MVC Week 3 Round Up

Results from around the MVC during week three:

Indiana State took two-of-three at Wichita State, winning game one 9-3 and game two 7-3. WSU took game three 10-2 (6).

Illinois State swept all three from Missouri State in Normal, IL. Scores were 5-2, 8-0 (5), and 7-2.

Drake swept all three from Evansville in Des Moines, IA. Scores were 6-5, 10-2 (5), and 7-6 (9).

Creighton took two-of-three from Bradley in Omaha, NE. Creighton won game one 7-1 and game two 4-3 (8) before Bradley took game three 9-4.

Northern Iowa took two-of-three from Southern Illinois in Cedar Falls, IA. The Panthers won game one 1-0 (8) and game three 9-5 with SIU winning game two 6-2.

Also, this past Tuesday saw Bradley and Illinois State play the last game of their three game series. The Redbirds finished off the series sweep with a 3-2 victory in Normal, IL.

Current MVC Standings:

1. Drake 8-0, 22-12

2. Illinois State 7-1, 21-11

3. Northern Iowa 6-3, 22-15

3. Southern Illinois 4-2, 20-12

3. Creighton 4-2, 14-16

6. Missouri State 4-4, 14-15

7. Indiana State 2-6, 11-17

7. Wichita State 2-6, 9-26

9. Bradley 1-7, 8-28

10. Evansville 1-8, 7-27

Weekend Match-ups: Evansville at Indiana State; Creighton at Missouri State; Drake at Wichita State; Bradley at Southern Illinois; Northern Iowa at Illinois State.

GO SYCAMORES!

Sycs Win Series in Wichita

The Sycamores won their MVC series against Wichita State over the weekend, sweeping the Saturday double header before dropping the final game on Sunday to the Shockers. With the series win, that makes four consecutive seasons ISU has won the conference series with the Shockers, and five of the last six years. ISU is now 8-3 in the last 11 regular season contests played with Wichita.

In game one, the Sycamores jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning and never looked back, winning by a final score of 9-3. Fr. Alex Baumgart and Fr. Shelby Wilson each had two hits in the victory, while Jr. Bailey Wittenauer had the big blow, a three run home run in the fourth inning. So. Sara Evans got the win in the circle for ISU, allowing three runs on six hits in the complete game victory.

In game two, WSU jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning, but ISU found its offense late in the game, scoring a run in the fourth before getting three runs in both the fifth and sixth to get a come-from-behind 7-3 win. Wittenauer led the offense with three hits, Jr. Stephanie Robinson and Jr. Hailey Tinsman each added two hits in the win. So. Kristen Felker picked up the win, allowing two earned runs while scattering nine hits in the complete game victory.

Sunday, Wichita broke open a close game late to salvage a win in the series with a 10-2 run rule victory in 6 innings. ISU had chances to build a big lead early in the game, but the Sycamores left the bases loaded in the first inning and runners on 2nd and 3rd in the second inning. Those missed opportunities proved costly later, as Wichita broke out for three runs in the 5th and 6 runs in the 6th for a come-from-behind 10-2 victory. Jr. Chelsea Wallace took the loss for ISU, with Wilson having two hits for the Sycamores and Wittenauer driving in both runs.

Wednesday, the Sycamores traveled to Cape Girardeau, MO for a mid-week non conference double header with Southeast Missouri State. Despite getting 11 hits in game one, including a grand slam home run by Wittenauer and a 2 run home run from Sr. Steph Jonson, ISU fell 10-8. Wallace took the loss for ISU. The second game was all tied at 2-2 going into the bottom of the 6th inning, but the Redhawks hit back-to-back solo home runs to lead off the inning, causing the Sycamores to drop the nightcap by a 4-2 margin. Evans took the loss in the game.

This weekend, the Sycamores return to Terre Haute for a big MVC series with in-state rival Evansville. The Aces come to town currently in last place in the standings, while ISU sits in 7th.

GO SYCAMORES!

MVC Week 2 Round Up

Weather caused some issues to the MVC softball schedule over the weekend. Here are the results (Number in parentheses is place in PreSeason Poll):

Missouri State (5) at Indiana State (9): Bears sweep two games from the Sycamores by scores of 6-1 and 6-1.

