Sept. 30, 2005
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Redbird softball team will get in its last bit of preparation for the 2006 season as it hosts the Illinois State Fall Classic on Saturday and Alumni Day at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Redbird Softball Complex.
Bradley and Lake Land College (in Mattoon) are the other schools participating in the tournament on Saturday. They will face each other at 11 a.m., followed by the `Birds taking on the Braves at 1 p.m. Illinois State will wrap-up the tournament with a 3 p.m. game against Lake Land.
"There's no time limit this weekend so that will make it more like our games in the spring. And we're having free substitution, which makes the game go a lot faster," ISU head coach Melinda Fischer said.
"We thought we were going to be back to full strength this weekend, but then Kelsey (Warning) started having back spasms and Marilyn (Tresenriter) has had some problems with her knee," Fischer said. "Kelsey's been a big part of our lineup this fall, and I think people will be able to tell when she's not in there. She's a real competitor. But we will have Randi (Patton) and Jackie (Williams) back this weekend.
On Sunday, eight former softball all-Americans will be among the 14 players returning to Normal for Alumni Day.
"What our program is all about is what people will see on Sunday. These are people who we're proud of for their accomplishments as players and for their accomplishments as people," Fischer said. "I don't think there's any way you can ever replace experience. You may have players with more enthusiasm or more talent, but you can't replace experience. This will be a great opportunity for our team to go up against the lineup the alumni will have on Sunday. Our new kids will learn a lot about our program this weekend."
