March 6, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State softball team's (10-10) three-game non-conference series against Western Kentucky (9-8) in Bowling Green, Ky., originally scheduled to begin with a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. Saturday and a single game at noon Sunday, has been changed to a single game at 3 p.m. Saturday, followed by a doubleheader beginning at noon Sunday due to wintery conditions that are expected in the Bowling Green, Ky., area this weekend.
Illinois State and Western Kentucky will be meeting for the eighth time in the series history when the two teams square off Saturday afternoon, with the Redbirds holding a 5-2 edge in the all-time series. The all-time series dates back to the 2001 season, when the Redbirds recorded a 4-2 win over the Hilltoppers in Bowling Green, Ky. All seven games in the all-time series have been played in Bowling Green.
Illinois State is coming off a 4-1 record at the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga., last Friday-Sunday. There, the Redbirds picked up their first win of the season over a ranked opponent (2-0 over No. 23 North Carolina), while junior pitcher/first baseman Amber Smith was named to the all-tournament team, and freshman designated player Abby Olson earned State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week honors for her stellar offensive performance at the tournament. Olson hit a team-best .357 with a grand slam and eight RBI, including an ISU single-game-record-tying six RBI against UNC-Charlotte Feb. 29.
