TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State softball will welcome the Bradley Braves to town for a three-game series at Price Field this weekend.

The series will start Sunday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. ET. Monday will be a single game scheduled to begin at noon ET. Live stats will be available for each game.

The Sycamores (14-11, 2-1) opened MVC play last weekend with a series win over Valparaiso at home. Bradley (13-13, 1-2) hosted Loyola Chicago to open their conference slate where the Braves dropped two of out three to the Ramblers.

Last Time Out
Indiana State won their second straight series over Valparaiso last weekend, taking two out of three at Price Field.

The Sycamores got off to a hot start, winning Saturday's opening game 10-0 in five innings. Lexi Benko threw a complete game one-hitter, with the lone Beacon hit coming on a bunt single by the first batter of the game. At the plate for ISU, Abi Chipps went a perfect 3-for-3 with a double, Bella Peterson went 2-for-3 with a pair of RBIs and Isabella Henning hit a three-run home run to pace the offense.

The Sycamores and Beacons split Sunday's doubleheader to give Indiana State the series win. Game two was a 9-0 Sycamore victory while Valparaiso won game three 1-0 to avoid the sweep. Bella Peterson went 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles and a home run in the 9-0 win while Cassi Newbanks threw a complete game shut out with four strikeouts. Lexi Benko went the distance in the finale, only allowing one run on five hits, but the Sycamores could not manufacture a run and took the loss.

Previewing the Braves
Bradley enters the weekend at 13-13 with a 1-2 MVC record. Head coach Amy Hayes is in her 14^th season with the program and her 21^st year as a head coach. She is the all-time wins leader in school history and led the Braves to their most conference wins in 2019 with 15.

Offensively, the Braves are led by Samantha Smith who has a .317 average this season with 26 hits, seven doubles, three home runs and 15 RBIs while scoring a team-high 21 runs. Camryn Monteer has a .301 batting average with 25 hits and has also stolen a team-high eight bases.

In the circle, Bradley is paced by freshman Abbott Badgley who has a 6-2 record to go along with a 2.42 ERA across 43.1 innings. She has also been one of the Braves best hitters this season, batting .333 with 17 hits that includes three doubles and four home runs.

Bradley leads the all-time series over ISU 70-36. The Braves won three of four matchups in 2021 including a win that knocked the Sycamores out of the MVC Tournament. Indiana State is looking for their first series win against Bradley since 2017.

Towards the Top
Indiana State ranks second among MVC teams in batting average at .276 while the pitching staff has a 3.06 ERA which also ranks second best. The Sycamores offense has racked up 181 hits which is second most behind Southern Illinois who has 188.

Record Breaker
Bella Peterson became the program leader in RBIs on February 18 against Radford with an RBI double to give her 121 for her career to move her into sole possession of first place.

Hot at the Plate
Bella Peterson currently ranks first in hits (31), runs scored (21) and doubles (9) while also ranking second among MVC players with a .378 batting average. She leads ISU in nearly every offensive category, ranking second in OBP.

No-Hitter
Lexi Benko threw a no-hitter on March 14 against Quinnipiac, the first for Indiana State since the 2016 season when Taylor Lockwood no-hit Loyola Chicago.

Strong in the Circle
Lexi Benko's 1.92 ERA ranks second among conference pitchers. Benko's 41 strikeouts are tenth most. Her seven wins are tied for second most in the MVC.

Heating Up
Lexie Siwek currently owns a seven-game hitting streak where she has gone 12-for-19 at the plate during that span. She's now batting .324 on the season.

By Any Means Necessary
Cassie Thomerson leads the MVC with a .481 on-base percentage. She's drawn 11 walks while getting hit by a pitch seven times. She's also collected eight hits this season.

Hoosier State Dominance
Indiana State is 5-1 against in-state schools this season, defeating IUPUI, Butler, Purdue Fort Wayne and Valparaiso so far.

Glove Work
Abi Chipps ranks first in the MVC with 68 assists this season at second base. She's committed just two errors for a .982 fielding percentage.

Up Next
Indiana State will hit the road for a midweek matchup at Illinois and then head to Normal for a three-game series at Illinois State.

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.