Feb. 9, 2008
ORLANDO -
It took until 9 p.m. EST before the opponent was known, but the Illinois State softball team finally knows who it will play in Sunday's bracket play during the final day of the Central Florida Tournament from the UCF Softball Complex in Orlando. Illinois State will take on Kansas for the second time in as many days at 10 a.m. CST, as ISU will be the No. 3 seed in bracket play, while KU will be the No. 2 seed.
After Illinois State finished off North Carolina State Saturday afternoon with an explosive offensive effort that produced 12 hits and seven runs for a 7-3 victory over the Wolfpack, the Redbirds were forced to wait until the final two games of the tournament (Central Arkansas versus NC State and Central Arkansas versus Central Florida) were played before they knew their fate for the tournament's final day. UCF defeated Central Arkansas, 11-3, Saturday night to take the tournament's No. 1 seed into the final day of play, which set ISU up for its rematch against Kansas.
Illinois State earned the No. 3 seed in bracket play with a 2-2 tournament record entering Sunday's game. NC State also has a 2-2 record in the tournament, but the Redbirds' victory over the Wolfpack (7-3) Saturday gave ISU the tournament tiebreaker over NC State.
Illinois State and Kansas have met on the softball field 26 times prior to Sunday's 10 a.m. CST matchup. With a 6-0 shutout over the Redbirds Saturday, Kansas now owns a 14-12 advantage over Illinois State in the all-time series. The Redbirds' losing streak in the all-time series stands at two-straight, as prior to Saturday's loss, Illinois State lost the last game in the series, 4-3, in 2004.
Illinois State and Kansas last met twice in the same season in 1993 when the two teams split their two games in tournament play. On March 5, 1993, ISU took down KU, 6-3, but the Redbirds suffered a 9-0 shutout two days later (March 7, 1993).
Live stats for Sunday's Illinois State-Kansas game will be available on GoRedbirds.com at the start of the game.
