The Sycamore softball team’s (18-27, 3-16 MVC) season is winding down, as they will play in their next to last series of the season at Missouri State this weekend.
The last time the Sycamores were in action, they split a doubleheader against MVC opponent Drake University (29-16, 10-9 MVC).
The Sycamores won the first game 1-0, lost the second 8-2 and the third game was cancelled due to rain.
Three players have led the Sycamores in three different categories.
“There has been a number of players that have stepped up offensively, and defensively,” head coach Brenda Coldren said. “And the good thing is it hasn’t been just one player, it’s been a number of players, and that helps when you can depend on a number of players.”
Senior pitcher Megan McCurdy is the ace on the Sycamore’s pitching staff. McCurdy has struck out 161 batters so far this season, and has also moved herself to second place with 400 strikeouts on the ISU career strikeouts list. McCurdy has always earned herself the team’s lowest earned run average with 1.97.
“[McCurdy] has done a great job stepping up as a senior pitcher and has been a great leader off and on the field,” Coldren said.
Junior Stephanie Jonson has had a perfect season with a fielding percentage at 1.000. Jonson has caught 49 fly balls and has put out 48, with no errors.
Sophomore Alyssa Doyle has started and played 42 games, in which she has been at bat 128 times. Her batting average is .305, receiving 39 hits. Doyle has also scored the most runs on the team with 19.
The Sycamores will wrap up the season
May 8-9 at home against Wichita State in a series that will be important, in order to have a chance at being in the top eight in the MVC standings for a berth into the MVC tournament.
“I think goals are just to play good softball,” Coldren said. “If we play well, we still have two weekends left that we can move up in the rankings, and that’s obvious. Our goal is to move up in those rankings and qualify for the conference tournament.”
The Sycamores sit in 10th place in the MVC standings, while the Missouri State Shockers are in the coveted eighth place, 3.5 games ahead of ISU. If the Shockers win three of their final six games, the Sycamores will be eliminated from postseason play.
The Sycamores will go head to head with the Shockers (14-28, 9-10 MVC) this weekend in a 3-game series.
The Sycamores have been working throughout the week so they can win against Missouri State.
“We have been working on being aggressive offensively and defensively,” Coldren said. “The Missouri State team really likes to run, and we are going to have to be aggressive and come get balls because they will try to take the extra base. And the other thing is communication.”
The Sycamores will travel to Missouri State for the 3-game series. The first two games will begin at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday and the final game will be played at 1 p.m. Sunday in Springfield, Mo.
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