March 13, 2009
ILLINOIS STATE (11-9) vs. BRADLEY (8-7) | PEORIA, ILL./NORMAL, ILL.
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| Dates |
Saturday, March 14-Sunday, March 15
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Locations
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Saturday - Peoria, Ill./Laura Bradley Park
Sunday - Normal, Ill./Marian Kneer Softball Stadium
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Game Times
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1 p.m. Saturday | Noon Sunday (DH)
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| Radio |
 WJBC.com
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| Webcast |
 None (Saturday) | GoRedbirds.com (Sunday)
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Live Stats
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GoRedbirds.com |
Game Info
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 ISU Game Notes
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Riding a wave of winning momentum that began at the Littlewood Classic (Feb. 13-15 in Tempe, Ariz.), Illinois State will open its 2009 Missouri Valley Conference schedule with a three-game series against in-state rival Bradley at Laura Bradley Park in Peoria, Ill, and at Marian Kneer Softball Stadium in Normal, Ill., Saturday and Sunday. Due to poor field conditions at Marian Kneer Softball Stadium, Saturday's scheduled doubleheader has been rescheduled for a single game at Bradley's Laura Bradley Park, beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday. The teams plan on finishing the series Sunday back in Normal, Ill.
The start time and site of Sunday's games in Normal, Ill., have yet to be announced and are pending the field conditions at Marian Kneer Softball Stadium improving.
Live stats for each game of the Illinois State-Bradley series will be available on GoRedbirds.com.
Illinois State has dominated the all-time series against Bradley, owning a 47-15 advantage over the Braves, with the series dating back to 1983. Last season, ISU secured 8-7 and 5-3 victories over Bradley in rescheduled games that were played in East Peoria, Ill., due to soggy field conditions on Bradley's home field.
The Redbirds are coming off a 4-1 record at last weekend's Stanford Louisville Slugger Classic, plus a 1-1 series at San Jose State. ISU secured wins last weekend over San Diego State (1-0), Penn State (5-4), Vermont (14-0) and UC-Davis (3-1), plus a Tuesday victory over San Jose State (14-2). The Redbirds' only setbacks were to No. 5/6 Stanford (3-0) and a 4-0 loss to San Jose State.
At the plate, Illinois State is led by several hot bats, including the surprising offensive performance of senior catcher Casey Gorrell, who leads the team with a .379 average and a .603 slugging percentage. Especially strong at the plate of late has been third baseman Abby Olson, whose five multiple-RBI games lead all ISU batters. Olson owns a team-high .607 slugging percentage.
In the circle, freshman Jordan Birch continues to be not only Illinois State's top pitcher but also one of the leading pitchers in the pitching-dominant Missouri Valley Conference. Birch is coming of a 3-0 record last weekend in which she picked up her second shutout, as well as her second one-hitter of the season in a 1-0 win over San Diego State. Birch leads ISU with a 6-3 record and a 1.69 ERA.
The Redbirds' pitching staff owns a combined 2.88 ERA entering this weekend's series. ISU is holding opposing batters to a .205 batting average, while Redbird pitchers have a combined 1.65 strikeout-to-walk ratio, a sign that opposing batters are struggling to reach base against ISU's fire-balling starters Birch and Amber Smith (3-5, 4.63 ERA).
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