TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State softball will welcome the Missouri State Bears to Price Field this weekend for a three-game MVC series set to begin Friday, April 28 at 3 p.m. ET.
 
Friday and Sunday's contests will be streamed live on ESPN+ while Saturday's game will be on ESPN3.
 
Indiana State's seven seniors: Olivia Patton, Lexi Benko, TeAnn Bringle, Cassie Thomerson, Annie Tokarek, Kaylee Barrett and Maeve McDonough will be honored before Sunday's game for Senior Day.
 
The Sycamores (24-23, 12-9 MVC) got back in the win column on Tuesday, defeating Evansville 6-1 on the road to take the season series over the Aces. Missouri State (28-16, 18-3 MVC) defeated Southern Illinois 4-3 on Wednesday.
 
The Bears lead the all-time series 71-29 over the Sycamores.
 
Scouting the Bears
Head coach Holly Hesse is in her 35^th season at the helm in Springfield, recently capturing her 900^th career win, becoming just the 18^th active D1 coach to reach that mark.
 
McKenzie Vaughan leads the Missouri State offense with a .329 average at the plate, launching 11 home runs on the year. Olivia Krehbiel has a team-high 40 hits including 12 doubles, three triples and five home runs. She also leads the Bears with 28 runs scored and 31 runs driven in. As a team, Missouri State leads the MVC with 96 stolen bases, led by Abby Ford who is 25-for-30 on stolen base attempts this season.
 
Mackenzie Chacon leads the Missouri State pitching staff with a 2.01 ERA in 69.2 innings. She has a 9-3 record with three complete games and 42 strikeouts. Gracie Johnston has a 3.03 ERA in a team-high 92.1 innings, racking up an 11-6 record with seven complete games and 56 strikeouts. While also leading the Bears in batting average, McKenzie Vaughan also leads the pitching staff with 62 strikeouts in 75 innings in the circle.
 
Sycamore Stats and Notes
Sitting at third in the MVC in batting average, Isabella Henning leads the Sycamores with a .396 clip at the plate. Her 55 hits rank second in the conference which includes 12 doubles and six home runs. Henning has put herself into the ISU record book this season, currently sitting fifth all-time for home runs (21), fifth for doubles (37), fifth for walks (58) and sixth for RBI (93).
 
Kennedy Shade enters the weekend with a .341 batting average, which is second on ISU and good for 10^th among MVC hitters. Her 43 hits are second on the team and includes nine doubles and four home runs. Shade has driven in 25 runs and is 4-for-4 on stolen base attempts this season.
 
Annie Tokarek owns a .292 average, collecting 40 hits and 29 RBI on the season. She enters the weekend sitting at 25 home runs for her career which is tied for second-most in program history. She also ranks fifth all-time at ISU with 98 career runs batted in. Tokarek currently has a six-game hit streak.
 
Danielle Henning is hitting .282 on the year with 42 hits including seven doubles, a triple and a home run to go along with 19 RBI. She has scored the second most runs on ISU with 24 and has hit safely in 12 out of the last 14 games.
 
Olivia Patton, batting .268 this season leads ISU with eight stolen bases. She has 42 hits on the year, recording eight multi-hit contests on the year. Patton ranks tied for fourth all-time for games played with 207.
 
Abi Chipps comes into the weekend batting .253 and is a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts. Chipps is first in the nation for the toughest to strikeout, punching out just once in 87 at-bats.

In the circle, Lexi Benko has a 2.41 ERA, going 11-7 with five complete games and 81 strikeouts so far. Benko ranks fifth all-time for wins with 34, eighth for strikeouts with 253 and eighth for appearances in a career with 91.
 
Cassi Newbanks currently owns a 2.72 ERA in 67 innings. She has struckout 36 hitters and has a 4-5 record on the season. Newbanks has recorded 7.2 consecutive scoreless innings in relief.
 
The pitching staff leader in saves (4), complete games (6) and strikeouts (105), Lauren Sackett is 6-8 with a 2.94 ERA in 81 innings this season.
 
Hailey Griffin has a 3-2 record on the year and two saves, owning a 3.85 ERA in 40 innings with 25 strikeouts.
 
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.