Illinois State (T1) at Wichita State (8): Shockers and Redbirds split a pair of games, with Wichita winning 4-3 and Illinois State winning 10-1.

Drake (3) at Bradley (10): Bulldogs sweep a pair from the Braves, winning 6-1 and 3-2.

Northern Iowa (4) at Evansville (7): In the only full series to be played, the Panthers sweep all three from the Aces by scores of 6-2, 8-0, and 3-2.

Southern Illinois (T1) at Creighton (6): No games played in this series, as all three games canceled due to weather.

Current Standings:

T1. Southern Illinois 3-0, 18-10

T1. Drake 5-0, 18-12

3. Missouri State 4-1, 13-11

4. Illinois State 4-1, 16-11

5. Northern Iowa 4-2, 18-13

6. Creighton 2-1, 12-15

7. Wichita State 1-4, 8-22

8. Evansville 1-5, 7-22

T9. Indiana State 0-5, 9-14

T9. Bradley 0-4, 7-24

This weekend's match-ups: Indiana State at Wichita State; Southern Illinois at Northern Iowa; Evansville at Drake; Bradley at Creighton; Missouri State at Illinois State.

The NCAA has started to release RPI numbers for the 2011 season. Here are the current MVC numbers through March 27:

39. Illinois State

62. Missouri State

68. Drake

75. Southern Illinois

106. Northern Iowa

131. Creighton

196. Indiana State

204. Evansville

207. Bradley

208. Wichita State

GO SYCAMORES!

Bears Maul Sycamores

ISU opened the home portion of their MVC slate by taking on the Missouri State Bears last weekend. Due to cold - and I mean COLD - temperatures, only two games were played in the series, with Missouri State winning Saturday by a 6-1 margin and again Sunday with a 6-1 score. Not many highlights to talk about, as the Bears jumped out to leads in the 1st inning of both games. The Sycamores managed four hits in each contest, with no player having a multiple hit game. Here is the Saturday game article from the Terre Haute Tribune Star. The Sycamore midweek contest at Indiana was rescheduled due to poor weather. GO SYCAMORES

Sycamores Drop 5th Straight; Hobble Into Weekend MVC Series

ISU dropped its fifth straight contest on Thursday at Butler, losing 8-4 to the host Bulldogs. On the plus side, ISU was able to welcome back leading hitter, Fr. Alex Baumgart, and Baumgart went 1-3 in her return to action after missing the last four contests due to injury. So. Alyssa Marcum had two hits to pace the ISU offense. The Sycamores jumped out to a 3-1 lead, but defensive miscues led to a six run 5th inning for Butler, and the Sycamores couldn't respond, dropping the game 8-4. Three Sycamore pitchers saw action in the contest, combining to only allow one earned run in the game.

ISU will now turn its attention to an important MVC series with Missouri State this weekend. The Bears come to Terre Haute with an overall mark of 11-11 and a 2-1 MVC record. This week, MSU lost an extra-inning 1-0 contest to #18 Oklahoma State. Last weekend in Springfield, Missouri State took two-of-three in their opening conference series with Northern Iowa. MSU has struggled on the offensive side this season, hitting only .237 as a team and scoring 58 runs in their 22 contests. Last year, the Bears swept the three game series from the Sycamores in Springfield.

ISU continues to deal with injuries, as Jr. Lindsey Beisser and Jr. Alyssa Doyle were both injured last weekend in the series with Drake. Both will likely be out this weekend, along with So. Halee Myers whose previous injury will keep her out of competition for the remainder of the season. The weather could be a factor, as the forecast calls for the windchill hovering around the freezing mark with the chance of rain and/or snow coming down late Saturday afternoon.

If you haven't become a fan of the ISU Softball Facebook Page, you should. Along with in-game updates for those that can't follow the contest, you also get access things like this video interview taken before the Butler contest with Jr. Stephanie Robinson.

GO SYCAMORES!

MVC Week 1 Round Up

Home teams appeared to have an advantage in the first weekend of conference play, as four home teams won their conference opening series with only Creighton managing to win a series as a visiting team. Here are the week's results. Pre-Season Conference poll position in parentheses:

Wichita State (8) at Southern Illinois (T1): Salukis sweep the series without allowing a run. Game scores were 4-0; 3-0; 5-0.

