March 5, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
Posting a 4-1 record on the weekend and defeating three top-25 squads isn't all the Illinois State softball team has to celebrate. The `Birds made program history last weekend when claiming tournament championship honors on Sunday, winning their fourth and final game at the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament in Los Angeles.
There were games left on the schedule when the Redbirds boarded the plane back to Illinois and the title wasn't clear until after games concluded on Sunday. Host UCLA and Illinois State finished in a tie with a 4-1 tourney record, but the `Birds held the tie-breaker over the Bruins after a 2-1 win on Friday March 2, therefore claiming tournament championship honors.
Illinois State head coach Melinda Fischer was proud of what her team has been able to accomplish so early in the season.
"This team has stepped up to the challenge we put in front of them," said Fischer. "So far, we have done the things we set out to do, in terms of winning. I believe the competitive schedule we created for this season has motivated the team and helped them set new goals."
ISU picked up wins over No. 17 Florida (1-0) and No. 12 UCLA on Friday, the first time in program history that the Redbirds have defeated ranked foes on the same day. In 2002, the `Birds picked up back-to-back wins over ranked opponents but that occurred on consecutive days when ISU downed No. 8 Arizona State (3-0) on Feb. 15 and No. 6 Iowa (6-3) on Feb. 16, 2002 at the Arizona State Tournament in Tempe.
Additionally, Illinois State, with its 2-1 record against the Bruins, is one of only five universities across the country that boasts a winning record against UCLA. Of those schools, only one other institution, Indiana in 1998, has played the Bruins in the last 30 years, with the other programs taking on UCLA in the mid 1970's.
"We certainly have some momentum going into this weekend," said Fischer. "I hope our girls can take this week and enjoy what we have accomplished. Our approach for this weekend is the same as it has been since the beginning of this season-a name is only a name, a ranking is just a number, you have to take care of the ball both offensively and defensively to get the results you want."
The Redbirds will look for more of those winning results this weekend as ISU travels to Cape Girardeau, Mo., to compete in the Southeast Missouri State Spring Classic against MVC rival Bradley, IUPUI, SEMO and Belmont.
