Feb. 8, 2007
MIAMI - Escaping the snow and frigid temperatures of central Illinois, the Illinois State softball team kicks off the 2007 season by traveling to Miami to compete in the Diamond Fun & Sun Classic. Hosted by Florida International, the Redbirds will take on No. 16 Oklahoma and FIU on Friday and will then meet Illinois and No. 20 Louisville, Saturday. The tournament champion will be decided by bracket play on Sunday.
Illinois State head coach Melinda Fischer is excited to start the season and meet the competition on the field.
"This is a great tournament for us to start in," said Fischer. "More than anything its an opportunity for us to get outside and on the real playing field. It's also an opportunity for us to play some teams we typically don't see throughout the season. At this point in the season, I don't think it matters who it is, it just matters that we're in a position where we can get out and play."
The `Birds competed at the Diamond Fun & Sun Classic for three consecutive seasons, from 2002-2005, with the last appearance on February 5, 2005 to open the season. In that game, the Redbirds dropped Auburn, 3-2, in the tournament's opening game. Overall, ISU is 16-13 in season openers since 1978, dropping the first game of the 2006 season to then-No. 3 Tennessee, 1-0, at the Coastal Carolina Tournament in Conway, S.C.
Illinois State is on the losing end of the all-times series with both Oklahoma and Florida International. The Sooners own a commanding 10-1 lead in the race, with the last meeting coming in March of 1998 when OU was ranked No. 6 in the nation. Illinois State's only win in the series was in 1988 when the Redbirds defeated Oklahoma in Norman, Okla., 5-2.
ISU and host FIU have met six times on the softball field, all at the Diamond Fun & Sun Classic. The Golden Panthers have earned a 5-1 all-time series lead. In 2005, the last meeting between the two teams, Florida International shut-out the `Birds, 6-0, on February 4. Illinois State's lone win in the series came on January 31, 2004 in a 1-0 win at FIU.
The Fighting Illini lead the Redbirds 4-2 in the all-time race, though the `Birds claimed the last meeting in 2006. Illinois State won 3-2 on April 18, 2006 in a come-from-behind victory in the top of the seventh. Former Redbird Tricia Gaither's sacrifice fly with a pair of runners in scoring position brought in the winning run as the `Birds downed Illinois in Urbana, Ill.
Louisville and ISU have met just three times in the past, with the Redbirds leading the all-time series, 2-1. The Cardinals claimed the first and only win of the series in the teams' first meeting in 2003, a 1-0 decision in Louisville. The last meeting was in 2006 with Illinois State coming out on top, 3-2, in an NFCA Tournament contest on February 24. Redbird sophomore Amber Smith hit a two-run homer in the first inning to highlight the 3-2 victory. The Cardinals were ranked No.24 at gametime and the ISU win was the first victory over a ranked team in seven tries that season.
Fischer is confident in the team and their mindset heading into the tournament.
"We've worked on as much as we can inside," Fischer continued. "We know what our limitations are but in the same respect, these kids have played the game. We hope to start off as strong as we can and we will then evaluate where we are. I think we'll see a lot in these first four games. I believe we'll learn a lot about ourselves as a team, while we rely on the basics and fundamentals of the game."
