TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State softball will put their undefeated Missouri Valley Conference record on the line this weekend with a three-game series at Southern Illinois.
 
The series will begin on Saturday, April 1 at Charlotte West Stadium with first pitch coming at 3 p.m. ET. Games two and three will be played as a doubleheader on Sunday, April 2 beginning at 1 p.m. ET. Charlotte West Stadium and SIU will host the MVC Softball Tournament from May 10-13.
 
Indiana State (17-14, 6-0) has begun their conference slate with a pair of sweeps over UIC and Drake with the Salukis (24-5, 6-2) also off to a hot start in the MVC, winning series over Valpo and Missouri State.
 
The Sycamores are coming off a pair of losses to Illinois on Wednesday, March 29 while SIU defeated SEMO in their most recent action on Tuesday, March 28.
 
Scouting the Salukis
After the retirement of longtime head coach Kerri Blaylock, first-year head coach Jen Sewell has Southern Illinois off to a strong start in 2023. Sewell has been a part of SIU's staff for 15 seasons.
 
The Saluki offense is tops in the MVC with a .319 team batting average and 170 hits. Emma Austin leads the way with a .415 average with Rylie Hamilton (.411) and Aubree DePron (.404) also batting over .400 on the year. Hamilton leads SIU with 37 hits and has driven in 28 runs. Freshman Jackie Lis leads SIU and the entire MVC with 12 home runs and 34 RBI while batting .370 this season.
 
Second in the Valley with a 2.57 team ERA, the Saluki pitching staff is led by Madi Eberle who is 10-1 with a 1.75 ERA in 18 appearances. Hannah Hockerman has a 3.00 ERA in 53.2 innings, currently sitting at 5-2 on the year. Elliott Stinson leads the staff with 62 strikeouts, owning a 3.30 ERA in 59.1 innings of work to go along with a 9-2 record.
 
Sycamore Standouts
Isabella Henning sits atop the MVC with a .427 batting average. She has a team-high 38 hits including eight doubles and three home runs.
 
Kennedy Shade is batting .408, good for fourth-highest in the Valley. She has 31 hits on the year as well as seven doubles. Three of those doubles came on March 20 against UIC, which tied a single-game ISU record for doubles in a game.
 
Annie Tokarek has been swinging a hot bat as of late, raising her average from .207 to .279 in the last 10 games. Tokarek is tied for the team-lead with three home runs and has a team-best 24 RBI. She sits at 25 career home runs, tied for second all-time in program history.
Olivia Patton is batting .279 on the year, hitting safely in seven of the last 10 contests. The Sycamore leadoff hitter has also stolen three bases.
 
After a slow start to the season, Abi Chipps has hit safely in eight of the last 11 games including a pair of multi-hit contests. She has a team-high five steals on the year.
 
Lexi Benko is 8-4 on the season with a 1.96 ERA which is fifth best in the Valley. On March 29, she made her 66^th career start in the circle which put her in the top-10 for most pitching starts in program history. She also moved into eighth on the all-time strikeouts list with 228 for her career.
 
Hailey Griffin continued her strong season out of the bullpen against Illinois on March 29, recording her ninth scoreless relief outing of the season. She is second on the pitching staff with a 2.46 ERA with a 2-0 record and two saves.
 
Cassi Newbanks is 4-5 on the season with a 3.11 ERA in 47.1 innings pitched.
 
Lauren Sackett has a team-high 57 strikeouts and four saves on the year. Her four saves are already third-most in program history.
 
Up Next
Indiana State hosts Evansville on Tuesday, April 4 at 4 p.m. ET for an MVC matchup at Price Field.

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.