The Illinois State softball team will wrap up its fall season by facing some familiar foes in both the Bradley Tournament at the EastSide Center in East Peoria and the Stone City Fall Fling in Joliet this weekend.
On Saturday, the Birds will take on Interstate 74, and Missouri Valley Conference rival Bradley at 10:30 a.m., followed by a 12:30 p.m. match-up with Western Illinois. ISU was a combined 3-1 against those teams last season. The loss was a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Braves on March 27 in Peoria. The Redbirds are 45-29 all-time against the Leathernecks, and 35-13 all-time against Bradley.
The following day ISU will travel to Joliet, where they will square off with Grand Valley State at 1 p.m. prior to a 4:30 p.m. contest against Northern Illinois. The Redbirds only previous contest against Grand Valley State resulted in a win, while the Birds hold a 55-31 all-time advantage over the Huskies. The last time they met, on April 27 of this year in DeKalb, Illinois State won an eight-inning thriller, 5-4.
Head coach
Melinda Fischer and her staff are looking forward to one last opportunity to see their team in action before taking a few months off before the 2005 campaign.
Were still looking for different combinations on the field, Fischer said. We want to improve every time we hit the field.
