Blaine Kinsey, Director of New Media – Indiana State Athletics
TERRE HAUTE, IND.— As the Indiana State Softball team enters year three of the Shane Bouman era, the Sycamores look to make their mark on the Missouri Valley Conference and the nation in a unique way.
When attending Indiana State games this spring, fans will notice there is no team that out hustles or has more positive energy than the Sycamores both on and off the field which Coach Bouman hopes to translate into positives on the field.
Last season, the Sycamores tied a Missouri Valley Conference record with 100 stolen bases in 50 games played. That number kept the team in the top 10 nationally for the majority of the season. Now senior, Morgan Allee, led the way for the Sycamores with an ISU record 36 stolen bases and just missed the Missouri Valley Conference record of 37 in her first season wearing a Sycamore Uniform. In all, 12 different Sycamores recorded a stolen base during the 2012-13 season.
Already during the fall portion of the season, the Sycamores finished a perfect 8-0 with wins over Indiana and the University of Illinois Chicago. The Sycamores will be looking to make the largest turnaround in Missouri Valley Conference history by finishing in the top half of the final standings.
This season’s squad will feature nine returners, led by seniors Allee and Shelby Wilson, who each earned All-Missouri Valley Conference honors last season, and who will be joined by eight newcomers to make up the 2014 edition of the Indiana State Softball Team.
Also returning from last year’s squad are: junior Megan Stone, junior Ashley Dickerson, sophomore Kelsey Montgomery, sophomore Abbie Malchow, sophomore Halle Humphrey and sophomore Alexa Cavin.
They will be joined this season by junior’s Aubre Carpenter and Yvette Alvarez, sophomore Taylor Lockwood and freshmen Madison Booe, Kassie Brown, Erika Crissman, Rylee Holland, Brooke Riemenshcneider, and freshman Leah Salmon.
Also new to the team this season is assistant coach Lucas Hileman who will work mainly with the Sycamore outfielders as well as serve as the hitting coach.
The Sycamores open up their 2014 season on Feb. 8 when they travel to Ames, Iowa to take part in the Cyclone Invitational hosted by Iowa State University. The team will also play tournaments in Nashville, Tenn., Bowling Green, Ky., Clearwater, Fla., and Kissimmee, Fla.
