Schutt Sports Invitational Awaits ISU Softball

Feb. 14, 2008

After a 2-3 start to the 2008 season, which included being shutout in two-straight games, something that had not happened since the 2006 season, the Illinois State softball team is primed for a weekend in which it tries gets both its hitting and its pitching in sync. In order to do so, the Redbirds will have to go up against their toughest competition yet, as they face ranked opponents (Georgia and Ohio State) for the first time this season at Friday-Sunday's Schutt Sports Invitational in Miami.

Illinois State will first take on Providence College at 2 p.m. CST Friday, before it faces off against tournament host Florida International at 7 p.m. CST. Saturday's schedule will see the Redbirds take on No. 21/23 Georgia at 11:30 a.m. CST, before ISU squares up with its second ranked opponent of the day, No. 18/19 Ohio State at 2 p.m. CST. The Redbirds will conclude their time in Miami Sunday with a 10:30 a.m. CST rematch with Florida International.

"Last weekend (at the Central Florida Tournament in Orlando), we saw a lot of positives and we certainly saw some things that we need to concentrate on," Illinois State head softball coach Melinda Fischer said. "We are really trying to take care of the process and improve every time that we get on the field. We're not so much concerned with who we are playing as we are with what we are trying to accomplish in our program."

UPDATING THE REDBIRDS
Illinois State started its season at the Central Florida Tournament (Feb. 8-10) in Orlando. After easily defeating Central Arkansas by a 7-2 score Friday, things quickly turned south for the Redbirds, as they then lost two-straight games to host Central Florida (5-0) and regional rival Kansas (6-0). A two-hitter by sophomore walk-on Amy Mitchell righted the ship in ISU's 7-3 win over North Carolina State Saturday, as ISU entered the final day of the tournament as the No. 3 seed in bracket play. There, the Redbirds once again went up against Kansas, the No. 2 seed, Sunday for the right to play Central Florida in the tournament's championship game. Both sides traded runs early on, before the Jayhawks got the best of ISU in the bottom of the 10th inning to take the 4-3 victory

The Redbirds were led offensively at the Central Florida Tournament by the duo of senior second baseman Tiffany Prager and junior pitcher/first baseman Amber Smith, who each hit .500 on the weekend (Smith: 9-for-18; Prager: 8-for-16). Smith tied a career-high for hits in a game (four) against NC State, while Prager tied her career high for doubles in a game with a pair of two-baggers in the season-opening win over Central Arkansas.

AGAINST THE TOURNAMENT FIELD
Illinois State is 11-6 all-time against the four teams that it will face this weekend at the Schutt Sports Invitational. The Redbirds lead just one of the three all-time series (ISU has never faced Providence College), as Illinois State holds a slim, 4-3 advantage over Ohio State. ISU picked up two victories last season over Georgia, including a 3-0 shutout over the then-No. 18 Bulldogs Feb. 23, 2007. Despite ISU's 10-3 victory over Florida International last year, the Golden Panthers hold the upper hand in the all-time series with a 5-2 advantage

DOUBLE OR NOTHING
Senior second baseman Tiffany Prager has always had a penchant for finding the gap with timely doubles. After all, she led ISU in 2007 with 16 two-baggers. It was no surprise then that she led the team at the Central Florida Tournament (Feb. 8-10) with three doubles. What is surprising, however, is how early in the season she recorded her third double. Last year, Prager did not hit her third double until ISU's 12th game of the season (Feb. 24, 2007, versus Lehigh). This year, Prager's third double came in the team's fifth game of the season against Kansas.

HITTING AND PITCHING NOTABLES
➢ The top third of the Redbird lineup was on fire at the Central Florida Tournament, as ISU's one through three hitters (Kara Nelson, Tiffany Prager and Amber Smith) had a combined .451 batting average (10-for-51) over five games.
➢ Despite yielding a combined 36 walks over the team's first three games of the season, the Redbird pitchers have yet to give up a home run this season. This is a trend that continues from last season, when ISU's pitchers allowed just 24 long balls in 62 games (0.4 home runs per game).
➢ Illinois State is 2-0 this season when its pitchers give up at least one run in the first inning of a game.