Melinda Fischer and her troop of Redbirds will take a break from conference play this week to face off against Northern Illinois in a doubleheader on Wednesday, April 17, in DeKalb, Ill.
After taking two of three games from Evansville, 4-1, 2-6, 6-2, last weekend, and splitting with No. 16 DePaul on April 9, 3-0, 0-3, Fischer feels that her team needs to stay consistant to keep improving.
I think the biggest thing is for us to keep competing so we can continue to make adjustments, said Fischer. The opportunity to play non-conference games during the week gives a break from the rigors of conference play.
Illinois State has a long history with Northern Illinois having played the Huskies 37 times under Fischer. Last year, the Birds split with the Huskies 4-0, 4-7, holding a 19-18 advantage over the last 16 season. Now, 16-19 overall, 9-3 in the MAC, is hitting a powerful .286 as a team and has five batters hitting over .300.
Northern (Illinois) is a great team, Fischer said. They always have solid defense and great pitching, and were pretty familiar with them. I think it will be great preparation before we meet up with Wichita State this weekend.
The Redbirds still hold the No. 1 spot in the Valley with a 20-13 overall record, 13-2 in the MVC.
The first pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled to take place at 4 p.m. at Mary M. Bell Field.
