Blaine Kinsey
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, Ind.—After a five-game road trip, the Indiana State softball team will return to action Tuesday when they host in-state rival Butler in a single game at Price Field beginning at 5 p.m. The Sycamores enter the game with a 9-26 overall record while the Bulldogs are 22-15 overall on the season. The Indiana State softball team is led offensively, by senior Alexa Cavin who holds a .381 batting average which ranks seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference. Junior Brooke Riemenschneider also is hitting over .300 for the Sycamores at .360 and is tied for the team lead in hits and RBI's with 31 and 18, respectively. As a team, the Sycamores hold a .270 batting average. The Sycamores also rank second in the NCAA in total double plays turned with 26 on the season, which is a new Indiana State school record. Live stats for the game along with full box scores and recaps will be available online at GoSycamores.com. A free live video stream will also be available online at GoSycamores.com and Ustream at Ustream.tv/channel/indiana-state-softball.
Last Time Out
The Indiana State Softball team last saw the field on Saturday, April 9 when they dropped a doubleheader on the road to the Redbirds of Illinois State. The Sycamores fell in game one, 8-0 in five innings before falling in the second game 8-5. In the second game of the day, the Sycamores jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning and freshman Monique Castillo hit her second home run of the season in the loss. Senior outfielder Kelsey Montgomery led the Sycamores in the doubleheader, going 3-for-7 at the plate.
A Little History -- Butler
The Sycamores and Bulldogs have previously met 44 times with the Sycamores holding a 27-17 all-time series advantage over Butler. The first meeting between the two teams came during the 1982 season with the Sycamores defeating the Bulldogs 4-3. Last season, the two teams played three times with the Bulldogs winning the first game 5-4 before the Sycamores won the final two 8-3 and 4-3 in Indianapolis, Ind.
Scouting The Bulldogs
The Bulldogs enter the game with a 22-15 overall record, having last seen the field on Sunday in a 3-2 victory on the road over St. John's. The Bulldogs have been led on the offensive end by Maggie Macbeth who is hitting .421 and one of four Bulldog players hitting over .300 on the season. As a team, Butler holds a .276 batting average and .959 fielding percentage. In the circle, Kristin Gutierrez leads the pitching staff with a 1.73 ERA and 9-7 record over 109.1 innings pitched with 99 strikeouts. As a staff, the Bulldogs hold a 3.40 earned run average.
Turning Two
Now 35 games into the 2016 season, the Sycamores have been outstanding at turing double plays, recording 26, more than twice the number of Indiana State opponents. Nationally, the Sycamores rank second in the NCAA Division 1 in double plays per game. The team's 26 double plays also leads the Missouri Valley Conference and is a new Indiana State school record. The team has also turned 10 ground ball double plays on the season while only grounding into two double play offensively.
Offense Leads The Way
Senior Alexa Cavin leads the Sycamore offense now more than halfway through the 2016 season as she holds a .381 batting average and is one of two players hitting over .300 as junior Brooke Riemenschneider is hitting .360. Cavin's average ranks seventh in the Missouri Valley Conference overall. Riemenschneider's nine doubles are also more than she recorded during her sophomore season.
Swinging The Bat
Despite hitting just .270 as a team on the season, the bats for the Indiana State softball team have come alive during Missouri Valley Conference play as the team leads the league with a .351 average in league games. Six of the Sycamores eight home runs on the season have also come in MVC games by five different players (Barton, Cavin, Malchow, Crissman & Riemenschneider).
Free Passes
Now in her senior season, senior Alexa Cavin is moving up the Indiana State career walks list as the senior now ranks third all-time at ISU in the category. Cavin has 55 career walks, just three away from second place. ISU assistant coach Megan Stone holds the record in that category with 69, set last season.
Scoring Those Runs
Despite being a freshman, Shaye Barton has been a catalyst for the Sycamore softball team this season and she leads the team in total runs scored with 23. In the eight Missouri Valley Conference games the team has played, Barton has scored a team high 11 times which is tied for fourth in the MVC. The freshman is also tied for the team lead in hits with 31 and tied for the team lead in total bases with 43. Barton is also the Sycamore team leader in two-out RBI's with 9.
Hitting The Three-Baggers
Now more than halfway through the 2016 season, junior Erika Crissman remains atop the Missouri Valley Conference in triples. The junior has three triples on the season and six in her career. Crissman hit three triples during her freshman season and now three as a junior. As a team, the Sycamores lead the MVC in triples with six.
Advancing Runners
After setting the Indiana State record for sacrifices last season, the Indiana State softball team again leads the Missouri Valley Conference in that category in 2016. The Sycamores currently have 48 sacrifice bunts and five sacrifice flies. The Sycamores have also advanced runners at a .479 percentage with freshman Bailey Martin leading the way in that category at 25 for 37 (.676). With runners on third and less than two outs, the Sycamores record RBI's 52% of the time.
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.
Leading Things Off
Senior Kelsey Montgomery has found her groove as the Sycamores leadoff batter as she currently holds a .543 batting average in inning leadoff situations. In the 19 games Montgomery has batted in the leadoff roll, she has recorded 10 leadoff hits and reached base 13 of 19 times for a .684 on base percentage. Out of those 11 occasions she has reached base, Montgomery has come around to score six times. The senior is also second on the team lead in runs scored with 20.
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.
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 midweek game against Butler, the Sycamores will hit the road once again when they travel to Southern Illinois for a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series against the Salukis in Carbondale, Ill. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. EDT before playing the finale at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Live stats for all three games will be available online at GoSycamores.com and a free live audio broadcast will also be available online at GoSycamores.com.
