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!

Rebel Games Recap #2

The Sycamores closed out their stay at the 2011 Rebel Games with a pair of shut-outs on Friday, beating Lafayette 8-0 in a run rule shortened game before taking out Columbia 5-0.

ISU 8 Lafayette 0 (5 innings): Jr. Lindsey Beisser picked up the win for the Sycamores, striking out six while allowing two hits in the 5 inning contest. Offensively, Jr. Bailey Wittenauer delivered the big blow with a 3-run home run in the bottom of the 5th inning. Fr. Alex Baumgart and Jr. Stephanie Robinson each had two hits for the Sycamores in the win.

ISU 5 Columbia 0: So. Kristen Felker (above) picked up the victory for ISU, throwing a complete game two hitter while striking out seven Lions in the contest. So. Kim Pierce was 2 for 4 for ISU, while Wittenauer drove in two runs in the victory.

The games scheduled to be played Thursday against Wagner and Penn were rained out. ISU will now return to Terre Haute for their home opener on Thursday, March 17 against SIU-Edwardsville.

GO SYCAMORES!

Rebel Games Recap #1

The Sycamores have played six contests in the 2011 Rebel Games so far, owning a 4-2 record. That moves the overall record on the season to 7-7 for ISU. We still have four games to play in Orlando, finishing up on Friday.

Day One:

ISU 2 Holy Cross 1: The Sycamores opened their Spring Break trip with a win over the Crusaders of Holy Cross. So. Kristen Felker got the win for ISU, striking out nine in a complete game performance. Fr. Alex Baumgart doubled in a run in the 3rd inning, and then Fr. Danielle Ketner and Baumgart pulled off a double steal in the 5th for ISU's second run.

Detroit Mercy 2 ISU 1: The Sycamores only managed five hits in the one run loss to the Titans. Details have not been made available.

Day Two:

ISU 5 Bryant 4: ISU bounced back in the morning of day two with a 5-4 victory in eight innings over the Bryant Bulldogs. The Sycamores pounded out 11 hits in the victory, scoring two runs in the bottom of the 8th inning in the International Tie Breaker. Details have not been made available.

ISU 9 Lehigh 7: The Sycamores discovered some offense in their 9-7 victory over the Mountain Hawks from the Patriot League. Baumgart went 3-3 at the plate, while Jr. Bailey Wittenauer and Fr. Steviee Grove each added two hits for ISU. The Sycamores plated seven runs in the top of the 1st inning to build a lead Lehigh could not overcome.

Day Three:

ISU 2 Sacred Heart 1: Jr. Lindsey Beisser got the victory for ISU in this contest. The Sycamores trailed 1-0 for much of the contest before getting two runs in the 6th for the victory. Details have not been made available.

FAMU 7 ISU 6: The Sycamores dropped an extra inning contest in International Tie Breaker to the Rattlers after building a 4-0 lead. In the top of the 8th, ISU was able to go ahead 6-4, but FAMU won the contest on a walk-off two run home run in the bottom of the 8th. Details have not been made available.

ISU took Wednesday off to visit Universal Studios before returning to action on Thursday and Friday. Thursday, ISU will take on Wagner and Penn, while Friday, the Sycamores will play Lafayette and Columbia.

GO SYCAMORES!

Felker Earns Honors

Congratulations to So. Pitcher Kristen Felker for her recent awards. Felker was named to the All Tournament Team for her efforts at the Magic City Classic hosted by UAB and Samford. During the tournament, Felker went 1-0, appearing in two contests. She pitched 11 innings, allowing two earned runs, while striking out six. In her lone start, Felker threw a complete-game 3-1 victory over Lipscomb.

This Monday, Felker was also named the MVC Pitcher of the Week - her first career honor from the league office. Sunday, Felker threw a complete-game two hitter in a 2-1 win over Holy Cross. Felker didn't allow any earned runs and struck out 9 Crusaders in the contest.

GO SYCAMORES.