Its been a big week for the Illinois State softball team as head coach
Melinda Fischer achieved her 600th ISU win, while senior Emily Krueger broke the schools single-season home run record and tied the Valley standard.
The Redbirds will look to continue their march toward a fourth-straight Missouri Valley Conference regular season title with a three-game series at Southwest Missouri State this weekend. The Birds swing into action with a noon doubleheader Saturday in Springfield, Mo. The series will conclude with a noon match-up on Sunday.
This is a critical weekend for us. Actually every weekend will be a big weekend for us from here on out, head coach
Melinda Fischer said. It is going to be a tight race to the finish (for the Valley title). Weve got to come ready to play every inning of every ball game.
The first game of the series will mark the 61st meeting between Illinois State (23-14-1, 9-5) and SMS (22-20, 6-8). The Redbirds hold a 40-20 advantage in the all-time series and enter with a three-game win streak. ISU took the series last season with wins of 2-1 and 8-0.
SMS, which is coming off two wins over UMKC on Tuesday (5-4, 5-0), is 8-7 against Creighton, Kansas, Southeast Missouri State, Bradley, Indiana State, Southern Illinois and Drake, while the Birds are 10-6 against those common foes. However, the Bears do own a 5-1 win over Creighton that Illinois State covets as the Bluejays escaped Normal with a series sweep in the Valley opener.
I dont feel like I know about their team as much as I know about some other teams in the conference, Fischer said. What I do know is that they have a really strong team offensively, and weve got to be ready for that.
Offensively, SMS is led by sophomore leadoff hitter Sara Cole. Cole, who plays right field, is batting .305 with 39 hits this season. The Bears have three players, including Cole, who are hitting around .300 this season. Sophomores Amanda Herbster (11-8) and Lindsey Major (9-8) share the majority of the pitching duties.
The Redbirds have a special connection to SMS in former Bear and current ISU assistant coach
Tina Kramos. Kramos earned three letters with the Bears from 1991-1995 and captured All-Valley honors her final two seasons. In the SMS softball record books, she ranks No. 4 in career runs scored (94) and career triples (11), while holding the No. 6 spot in RBI (73). She was inducted into the Southwest Missouri State Athletics Hall of Fame on February 7, 2004. Kramos, who was a member of the 2002 Greek National Team, is currently training for the 2004 Athens Olympics.
Fischer and her team hope to tighten up the Valley regular season race this weekend. Currently, Southern Illinois sits atop the standings at 10-3 followed by Wichita State at 11-4. Creighton is in the No. 3 spot at 8-3, with Illinois State and Bradley nipping at their heels at 9-5. The Birds have a slight advantage since theyve already completed their games against SIU, Creighton and Bradley, while the top three teams havent even played each other yet.
