TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State softball will be on the road this weekend for a three-game conference series at Drake beginning Friday, March 24 at 4 p.m. ET at Buel Field.
 
Game two will be at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 25 with the series finale being played at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 26.
 
The Sycamores (14-12) are off to a 3-0 start in MVC action after a series sweep of UIC. Indiana State also split a doubleheader at Purdue on Tuesday. The Bulldogs (6-17) were swept in a series at Missouri State to open league play.
 
Indiana State's 6-2 win over the Boilermakers marked the second Power Five victory of the season for ISU. The Sycamores also defeated ACC foe Pittsburgh 3-0 on March 12 at the Tiger Classic in Memphis.
 
The Indiana State offense is led by Kennedy Shade and Isabella Henning who are batting .448 and .438, respectively. Henning leads the team with 32 hits while Shade is second with 26. Annie Tokarek leads ISU with 17 RBIs. Kaylee Barrett has 15 RBIs and has two five RBI games on the season. Olivia Patton is third on the team with a .274 average and 23 hits.
 
In the circle for ISU, Lexi Benko leads the pitching staff with a 1.60 ERA and a 6-3 record. She has recorded 44 strikeouts in 61.1 innings of work. Cassi Newbanks is 4-5 with a 2.67 ERA, logging 42 innings of work. Lauren Sackett is 3-3 on the year with a team-high 50 strikeouts and three saves on the season. Hailey Griffin has a 2.59 ERA in 24.1 innings in relief with 19 strikeouts. Lyndsi Adamson has worked 11.2 innings this season including a pair of starts.
 
Scouting Drake
Drake is led by longtime head coach Rich Calvert who has been at the helm since 2003. MaKayla Rice leads the Bulldog offense with a .306 average and 22 hits. Emma Dighton has a team-best three home runs and 16 RBIs. In the circle, Mackenzie Hupke has a team-best 3.55 ERA in 45.1 innings. She has struck out 49 batters which also leads the team. Emma Dighton also pitches for Drake and has made six starts on the season.
 
Drake took last year's series 2-1 in Terre Haute and leads the all-time series 50-35.
 
Up Next
Indiana State will travel to Champaign, Illinois on Wednesday, March 29 for a midweek doubleheader at Illinois beginning at 5 p.m. ET.

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.