TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State softball begins its quest for an MVC Tournament crown on Wednesday as the No. 5 seed Sycamores will take on 12 seed Valparaiso in Carbondale, Illinois at SIU's Charlotte West Stadium with first pitch set for 2 p.m. ET.
 
Each game of the tournament will be streamed live on ESPN+. The winner of Wednesday's game will take on No. 4 seed Murray State on Thursday at 2 p.m. ET.
 
The Sycamores finished the regular season with historic numbers, winning 29 games which is the program's most since 1989. ISU also won 17 conference games which is the most MVC wins in program history.
 
With ISU being the fifth seed this week, it is their highest MVC Tournament seeding since 2018 when they were also a No. 5 seed and defeated Bradley in the opening game of the tournament.
 
Wednesday will mark the third consecutive season that the Sycamores and Beacons have squared off in the opening round of the MVC Tournament. The Sycamores have eliminated Valpo in back-to-back seasons including a 9-5 victory last season as Lexi Benko got the win in the circle, throwing six innings and striking out five. Cassi Newbanks threw a scoreless seventh to close out the contest. Isabella Henning went 3-for-3 with a home run and three RBI.
 
Indiana State has won four straight games over Valpo dating back to last season's MVC Tournament matchup and are 22-6 all-time against the Beacons.
 
Sycamore Stats & Notes
Isabella Henning enters the tournament hitting a team-best .389, which is good for third-highest in the MVC. Henning has 10 home runs on the year, putting her at 25 in her career which is tied for third-most at ISU. Henning, a two-time All MVC selection, also ranks fifth at ISU with 37 career doubles.
 
Annie Tokarek finished the regular season on a hot streak, recording four-straight multi-hit games and driving in a run in six-straight games enter the postseason hitting .327 with a team-high 37 RBI. Tokarek ranks second all-time at ISU with 27 career home runs and fourth with 106 career RBI.
 
One of three Sycamores to start all 53 games this season, Danielle Henning is third on the ISU offense with 49 hits, entering the tournament batting .287. She has driven in 23 runs and scored 26 which is second-most on the team. Henning also has the lone triple for Indiana State this season.
 
After playing a limited role in her first two seasons, Kennedy Shade has broken out in her junior year, hitting .336 which is second-highest on the Sycamore offense. Shade has 49 hits including 10 doubles and four home runs. She tied an ISU single-game record on 3/20 with 3 doubles against UIC.
 
The ace of the Sycamore pitching staff, Lexi Benko leads ISU with a 2.32 ERA and 13 wins to go along with five shutouts. Her ERA is eighth-lowest in the Valley while her wins are tied for fifth. She ranks fifth all-time at ISU with 36 career victories. Her 265 career strikeouts rank eighth in program history.
 
Lauren Sackett has enjoyed a successful freshman season, ending the regular season with a 8-8 record and a 2.90 ERA while leading the pitching staff with 118 strikeouts, four saves, and an opp. batting average of .215. Sackett threw a no-hitter in the first appearance of her college career, walking just one hitter against Maine on February 18.
 
A perfect 8-for-8 on the season with stolen base attempts, Abi Chipps is a serious threat on the base paths. The junior second basemen has scored 21 runs on the season and ranks first in the country in the toughest to strikeout category. Chipps has struck out just once this season in 101 at-bats.
 
Olivia Patton has started every game of the season in center field, owning a .989 fielding percentage with just one error in 91 chances. She is batting .277 with a career-high 48 hits while leading ISU with nine stolen bases. Her 213 career games played are second most in program history.
 
After starting just 14 games in her first three years at ISU, Kaylee Barrett has made 49 starts in right field this season, recording 30 hits including nine doubles and four home runs while driving in 25 runs. The senior outfielder had a pair of five RBI games, 3/10 against Memphis and 3/20 against UIC.
 
Cassie Thomerson has posted career-high numbers at the plate, collecting 23 hits including two doubles and two home runs with 15 RBI. She is ISU's all-time leader in hit by pitches with 27 in her career. Thomerson hit a walk-off single to defeat Murray State in 12 innings on 4/21.
 
Cassi Newbanks has made a great improvement from last season, almost cutting her ERA in half to 2.67 this year. Newbanks is 5-5 with two complete games and a save. She has allowed 10 less home runs than last season and has nearly matched her strikeout total from 2022, facing 108 less batters in 2023.
 
Hailey Griffin is second on the staff with three saves on the season, currently owning a 3-2 record with a 3.94 ERA. In 20 innings from 3/4 to 3/21, Griffin allowed just one earned run. She struck out a career-high six hitters in a relief appearance against IUPUI on 3/15.
 
For the latest information on Sycamore Softball, be sure to visit GoSycamores.com. YoInu can also find the team on social media, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.