classic.
 
Indiana State's .265 team batting average currently ranks third best among the MVC.
 
The Trees have been active on the base paths as well, stealing 28 bases thus far which also ranks third in the conference.
 
Record Breaker
Bella Peterson became the program leader in RBIs with an RBI double against Radford on February 18 to give her 121 for her career, moving her into first place.
 
Strong Start In The Circle
Lexi Benko is off to a great start in her junior campaign, owning a 6-5 record with a 2.14 ERA entering conference play. She's struckout 37 batters this season across 72 innings pitched.
 
Her no-hitter against Quinnipiac was the first for ISU since 2016 and just the third in the last 10 seasons.
 
Conference Openers
Indiana State is 4-5 in the opening series of conference play under Mike Perniciaro. In his first season as head coach as ISU in 2017, the Sycamores swept Valpo to begin their MVC slate.
 
Giving Yourself A Chance
Indiana State has done a good job putting the ball in play this season, striking out just 93 times which is the second-lowest total among MVC opponents.
 
Continues To Rake
Two-time First Team All-MVC selection Bella Peterson is heading towards another successful season, currently batting .351 while slugging .608 which both rank in the top 10 among conference players. She is tied for first with 26 hits this season including three home runs and six doubles.
 
Home Sweet Home
The Sycamores will finally get to play at home at Price Field after beginning the season with 22 games on the road including three trips to Tennessee, one to Alabama and one to Florida.
 
Up Next
Indiana State will travel to Indianapolis on Wednesday for a doubleheader against IUPUI beginning at 2 p.m. ET. The Sycamores will return home for a three-game series against Bradley, beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at noon. The series will wrap up with a single game on Sunday at noon.

For the latest information on Sycamore Softball, be sure to visit GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.