Blaine Kinsey
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, Ind.—The Indiana State Softball team is set play its final midweek games of the year as they travel to face the Illinois Fighting Illini on Wednesday before hosting Butler on Thursday at Price Field. The Sycamores enter the games with a 14-32 overall record, having last seen the field on Friday in a doubleheader loss to Wichita State. The Sycamores have been led this season by seniors Alexa Cavin and Kelsey Montgomery. Cavin holds a .354 batting average while Montgomery is at .333 with a team high 41 hits. Juniors Brooke Riemenschneider and Kassie Brown are also over .300 at .333 and .313, respectively. Senior pitcher Taylor Lockwood leads the Sycamore pitching staff with a 1.34 ERA with a 4-4 record and 57.1 innings pitched with 39 strikeouts and two shut outs. The team also ranks third in the NCAA in double plays turned per game and have a new school record 28 turned in a single season. Montgomery is also ranked 35th in the NCAA in toughest to strikeout with just five strikeouts in 123 at bats. Live stats for both midweek games along with full box scores and recaps will be available online at GoSycamores.com.
Last Time Out
The Indiana State softball team last saw the field on Friday when they lost a pair of games to league-leading Wichita State at Price Field. The Shockers took game one, 3-2 before defeating the Sycamores 7-2 in game two while the final game was washed out due to rain. Senior Kelsey Montgomery led the Sycamores over the weekend, hitting .625 with five hits and one run scored as the leadoff batter. Senior Taylor Lockwood pitched 13.2 innings, allowing five earned runs while striking out five with one complete game.
A Little History -- Illinois
The Sycamores and Fighting Illini have previously met nine times with the Illini holding the 8-1 all-time series advantage. The two teams first met during the 2000 season when the Illini defeated the Sycamores 5-3. The last meeting came last season when the Sycamores fell to the Illini 5-3 in Champaign, Ill. The Sycamores lone win came during the 2013 season when the Sycamores won in Champaign, 6-5.
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.
Turning Two
Now 46 games into the 2016 season, the Sycamores have been outstanding at turing double plays, recording 28, 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 28 double plays also leads the Missouri Valley Conference and is a new Indiana State school record. The team has also turned 11 ground ball double plays on the season while only grounding into three double play offensively.
Lockwood Throws A No-No
After missing the first 35 games of the season due to a non-softball related medical issue, senior pitcher Taylor Lockwood returned to the circle against Southern Illinois and picked up right where she left off after her junior campaign. In just her third appearance of the season, Lockwood fired her first career no-hitter against Loyola, allowing just one base runner, a full count walk. It was also the first no-hitter at Indiana State since the 2012 season. The no-hitter came just days after Lockwood threw a nine-inning complete game, two-hitter on the road against Southern Illinois.
Leading Things Off
Senior Kelsey Montgomery has found her groove as the Sycamores leadoff batter as she currently holds a .500 batting average in inning leadoff situations. In the 29 games Montgomery has batted in the leadoff roll, she has recorded 13 leadoff hits and reached base 17 of 29 times for a .655 on base percentage. Out of those 17 occasions she has reached base, Montgomery has come around to score eight times. The senior is also second on the team in runs scored with 26 and leads the team inn hits with 41, which is a new career high.
Free Passes
Now in her senior season, senior Alexa Cavin is moving up the Indiana State career walks list as the senior now ranks second all-time at ISU in the category. Cavin now has 58 walks in her Sycamore career. ISU assistant coach Megan Stone holds the record in that category with 69, set last season. Cavin also ranks 10th in Indiana State history in total games played with 192.
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 28. In the 21 Missouri Valley Conference games the team has played, Barton has scored a team high 16 times. The freshman is also third on the team in hits with 35 and second on the team in total bases with 47. Barton is also the Sycamore team leader in two-out RBI's with 10.
Wearing Those Pitches
Freshman Shaye Barton leads the team in the most painful category on the 2016 season, hit by pitch. The freshman has been hit nine times which ranks fourth in Indiana State history in a single season. Barton leads the Missouri Valley Conference in hit by pitch and has also been hit six times in MVC games which also leads the league.
Offense Comes Alive
Despite hitting .274 as a team overall, the Indiana State softball team is hitting .317 in Missouri Valley Conference games which ranks second in the league. The Sycamores have five players hitting over .300 in MVC play led by senior Kelsey Montgomery who is hitting .403 with a team high 27 hits. Rylee Holland, Abbie Malchow, Alexa Cavin and Kassie Brown are also all over .300. Malchow also leads the team with 14 RBI's in league play with three home runs and is also tied for second in runs scored with 13.
Offense Leads The Way
Seniors Alexa Cavin and Kelsey Montgomery have led the way for the Sycamores offensively as Cavin holds a .354 batting average while Montgomery is at .333. Junior Brooke Riemenschneider and junior Kassie Brown .300 at .333, .333 and .313 respectively.The Sycamores have 11 home runs on the season, however, nine have come during Missouri Valley Conference play. The team is on pace to break last season's school record for runs scored in a season and are currently at 184 which ranks fourth in school history.
Winning The Series
In 2015 the Indiana State softball team set the record for most Missouri Valley Conference wins in a season with 13, winning three series in the process. With one series remaining in 2016, the Sycamores have already won three league series over Southern Illinois, Loyola and Northern Iowa. The team will also be attempting to qualify for the MVC Tournament in back-to-back years for the first time since the 2008-09 seasons.
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 67 sacrifice bunts and seven sacrifice flies. The Sycamores have also advanced runners at a .497 percentage with freshman Bailey Martin leading the way in that category at 33 for 51 (.647). With runners on third and less than two outs, the Sycamores record RBI's 52% of the time.
Lockwood Named MVC Pitcher Of The Week
After missing the first 35 games of the 2016 season due to a non-softball related medical condition, senior pitcher Taylor Lockwood made her presence known in her return to the circle as she earned MVC Pitcher of The Week honors for April 25. The award marks the first time this season a Sycamore player has won a MVC weekly award and the fifth time Lockwood has won the award in her third season in the league.
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.
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 games, the Sycamores will travel to Springfield, Mo. for the final regular season games against Missouri State. The Sycamores and Bears will play a doubleheader on Saturday before playing the final game on Sunday. The Sycamores will be looking to advance to the MVC Tournament for the second consecutive year for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