Bradley (10) at Illinois State (T1): Redbirds sweep the Saturday doubleheader with Game Three rescheduled to a midday in April due to rain on Sunday. Games scores were 3-2; 3-1.

Indiana State (9) at Drake (3): Bulldogs sweep the series - recap posted below. Game scores were 2-0; 5-4; 4-0.

Northern Iowa (4) at Missouri State (5): Bears take two of three from the Panthers. UNI wins Game One 3-1; Bears win Game Two 6-5 and take the rubber game in extra innings 3-2.

Creighton (6) at Evansville (7): Jays take two of three. Jays win Game One by a score of 6-0; Aces take Game Two 4-2; Jays win the finale 4-0.

Current Standings:

T1. Southern Illinois 3-0; 16-9

T1. Illinois State 2-0; 15-10

T1. Drake 3-0; 15-11

T4. Missouri State 2-1; 11-10

T4. Creighton 2-1; 11-13

T6. Northern Iowa 1-2; 14-13

T6. Evansville 1-2; 5-17

T8. Indiana State 0-3; 9-11

T8. Bradley 0-2; 7-20

T8. Wichita State 0-3; 6-21

Weekend Two Matchups: Missouri State at Indiana State; Northern Iowa at Evansville; Southern Illinois at Creighton; Drake at Bradley, Illinois State at Wichita State.

GO SYCAMORES!

Offense Struggles as Sycs Drop Four Straight

The Midwest hasn't been friendly to the Sycamores, as they have dropped their last four contests after returning from Florida. After opening the home portion of the schedule against SIU-Edwardsville on Thursday, ISU travelled to Des Moines over the weekend to open MVC play against 2010 All MVC Pitcher Jenna DeLong and the Drake Bulldogs. With leading hitter, Fr. Alex Baumgart sidelined due to injury, the Sycamores have had a difficult time getting the bats going in their recent stretch.

SIU-E 4 ISU 1: ISU stranded 13 base runners in the home opener at Price Field on Thursday, dropping a non-conference game to SIU-Edwardsville. SIU-E has a 9 inning one-run loss to defending national champion UCLA on their resume, along with a 5-1 victory over MVC member Missouri State. Fr. Shelby Wilson led the ISU offense with two hits on the day, including the Sycamores lone RBI in the 7th inning.

Drake 2 ISU 0: The preseason pick for third, the Bulldogs feature two-time first team MVC performer Jenna DeLong and former MVC Tournament MVP Brynne Dordel as a formidable pitching tandem. DeLong got the victory in game one of the series, and she and Jr. Lindsey Beisser each allowed the opponents to only manage four hits in the game. ISU stranded runners at 2nd and 3rd in the fourth, and also left a single runner on base in each of the 5th, 6th, and 7th innings.

Drake 5 ISU 4: Game two saw some more offense from both teams, as ISU and Drake combined to hit five home runs in the contest. A lead off home run from DeLong put Drake up 1-0 early, but Fr. Danielle Ketner responded with a two run home run in the top of the 2nd to give the Sycamores their first lead of the series. ISU added to their lead on a solo home run by Sr. Steph Jonson in the top of the 4th, but Drake responded with a three run home run in the bottom of the 4th to go back on top 4-3. Drake added a solo home run in the 5th to move ahead 5-3. ISU would mount a rally in the 7th, with back-to-back doubles by So. Kim Pierce and Jr. Stephanie Robinson to cut the score to 5-4, but they were unable to get Robinson home, dropping the game 5-4. ISU managed seven hits in the contest, led by 2 for 4 performances by both Pierce and Robinson. So. Kristen Felker took the loss for ISU, dropping to 5-4 on the season. With the home runs by Ketner and Jonson, ISU has now had six different players hit a home run on the season.

Drake 4 ISU 0: ISU only manged two hits off DeLong in game three of the series, dropping the contest by a 4-0 margin. Jonson and Ketner had the lone hits for ISU, while Drake went for nine hits off Beisser and So. Sara Evans. ISU again found themselves in an early hole, as DeLong hit her second lead off home run in the series to stake the Bulldogs to an early 1-0 lead. The Sycamores got a runner to 3rd base in the 2nd, and had a tough inning ending double play in the 4th when they had advanced a runner to 2nd with 1 out.

ISU will be back in action on Thursday when they travel to Indianapolis to take on Butler at 3pm.

GO SYCAMORES!