March 17, 2006
NORMAL, Ill. -
If the members of the Illinois State softball team want a shot at the Missouri Valley Conference title this season, they will have to get through reigning three-time conference tournament champion Creighton this weekend in the league's opening series, which begins with a noon doubleheader on Saturday at Redbird Softball Complex. The `Birds wrap up the three-game series with a noon contest on Sunday.
Brent Vigness' Bluejays (10-8) have a new look this season as he returns just four position starters from last year's NCAA Tournament team. CU will also be without its top two pitchers from the past three seasons. Senior southpaw Stephanie Cortese, who made only 11 appearances in 2005, leads the squad with a 1.38 ERA, 13 appearances and 64 strikeouts.
"On paper our teams look very similar in terms of starters returning at certain positions, but where we're different is in the circle," ISU head coach Melinda Fischer said. "Cortese has been in their program for a while, but she hasn't had the game experience that Shannon (Nicholson) and Stacy (Birk) have had.
"Creighton brings a lot of things to the game," Fischer said, "but we really don't know a lot about their pitching this year. Brent (Vigness) always has a solid team, usually combining both the running and power aspects of the game. We need to be ready for anything."
ISU (11-7), which opens Missouri Valley Conference play at home for the fifth straight season, will be looking to defend its home turf better than it did last season as the Redbirds finished just over .500 with a 9-8 record in 2005. It was Illinois State's poorest showing on its home field since the facility opened prior to the 1999 seasons.
"We really struggled at home last year," Fischer said. "It's really important that we battle every time we play at home. We've got to be able to take care of what we're familiar with."
Illinois State is 26-22 all-time against the Bluejays; however, Creighton has won eight of the last 11 games. Last season ISU dropped two of its three regular season games in Omaha, and then fell to the `Jays in the first game of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The Redbirds will be looking to reverse their fortunes against the Bluejays this weekend. In 2004, the last time ISU hosted Creighton at Redbird Softball Complex, the `Birds were swept in three games.
Fischer hopes that the competitive and diverse pre-conference schedule, including seven games against NFCA Top 25 teams, that she put together this season has prepared her players well for the upcoming battle in the conference.
"It's been an interesting mix of different things that our opponents have thrown at us so far this season," Fischer said, "and I think that's good for us. We've gone up against a lot of top 25 teams, a lot of teams that put the ball in play and tested our defense. We've also faced a lot of strong pitching, and a lot of different styles of pitching. We've seen a lot and hopefully we'll be able to draw upon that once the conference season gets underway."
