May 4, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. -
Entering the final weekend of Missouri Valley Conference play, the No. 22 Illinois State softball team hosts Missouri State at Redbird Softball Complex on May 5-6. With the No. 2 tournament seed on the line, the Redbirds will take on the Bears in a Saturday doubleheader starting at noon, with Sunday's rubbermatch also beginning at noon. Sunday will also be Senior Day at Redbird Softball Complex and a ceremony will be held at the conclusion of the game to honor the four seniors on ISU's roster: Stacy Birk, Shannon Nicholson, Kelsey Warning and Jackie Williams.
Missouri State currently sits in fifth place in the conference standings with its 21-25, 10-11 MVC record. Most recently, the Bears dropped a home series to Drake. After winning the first game 8-0, MSU dropped two straight to the Bulldogs, 5-3 and 6-4, in Springfield, Mo.
Illinois State owns a decisive lead in the all-time series with the Bears, boasting a 46-24 record against MSU. The `Birds defeated Missouri State in the final weekend of league play last season to claim the regular-season title, but the Bears took the last decision at the 2006 State Farm Missouri State Tournament on May 12, 2006, defeating the `Birds, 4-0, as the Bears advanced to the tournament championship game.
Winning its first Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title since 2003, the Illinois State softball team took a pair of wins from Missouri State on the Bears' home field in the last weekend of regular-season play to win the 2006 league crown. A pair of strong performances in the circle from Birk and timely hitting from the Redbird offense helped ISU win 5-0 and 6-1 to also earn the No. 1 seed in the `06 State Farm MVC Tournament. Randi Patton and Tricia Gaither each finished the day with three hits, while Patton and Amber Smith were the RBI leaders with three apiece. Gaither and Warning also chipped in two RBI each.
After the Illinois State softball team beat up on Missouri State (outscoring them 11-1) the week before, the Bears exacted some revenge as they claimed a 4-0 victory over the Redbirds at the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The `Birds got on base, but they just couldn't get around to score as eight runners were stranded on the base paths.
The Redbirds will continue the season at home next week, when Illinois State University hosts the 2007 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Softball Tournament in Normal, Ill. Tournament pairings will be available on Sunday at the conclusion of each league series.
