Last Time Out
The Sycamores last saw the field March 1-3 when they took part in the Bulldog Invitational in Athens, Ga., hosted by the University of Georgia. The Sycamores finished the weekend 2-3 playing two games each with North Dakota State and Raford and a single game against #23 Georgia. Indiana State defeated both NDSU 10-7 and Radford 9-8 in eight innings before falling to Georgia 9-1, Radford 3-2 and NDSU 4-2 to end the weekend. Junior Shelby Wilson finished the weekend with a .538 batting average with six RBI's.
Scouting The Redhawks
This will be the 10th overall meeting between the Sycamores and Rehawks with the Redhawks holding a 7-2 all-time series advantage including a pair of wins last season in Terre Haute. The Redhawks enter the games with a 5-11 record and are coming off a 9-2 loss to the Purple Aces of Evansville. So far this season the Rehawks have been led by Savannah Carpenter who is batting .333 on the season with six RBI's. On the mound for the Redhawks, Taylor Cowan leads the team with a 2.10 ERA and 3-6 record over her 60.0 innings pitched. with 33 strikeouts.
Scouting The Golden Hurricanes
The Sycamores and Golden Hurricanes have previously met eight times with Tulsa leading the all-time series 5-3. The two teams last met during the 1997 season when the Golden Hurricanes won a pair of games over the Sycamores. Tulsa enters the game with a 19-5 record and is on a six-game win streak, having last seen the field on March 10 in an 8-0 win over Marshall. Tulsa is led by Jill Barrett who is batting .405 with seven doubles and 13 RBI's while Aimee Cregor leads the Tulsa pitching staff with an 0.84 ERA and 11-1 record over her 75.1 innings pitched with 115 strikeouts.
MVC leaderboard
Now 19 games into the 2013 season many Sycamores are near the top of the MVC leaderboard in multiple statistical categories. Sophomore Megan Stone leads the MVC with her eight doubles while junior Morgan Allee also leads the Valley with 17 stolen bases. Freshman Alexa Cavin leads all MVC players with five sacrifice bunts and junior Shelby Wilson leads the MVC in batting average with her .446.
Sycamores vs. Ranked Opponents
The Indiana State softball team is set to take on its first ranked opponent of the year this weekend in #23 Georgia. This will mark the first time the Sycamores have faced a ranked opponent since the 2007 season. All-time ISU is 2-15 against ranked opponents with their two wins coming in the form of a 2-1 win over #22 NC State during the 2007 season and 4-1 win over #21 Georgia Tech also during the 2007 season. Most recently, the Sycamores fell 9-1 to #24 Georgia.
Moving On Up
Just 19 games into her Sycamore career, junior Morgan Allee is already written her name into the ISU record book in stolen bases. Allee has recorded 17 stolen bases in 19 games and currently sits in sixth place in the ISU single season record book. Allee is also just three stolen bases away from second on the same list. Allee is also five stolen bases from breaking into the top 10 in career stolen bases.
Patient At The Plate
Through their first 19 games the Sycamore batters have been extremely patient at the plate and as a team have recieved 80 walks. Three Sycamore batters have also recieved double digit walks in senior Halee Myers (11), sophomore Megan Bunting (10) and sophomore Megan Stone (10). Last season as a team the Sycamores recieved 118 walks in 53 games.
Using The Long Ball
Through their first 19 games, the Indiana State softball team has recorded six total home runs and are just four homers away from breaking into the ISU top 10 for home runs. Sophomore Megan Stone and junior Shelby Wilson have combined to account for all six of the team's homers with each recording six. Freshman Alexa Cavin just missed her first career home run at the Tiger Invitational, bouncing the ball off the top of the fence before coming back into play.
Swinging Those Bats
The Indiana State softball team came out of the gates swinging to open the 2013 season and through 14 games are averaging seven hits a game. The Sycamores have out hit their opponents six times and are 5-1 when doing so. The Sycamores also have three players batting over .300 on the season, including junior Shelby Wilson who leads the MVC in batting average at .446.
Good Speed Aboard
Junior Morgan Allee has made an immediate impact for Indiana State in her first five games in a Sycamore uniform. Allee has punished opposing teams with a .478 on base percentage and eight RBI's. However, Allee has done even more damage on the base pads with 17 stolen bases in 20 attempts. Freshmen Kelsey Montgomery and Alexa Cavin have also been a threat on the bases with Montgomery going 6-8 and Cavin 6-7 in their first 19 games as a Sycamore. As a team the Sycamores have stolen 43 bases to their opponents 26 and also have 30 sacrifices on the season.
Wilson & Scott Are All-Tournament
After wrapping up play at the Blues City Classic this past weekend in Southaven, Miss., two Sycamore players were named to the All-Tournament team for their efforts. Sophomore Ashli Scott was named 1st Team All-Tourmanet after making one start and three apperances for ISU with a 0.58 ERA with a 1-0 record over her 12 innings pitched. Scott also recorded a season high in strikeouts with seven in her relief appearance against Nicholls State. Junior Shelby Wilson was also named 2nd Team All-Tournament after going 5-12 at the plate with two RBI's and a run scored with three stolen bases.
Getting Back In The Swing Of Things
After being away from the sport of softball for more than two years, sophomore pitcher Stephanie Fougerousse opened her collegiate career with a 2-0 record on the mound during opening weekend. Now 14 games into the season, Fougerousse holds a 4-4 record and 4.72 ERA over her 53.1 innings pitched.
Returners Are Key
While they lost four letter winners and three starters to graduation, the Indiana State fielding alignment features much of the same as last year. The Sycamores return junior Shelby Wilson and sophomores Megan Stone and Ashley Dickerson to hold down the infield with newcomer Morgan Allee to fill the final sport. The Sycamores also return three key outfielders who spent significant time in the position during the 2012 campaign in: seniors Mackenzie Connelly and Halee Myers as well as sophomore Megan Bunting.
Bring 'Em On
The Indiana State softball team will have an opportunity to test themselves throughout the early part of the 2013 season as they will take on a number of teams being nationally recognized. The Sycamores fell 9-1 to #24 Georgia with games still remaining against #21 Tulsa. Missouri Valley Conference foe Illinois State has also recieved votes to be ranked throughout the season and Auburn was ranked in the top 44 by College Sports Madness.
Off To A Hot Start
After starting the 2013 season 4-0, the Indiana State softball team started off on one of the hottest starts in recent memory. The Sycamores four straight wins to open a season is the most since the 1990 season when they won 14 straight games to open the season. The Sycamores 9-0 win is also just the sixth time in program history that an ISU team has shut out an opponent in a season opener since 2003. It also marks the first win in a season opener since the 2009 season.
Follow ISU Softball Online
Keep up to date with Sycamore softball all over the web this season. Full stats, box scores and recaps will continue to be available on www.GoSycamores.com. Every home game along with select road games can also be heard world wide free of charge online at GoSycamores.com and select home games will offer a free webcast. However, you can also follow the Sycamores on Facebook at Facebook.com/SycamoreSoftball with the Indiana State University Softball fan page or on Twitter at Twitter.com/IndStSoftball.
On To The Next One
Following Thursday's game against #21 Tulsa, the Indiana State softball team will continue on its road trip to open Missouri Valley Conference play in Wichita, Kan. against Wichita State. The Sycamores and Shockers will play a three game series with a double header on Saturday and finale on Sunday. Last season the Sycamores won the series 2-1 in Terre Haute.
