Blaine Kinsey
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, Ind.—After playing the first 23 games of the season away from Terre Haute, the Indiana State Softball team will return home Saturday for their home and Missouri Valley Conference opener against Bradley at Price Field in a three-game series. The Sycamores enter the weekend on a three-game win streak after playing the last 11 games in sunny Florida. The Sycamores are led offensively by junior Brooke Riemenschneider who is hitting .375 with seven doubles and 11 RBI's while senior Alexa Cavin and junior Kassie Brown are also hitting over .300 for the Sycamores at .364 and .302, respectively. As a team, the Sycamores hold a .245 batting average and .971 fielding percentage. The Sycamores and Braves are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Saturday with first pitch set for noon before playing the finale on Sunday, also beginning at noon. Live stats for all three games along with full box scores and recaps will be available online at GoSycamores.com. A free live webstream will also be available online at GoSycamores.com and on Ustream at Ustream.tv/channel/indiana-state-softball.
Last Time Out
The Indiana State Softball team last saw the field on Thursday, Mar. 17 when they swept a doubleheader over Bucknell and Rider in their final two games at the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Fla. The Sycamores defeated Bucknell 2-1 in the first game before defeating Rider 6-1 in game two. Senior Alexa Cavin was 4-5 at the plate during the doubleheader, including 3-3 in game two against Rider. Sophomore pitcher Bailey Benefiel pitched all but one inning, allowing just two runs while striking out 13 batters.
A Little History -- Bradley
The Sycamores and Braves have previously met 88 times with the Braves holding the 57-31 series advantage over the Sycamores. The first meeting between the two teams came during the 1984 season when they split a doubleheader. The last meeting between the two teams came last season when Bradley won the first two games of the series 11-2 and 7-3 before the Sycamores won the finale 9-6 in Peoria, Ill.
Scouting The Braves
Bradley enters the opening weekend of Missouri Valley Conference play with a 5-15 overall record. The Braves have been led offensively by Kelly Kapp who is hitting .522 on the season and one of three players hitting over .300. In the circle, Jaelen Hull leads the Bradley pitching staff with a 3.71 ERA and 1-6 record over 56.2 innings pitched with 34 strikeouts. As a team, Bradley holds a .278 batting average, .954 fielding percentage and a 5.57 ERA.
Sycamores In Home Openers
The Indiana State softball team will look to extend their win streak in home openers when they take on Bradley on Sunday as they have won their home opener the past four seasons, all during the Shane Bouman era. Out of the four-year win streak, two wins have come against Missouri Valley Conference foe's in Illinois State and Missouri State.
Sycamores In MVC Openers
The Indiana State Softball team will be looking to win its opening Missouri Valley Conference series for the second year in a row this weekend. It will be the first time since the 2012 season that the Sycamores will play their first MVC games of the season at home, after opening on the road the past three seasons. Since 2000, the Sycamores hold a 5-11 record in MVC openers but did defeat Wichita State in the opening series last season on the road.
Career First
After not having any home runs as a team through the first two weekends, freshman Monqiue Castillo crushed her first career home run to left center against Troy on Mar. 5. Not only was it her first career home run, it also was her first career Grand Slam as the bases were loaded. Later in the game, freshman Shaye Barton also added her first career home run to straight away center field.
Turning Two
Now 23 games into the 2016 season, the Sycamores have been outstanding at turing double plays, recording 12, twice the number of Indiana State opponents. The team has also turned seven ground ball double plays on the season while not grounding into a double play offensively.
Sycamores Going Dancing
When the Sycamores defeated the Missouri State Bears to win the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Title, not only did they earn the programs first ever conference tournament title under the Missouri Valley banner, they also earned the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. This marks the first time in Indiana State history that the team has advanced to the NCAA Tournament, since begining softball in 1978. The Sycamores used a balance offensive attack and strong pitching to defeat the Nos. 1-2-3-4-5 teams in the league over their last five games. Once at the NCAA Regional, the Sycamores secured the programs first ever post season victory with a 2-1 eight inning win over Louisville in their second game of the weekend.
Lockwood Senior CLASS Finalist
Senior pitcher Taylor Lockwood was named one of the 30 finalists for the 2016 Senior CLASS award. Lockwood was nominated for the award because of her excellence on the field, in the classroom and in the community. A national media committee will select ten finalists for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award in March. Those 10 names will then be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote.
Player of the Year To Assistant Coach
Megan Stone gained recognition for her record shattering senior season when she was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, prior to the start of the 2015 MVC Tournament. It marked the first outright winner for the Sycamores in school history. Stone shattered 16 combined single season and career records at Indiana State. Following the conclusion of her senior season, Stone began her coaching career and is now an Assistant Coach for the Sycamores.
Upsetting The League
Not only did the Sycamores win their first ever Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Title, the team also became the lowest seed to ever win the tournament. The Sycamores entered the weekend as the eight seed with a 13-13 record in league play before defeating #5 Southern Illinois, #4 Wichita State, #1 Drake and #2 Missouri State to win the title.
Historical Wins
For the second consecutive season, the Sycamores knocked on the door of the most wins in school history in 2015. The team finished with 27 wins in back-to-back years for the third most wins in a season in ISU history.
Most Wins In School History
31-1989
28-1986
27-2014, 2015
26-1992
Moving On Up
After breaking eight season team records in 2014 the Indiana State Softball team added six more broken records to its resume in 2015. The team set school marks in Runs Scored, RBI's, Hit By Pitch, Sacrifice's, Saves and Double Plays turned.
Historical Wins Part II
With an 8-5 win in the 2015 regular season finale against Nothern Iowa, the Indiana State softball team broke the school record for Missouri Valley Conference wins in a season with 13. They also became the first team in school history to defeat every conference opponent at least once in the same season.
1. 2015 (13-13)
2. 2006 (12-15)
3. 1986 (11-6)*
4. 1989 (10-5)*
2009 (10-15)
6. 1984 (9-6)*
2014 (9-17)
* prior to 3-game series
Sycamore Softball Online
Every home game along with the majority of road cames can also be heard world wide free of chardge online at GoSycamores.com and home games and select road games will offer a free webcast. However, you can also follow the Sycamores on Facebook (Facebook.com/SycamoreSoftball), on Twitter (@IndStSoftball), on SnapChat (sycamore-sb) and new for 2016, Instagram (@IndStSoftball).
On To The Next One
Following the home and Missouri Valley Conference opener against Bradley, the Indiana State Softball team will hit the road to Bloomington, Ind. to face in-state rival Indiana on Wednesday. First pitch against the Hoosiers is set for 5 p.m. at Andy Mohr Field.
