Sept. 15, 2006
NORMAL, Ill. -
Still attempting to find the perfect mix on the field, the Illinois State softball team travels to the second of its four fall tournaments at the Chicagoland Fall Classic in Orland Park, Ill. Led by senior captain Jackie Williams, the Redbirds will face Indiana at 10 a.m., followed by back-to-back matchups with DePaul (2 p.m.) and Loyola-Chicago (4 p.m.) on Sunday, Sept. 17.
Williams was three-for-eight at the plate last weekend, with a double and three RBI. The outfielder's seven put-outs helped to lead an ISU defense that allowed just one run in four games on Sept. 9-10., posting a trio of shutouts over Saint Xavier (3-0), Bradley (6-0) and Illinois Central College (1-0).
"Jackie has really stepped it up for us and that was shown last weekend, both offensively and defensively," said Illinois State head coach Melinda Fischer. "Jackie is just a tremendous leader for our team. She is very vocal in the outfield and that is something we need. Playing center field, she is going to have someone on either side of her that hasn't played a lot in one of the fields. Our younger girls need to be watching someone like Jackie, who has had experience in our program, to learn from her and our other team leaders."
Indiana was an at-large NCAA Tournament qualifier in 2006, going 30-25-1 on the year and falling to Utah, 5-1 in the elimination game of the Austin NCAA regional. DePaul fell to top-seeded Louisville in the semifinals of the Big East Conference Championship, 2-1, finishing the 2006 season with an overall record of 33-22.
Loyola snapped Illinois State's 10-game winning streak in 2006, as the Ramblers took game two of an April double-header from the `Birds in Chicago. Ending the season at the 20-41 mark, Loyola ended its 2006 season in a 5-4 loss to Cleveland State in the Horizon League Championship Tournament.
Fischer believes this weekend's games will provide a better understanding of the status of her Redbird squad.
"I'm anxious to play all three games," said Fischer. "Last weekend we played just one Division I school and this time we need to play hard. This weekend will be an extremely challenging weekend for us. Indiana is coming off an at-large bid to regionals. DePaul is typically a regional team and have recently been in the final eight nationally. Loyola is a team that we split with last season. I know we will be challenged in different ways than we were this past weekend just because of the style of softball that each team plays.
"Every time we get the opportunity to step on the field, we want to see some improvement," Fischer continued. "What we'd like to do is be able, through experiences in these games, to pick up some of the things that we still need to cover."
