April 20, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
The No. 18 Illinois State softball team travels to Omaha, Neb., this weekend to wrap up an eight-game roadtrip and take on the Creighton Bluejays in a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series. The teams will clash in a doubleheader on Saturday starting at noon from the Creighton Sports Complex. The rubber match will follow on Sunday at noon.
The road series is the last of the season for the `Birds, as the Bluejays host their first conference set since March 31-April 1 meetings with Southern Illinois in Omaha. After a disappointing loss to Indiana State on Wednesday, the Redbirds enter the weekend with a 37-10, 13-4 MVC record. The Jays are tied for first in the league race with Southern Illinois and boast an overall record of 30-10, and are 12-3 in Valley play. Creighton opened the Valley slate with sweeps of Missouri State and Wichita State and then picked up a pair of wins over the Salukis on March 31 and April 1. Its three MVC losses have been to SIU (3-1), Evansville (7-3) and most recently, Indiana State (1-0).
Illinois State owns a slim lead in the all-time series with Creighton. The Redbirds own a 29-22 lead in the race that dates back to 1981, before the `Birds started participating in Gateway and Missouri Valley Conference play.
Last season, for the first time since 2002, the Illinois State softball team completed the regular season sweep of Creighton on March 17-18, picking up a pair of wins in a Saturday doubleheader and a 6-0 win in game three at Redbird Softball Complex. A strong performance in the circle by Stacy Birk and some powerful hitting helped the `Birds open Missouri Valley Conference play with a 3-0 record. In the doubleheader on March 17, Illinois State's offense pulled through late, as the Redbirds came from behind to claim a 6-5 win over Creighton. The `Birds then scored early and often in the second game, but had to hold off a Bluejay rally in the seventh to earn an 8-3 victory.
