MVC Tournament Awaits the Sycamores in Springfield
Indiana State softball will begin postseason play on Wednesday in Springfield, Missouri as the #7 seed Sycamores will take on #10 seed Valparaiso at 2:30 p.m. ET at Killian Stadium.
Each game of the tournament will be carried live on ESPN+.
Regular Season Recap
The Sycamores concluded regular season play on May 8, defeating Loyola Chicago 10-0 in five innings to earn the series win over the Ramblers.
Indiana State finishes the 2022 regular season with a 24-26 record including 11-15 in MVC play. The Sycamores nine home wins were the most at Price Field since the 2008 season when ISU won 11 home contests.
Bella Peterson currently leads the Sycamore offense with a .390 average and 62 hits which includes 20 doubles, two triples and nine home runs while driving in 34 runs and scoring 39. Peterson has also stolen a team-best eight bases. Isabella Henning ranks second on the team with a .362 average, recording a team-high 37 RBIs. Lexie Siwek and Annie Tokarek are the other two Sycamores batting over .300 this season with Siwek currently hitting .319 with 46 hits while Tokarek owns a .301 average with 7 home runs. Amanda Guercio is tied for the team lead with Peterson with nine home runs.
In the circle this season, Lexi Benko has won a team-high 13 games with a 2.68 ERA while striking out 94 batters in 170 innings pitched. Cassi Newbanks is second on the Sycamores with five wins this season with a 4.69 ERA. Lyndsi Adamson and Hailey Griffin have each recorded three wins.
Head coach Mike Perniciaro picked up his 300th career victory earlier this season with a 7-5 win over Samford on February 27.
Scouting the Beacons
Indiana State's first opponent will be Valparaiso who finished the regular season at 12-34 while going 5-22 in Valley play.
The Sycamores won two out of three games in the regular season in the opening series of MVC play in March. All three games were shutouts as Indiana State won the first two games 10-0 and 9-0 while Valpo took the series finale 1-0.
The Beacons offense is led by Jenna Westphal who is batting .309 with 34 hits including four home runs and Peyton Moeder who owns a .284 average and a team-high 40 hits. Lauren Kehlenbrink leads Valpo with 22 RBIs and is tied with Westphal with a team-high four home runs.
Easton Seib leads the Valparaiso pitching staff with a 3.94 ERA and 68 strikeouts. She has an 8-14 record in 27 appearances over 122.2 innings pitched. Cheyenne Nietz has been the Beacons other primary starter, going 3-7 with a 4.49 ERA over 67 innings of work and collecting 48 strikeouts. Neitz recorded a complete game shut out of the Sycamores on March 20, striking out five hitters while only allowing four hits in a 1-0 Beacons victory.
The Sycamores knocked Valpo out of the 2021 MVC Tournament with a 9-5 win in the opening game in Evansville.
Bracket Breakdown
If the Sycamores are to advance past Valpo, they would move on to face #6 seed Illinois State on Thursday, May 12. If Indiana State beats the Redbirds, they would play a second game on Thursday against #3 seed Southern Illinois.
A win over the Salukis would send ISU to the semifinal round on Friday against #2 seed and tournament host Missouri State. The championship game is scheduled for Saturday, May 14 at 2 p.m. ET.
The Sycamores dropped two of three in the regular season in a road series against Illinois State, losing in a pair of close contests. The Salukis took two out of three games in Carbondale against Indiana State while Missouri State swept the Sycamores in Springfield.
Tournament History
Indiana State owns a 30-36 record all-time at the conference tournament and has won it twice: 1986 and 2015.
Around the Horn
-Prior to postseason play, here's where Bella Peterson sits in career rankings at ISU: First in games played/started (220/217), doubles (73), RBIs (151), total bases (394), sacrifice flies (8), at-bats (678) and walks (92). She ranks second in hits (242) and runs (137). Her 21 career home runs rank fourth.
-Amanda Guercio sits in second for career home runs with 25 and games played with 215.
-Lexi Benko's 13 wins are tied for seventh most in a season and are the most by an ISU pitcher since Kenzie Ihle in 2017 (17).
-Danielle Henning is taking a six-game hitting streak into the postseason.
-The Indiana State offense has 36 home runs this season which ties a season high as a team which they set in 2021.
-The Sycamores currently have four hitters batting over .300 with Bella Peterson (.390), Isabella Henning (.362), Lexie Siwek (.319) and Annie Tokarek (.301) leading the offense heading into the MVC Tournament.
For the latest information on Sycamore Softball, be sure to visit GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
Original source can be found here.
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