Off to its best start since the 1988 campaign, the Illinois State softball team (14-4) will look to continue its five-game winning streak when Illinois comes to town for the Redbirds home opener Tuesday. The Birds will take on the Fighting Illini in a 3 p.m. doubleheader at Redbird Softball Complex.
Things seem to be coming together for the Redbirds at the right time. Last weekend at the Western Kentucky Hilltopper Classic, Illinois State used strong pitching, defense and offense to grab the tourney title. The Redbirds had a team ERA of 0.56, including four wins, two shutouts and a no hitter. ISU also got its bats going racking up a team average of .343 with 32 runs, 35 hits and 29 RBI. On defense, the Birds compiled a .974 fielding percentage. Jen Wright earned MVP accolades, while Dominique Borba, Tricia Gaither and Shannon Nicholson were named to the all-tournament team.
Head coach
Melinda Fischer and her Redbirds are excited to be home after playing their first 18 games on the road.
It will be really good to play on our field, since we havent been able to do that yet this year, Fischer said. This is a big week for us; well definitely find out this week what were made of. Then we start the conference at the end of the week and we want to get off on the right foot.
The 1988 team, which also started out 14-4, won the Gateway Conference Tournament, making the programs first trip to the NCAA Tournament. At that time, ISU was ranked in the top 20 all season, ultimately finishing 39-12. Only two of Fischers teams have finished with more wins than 1988 ... the 1995 team (46-14), which wrapped up its season in the NCAA Tourney; and the 1987 squad (41-20), which finished its season in the NIT.
Our team has really done a nice job this season, Fischer said. Weve been able to fight back in some games, hang in there in others and take an early lead in some games. One great thing about this team is that weve been able to see improvement in them nearly every time they step on the field, and thats a great thing to have.
ISU is 12-7 in home openers under Fischer. Illinois State is 1-3 all-time against the Illini, with its lone victory coming in 2004. The Redbirds won the second game of a doubleheader in Champaign, 3-0 on March 10, 2004. Stacy Birks three-run homer was all the Birds needed to get by the Orange and Blue. ISU dropped the opener, 6-5, a game that included four home runs between the two teams. The Birds also took on the Illini in the Chicagoland Fall Classic in September 2004, with ISU coming out a 4-3 winner. Illinois is 1-3 against ranked foes in 2005, while the Redbirds are 2-1.
