Feb. 15, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
After a 3-2 start to the 2007 season that included a win over No. 20/21 Louisville and a pair of close games with No. 16 Oklahoma, the Illinois State softball team continues to earn national recognition in both the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top-25 Polls. The Redbirds will have a chance to improve upon those rankings this weekend, as ISU travels to Tempe, Ariz., to compete in the Littlewood Classic, Feb. 16-18.
Illinois State made its debut in the USA Today/NFCA poll, earning three votes from coaches across the country. Tallying a pair of votes in last week's ESPN.com/USA Softball Top-25 rankings, the `Birds increased their vote total to five after last weekend's performance.
The only other Missouri Valley Conference Team earning national notice is Southern Illinois, which claimed the tournament title at the Jacksonville Tournament on Feb. 11 with a 4-1 record. The Salukis tabbed 23 votes in the USA Today/NFCA poll for a No. 30 ranking and received three votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top-25 poll.
"I think these polls are a good barometer to use to see how people across the country view what you've done on a weekly basis," said Redbird head coach Melinda Fischer. "I also think this exposure is tremendous for our conference. The more teams we get mentioned in either of these polls speaks to the strength of our conference and in the long run, helps what we are trying to do at the national level."
Hosted by No. 2 Arizona State, the Littlewood Classic in Tempe, Ariz., will be the second tournament for the Redbirds in the 2007 season. Other teams competing in the three-day tournament are Idaho State, California-Riverside, Iowa and North Carolina. Play begins Friday, Feb. 16 for Illinois State, with the `Birds facing Idaho State at 2p.m. and the Sun Devils at 8:30 p.m.
ISU's games against Idaho State and UC Riverside will be the first in the all-time series between the teams. The Bengals are 0-4 in 2007, playing the first season of softball Idaho State has seen since the 1982-83 campaign. UCR, meanwhile, enters the weekend with a 3-1 record after hosting the UCR Ten Construction Tournament to open the 2007 season. The Highlanders strung together three wins, defeating Northern Colorado (12-2), San Diego (10-2) and San Jose State (5-4), before dropping a 14-0 decision to then-No. 3 UCLA.
Opening the season with a double header against Northwestern State, and then hosting the Kajikawa Classic, Arizona State is off to an impressive 8-0 start to the `07 campaign. The Sun Devils claimed three wins over Northwestern State, and then defeated Syracuse, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Western Michigan, Ohio State and Long Beach State at their tournament on Feb. 9-11. Arizona State owns a commanding 23-1 lead in the series with the `Birds. ISU's lone win came in 2002, when it posted a 3-0 shutout win over the Sun Devils. The two teams met three times in 2006, all at the Littlewood Classic from Feb. 17-19, where ASU shutout Illinois State in all three games for a combined score of 18-0 (8-0, 8-0, 2-0).
Iowa is receiving votes in the national polls with a 4-1 start to the 2007 season. Competing at the Stetson Tournament in DeLand, Fla., the Hawkeyes defeated Howard (11-0), Marist (8-0 and 5-2) before falling to host Stetson, 5-3, on Feb. 10. The Hawkeyes came back to beat Stetson 4-1 in the championship game to claim the tournament crown. Iowa and Illinois State have a storied history dating back to 1981 but Iowa leads the all-time series, 29-15. The teams met three times last season, twice at the Littlewood Classic, while the final meeting came at the NCAA Regional. The Redbirds put an end to the Hawkeye's 2006 season, posting a 3-2 victory in the tournament elimination game. ISU hit two early home runs, courtesy of then-senior Randi Patton and current Redbird Kelsey Warning, and held off a late Iowa rally to come away with the win.
Receiving votes in the current USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Poll, UNC is an even 2-2 in 2007. Hosting the Carolina Classic to kick off the year, North Carolina defeated the College of Charleston (9-1) and Ohio (3-2), while losing to then-No. 2 Tennessee (2-1) and Penn State (11-7). Tied at 1-1 after two meetings in 1989, Sunday's game between the Redbirds and North Carolina will prove to be the tie-breaker in the all-time series. ISU won the first game 5-2 on March 17, 1989 and just two days later, the Tarheels stole a 5-4 decision from the `Birds.
Because of the blizzard that hit the Midwest in the beginning of the week, Illinois State didn't have the opportunity to practice and prepare as usual for this weekend's games but Fischer believes her team will make the appropriate improvements on the field.
"I think this tournament will be a good opportunity to see what our team will do against some great teams," said Fischer. "We saw some really good things last weekend but we also saw some things we need to make improvements on and change to get positive results on the field. Because of the weather at home this week we didn't get much practice. But our goal, each time we step on the field, is to make those improvements. It will be interesting to see how the team responds after not spending much time in preparation for this tournament. We need to focus on exactly what we can do, individually, and as a team, to win games."
