March 24, 2006
NORMAL, Ill. -
With a total of eight games cancelled due to inclement weather this season, Illinois State head coach Melinda Fischer and her softball team are looking forward to getting back on the field and competing in their second Missouri Valley Conference series this weekend. The Redbirds will travel down I-74 to take on Bradley in a noon doubleheader on Saturday at Laura Bradley Park in Peoria, Ill.
"What's been really difficult for us the past two weeks is developing any form of consistency," Fischer said. "It's hard to go from being outside one weekend to having to be indoors for a couple weeks. We've made some strides and made some improvements since the beginning of the season, but we need to consistently be outside to keep developing that. We just need to plug along and do what we can to imitate what it's like to play outside. Right now any game experience we get is very valuable."
The `Birds (14-7, 3-0) will need to be on their game this weekend as they face a hot Bradley team (10-9, 1-1) that is coming off a 15-3 five-inning win over league-favorite Wichita State in Wichita, Kan. The Braves, who need just three more wins to improve on last year's conference record, have gotten off to strong start under first-year head coach Buddy Foster.
"Bradley's win against Wichita (State) last weekend was huge. They put together a tremendous game and beat a veteran team very soundly," Fischer said. "Buddy's done a great job with this team. He's got a good mix of speed and power and they've got some seniors in key positions. They have four hitters batting around .300, and Buddy appears to have his pitching staff right where they should be. It seems that the mix of his style and the team maturing from last year has helped them be successful this season."
After sweeping Creighton to open conference play, the Redbirds, along with Southern Illinois and Missouri State, sit atop the Valley standings. With a sweep of the Braves this weekend, ISU would improve to 6-0 in the Valley. The last time the Redbirds started off 6-0 in the conference, they went on to win the regular season conference title in 2003.
Illinois State, which leads the all-time series 40-14, has lost on Bradley's home field only six times since 1984.
