May 2, 2008
Winners of six-straight games and 15 out of its last 19 contests, the Illinois State softball team (26-18 overall, 15-6 Missouri Valley Conference), which currently owns a two-and-a-half game lead of second place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings, will travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa, Saturday and Sunday to take on ninth-place Northern Iowa (19-26, 4-14 MVC) in the Redbirds' final regular-season conference series of the season. First pitch of Saturday's doubleheader from UNI's Robinson-Dresser Sports Complex is slated for noon, while the Redbirds will conclude regular-season play with a single game at noon Sunday against the Panthers.
Thanks to its recent power surge at the plate, combined with stellar pitching from the duo of juniors Amber Smith and Rachel Smith, Illinois State has risen from a seventh-place standing in The Valley as recently as April 5, to now being within striking distance of securing the No. 2 seed in the upcoming State Farm MVC Tournament (May 8-10 in Carbondale, Ill.). While the Redbirds still have an outside shot of tying current Valley front-runner Creighton for first place in the final conference standings, the Bluejays only need to win one game this weekend, regardless of how ISU fares at Northern Iowa, in order to claim the outright MVC regular-season title.
The Panthers are fighting for the eighth spot in The Valley standings, a position that would allow them to make their first trip to the State Farm MVC Tournament since 2005. Indiana State currently holds the No. 8 spot in the MVC standings (and the final slot in the State Farm MVC Tournament) with a 7-13 conference record.
UNI is led at the plate by three players hitting .300-or-better. Sophomore infielder Megan Machovec leads the team with a .362 batting average that includes team-highs in runs scored (28), hits (50) and stolen bases (8). She is followed by senior infielder Stephanie Aguero (.358 batting average, 34 runs scored, 48 hits, 11 doubles) and sophomore first baseman Jen Larsen (.315 batting average, 40 hits, 31 RBI).
The Panther pitching staff owns a combined 4.71 ERA, second-worst in The Valley. Opponents are hitting .293 off of UNI pitchers this season, which ranks last in the conference. UNI's top pitcher is Jen Larsen, who is 6-12 in the circle with a 3.90 ERA. Larsen has pitched in 25 games this season and averages more walks per appearance (1.8) than strikeouts (1.6).
"Just like all Missouri Valley Conference series, this will be another big conference weekend for us at Northern Iowa," said Illinois State head coach Melinda Fischer. "UNI is coming off of a close loss to Iowa recently (lost, 5-4, April 23 in Iowa City, Iowa) and also played well against Wichita State, picking up a win (6-1 April 26 in Wichita, Kan.) in that series. Northern Iowa seems to be playing well right now, and we have to be ready to play."
Illinois State leads the all-time series against Northern Iowa, 52-13-1, with a 17-3 mark all-time against the Panthers in Cedar Falls, Iowa. ISU has won 10 of the last 13 games in the series, including all three contests last season. The Redbirds have never lost consecutive games to the Panthers.
