TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State softball will make their final trip of the regular season as the Sycamores will head to Cedar Falls for a three-game set with Northern Iowa at the Robinson-Dresser Sports Complex.

The series is set to begin on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. ET while Sunday will be a single game with first pitch set for 1 p.m. ET. Each game will be carried live on ESPN3.

The Sycamores (22-23, 9-12) defeated Evansville 12-4 on Wednesday to claim the season series victory over the Purple Aces. UNI (27-11, 18-1) is coming off a series sweep of Illinois State as well as a midweek win over Drake to complete a series sweep of a the Bulldogs.

Indiana State racked up 13 hits against Evansville in the series finale which included four home runs to power the Sycamores to a series win where the Sycamores totaled 30 runs on 35 hits. Amanda Guercio was 8-11 in the three-game set with four home runs and nine RBI.

Bella Peterson is leading the MVC in hitting with a .387 average to go along with 55 hits. Peterson's 19 doubles tie a single-season record at ISU which she set last season. It also ranks her tied for second in the country for doubles.

Lexie Siwek and Lexi Benko achieved career milestones against Evansville with Siwek recording her 100th career hit and Benko striking out her 150th career batter.

Scouting the Panthers
The leader of the pack in the MVC in 2022, UNI is led by Ryan Jacobs who is in his 15^th year as head coach of the Panthers. Jacobs achieved his 400th career victory earlier this season and has led Northern Iowa to an 18-1 start in MVC play.

Offensively, the Panthers are one of the nation's best when it comes to power numbers. UNI ranks in the top 15 for home runs per game with 1.5 per contest. Mya Dodge and Emmy Wells rank 1-2 in the MVC with the long ball with Dodge hitting 12 and Wells hitting a league-best 14.

Dodge leads Northern Iowa with a .370 average this season as well 47 hits and 36 runs scored. Wells has driven in a team-high 39 runs and owns a .295 batting average. UNI has hit 57 home runs as a team which ranks first in the Valley.

The Panthers have a pair of pitchers who have had a strong season thus far. Kailyn Packard has been one of the league's best pitchers in 2022 with a 17-4 record and a 1.50 ERA in 24 appearances. She ranks second in the conference with 157 strikeouts over 140 innings of work. Samantha Heyer has an 8-3 record for the Panthers in 19 appearances. Her 2.04 ERA ranks third in the MVC. Heyer has struck out 113 hitters over 75.2 innings.

Northern Iowa leads the all-time series over the Sycamores 65-32. The Panthers won two out of three in Terre Haute last season.

Around the Horn
-Indiana State leads the MVC with 341 hits and ranks second with 32 home runs.

-Lexi Benko has won 11 games this season, the first double-digit win total for an ISU pitcher since Kenzie Ihle won 17 games in 2017.

Up Next
Indiana State will finish the regular season with a home series against Loyola from May 7-8.

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.