TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State softball will head to Normal, Ill. this weekend for a three-game series against Illinois State at Marion Kneer Stadium.

The series will begin Saturday with a single game at 6 p.m. ET followed by a doubleheader on Sunday beginning at 1 p.m. ET to close out the weekend. Each game will be streamed on ESPN3.

The Sycamores (16-12, 4-2) are coming off a series win over Bradley while Illinois State (10-15, 1-2) opened conference play against Missouri State, losing two of three in Springfield.

Last Time Out
The Sycamores won their second series in-a-row to begin MVC play, taking two out of three from Bradley for ISU's first series win over the Braves since 2017.

Bradley took game one of the series with a 9-1 victory. Indiana State committed five errors and tallied just five hits in the loss. Bella Peterson paced the Sycamore offense, going 2-for-2 at the plate including an RBI double to drive in the only run of the game for the Trees.

Indiana State took game two in dramatic fashion, scoring six runs in the bottom of the seventh to claim a 7-6 walk-off victory. The Sycamores finished the game with 10 hits, six of them coming in the game's final frame. Isabella Henning finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs, while Bella Peterson went 2-for-3 with two RBIs to pace the Sycamore offense. Lexie Siwek also reached base three times, finishing 2-for-2 with a walk and an RBI.

The series finale on Monday saw the Sycamores win the series, escaping with a 5-4 win as Bradley scored two runs in the seventh and left the bases loaded but Cassi Newbanks came in and closed out the game for her first career save.

Scouting the Redbirds
Illinois State head coach Melinda Fischer is in her 37^th season at the helm of the Redbird program and 39^th overall as a head coach. She has amassed over 1,000 wins in her career which makes her the 26^th-winningest coach in Division I softball history.

The Redbirds returned only two full-time starters from a team that won the MVC regular season title in 2021. Emme Olson and Kaili Chval started and played in all 41 games last season. They are also Illinois State's top two offensive returners with Chval and Olson ending the season with the second and third highest team batting averages, respectively.

In 2022, Illinois State has been led offensively by Reili Gardner who currently is batting .363 on the year with 29 hits while scoring a team-high 14 runs. Right behind her is Olson who owns a .360 average with 27 hits including three home runs and seven doubles.

In the circle, the Redbirds have two starters who have made double-digit starts. Amanda Fox has a 4-7 record with a 2.99 ERA and has struck out 56 batters over 79.2 innings this season. Hannah Ross is 6-6 with a 3.04 ERA across 76 innings pitched and has recorded 47 strikeouts.

Illinois State hasn't played since March 20^th because of cancellations due to weather.

The Redbirds lead the all-time series against Indiana State 90-17 and have won seven straight contests over the Sycamores. Indiana State is searching for their first ever series win in Normal and just their second series win in the history of the matchup. The lone series win for the Sycamores came in 2000.

Around the Horn
-Indiana State picked up their first series win over Bradley since 2017 and has won their first two series to begin conference play in 2022.

-The Sycamore offense ranks second in the MVC with a .279 average and 204 hits.

-Cassie Thomerson's .492 OBP leads the conference.

-Bella Peterson ranks within the top-five of the MVC in multiple offensive categories: First in doubles (10), second in average (.393), second in slugging (.719), third in OBP (.472), second in hits (35) and fifth in walks (15).

-Lexi Benko's 2.24 ERA ranks third in the MVC.

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.