March 5, 2009
ILLINOIS STATE AT STANFORD CLASSIC | STANFORD, CALIF.
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| Dates |
Friday, Feb. 27 - Sunday, March 1
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Location
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Stanford, Calif.
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Friday
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vs. San Diego State (11 a.m. CT)
vs. No. 5/6 Stanford (3:30 p.m. CT)
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Saturday
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vs. Penn State (8 p.m. CT)
vs. Vermont (10:15 p.m. CT)
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Sunday
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vs. UC-Davis (5:45 p.m. CT)
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| Radio |
 WJBC.com (Keith Trivitt | Play-by-Play)
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| Webcast |
 GoStanford.com
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Live Stats
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GoRedbirds.com |
Tournament Info
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Tournament Central |  ISU Game Notes
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Fueled by a recent Missouri Valley Conference Co-Pitcher of the Week honoree (freshman Jordan Birch), along with a strong 2-1 showing at last weekend's rain-shortened NFCA Leadoff Classic, the Illinois State softball team (6-7) is riding a wave of winning momentum into this weekend's Stanford Louisville Slugger Classic in Stanford, Calif.
Illinois State is set to face San Diego State (11 a.m. CT) and tournament host No. 5/6 Stanford (3:30 p.m. CT) Friday. The Redbirds will then take on Penn State (8 p.m. CT) and Vermont (10:15 p.m.) Saturday, before concluding the tournament Sunday against UC-Davis (5:45 p.m. CT).
Live stats and a live radio broadcast of all five of Illinois State's games at the Stanford Louisville Slugger Classic can be found at GoRedbirds.com.
ISU is coming off a 2-1 finish at last weekend's NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga., where five inches of rain, tornado warnings and a major Sunday snowstorm forced three of the Redbirds' originally-scheduled five games at the tournament to either be cancelled or rescheduled. Illinois State defeated Long Island (4-1) and South Carolina (7-0) at the tournament, but fell to No. 20/24 Ohio State, 5-0.
Stanford will represent the Redbirds' third ranked opponent of the season. ISU is 0-2 thus far against ranked foes, having suffered losses to then-No. 3 Arizona State (3-0) and No. 20/24 Ohio State (5-0).
Illinois State is a combined 3-1 all-time against its opponents at the Stanford Louisville Slugger Classic. The Redbirds hold 1-0 series leads against both San Diego State and Penn State, while tournament host Stanford owns a 2-0 series advantage over ISU. The Redbirds have never played Vermont or UC-Davis.
Illinois State last played in California during the 2007 season, when the Redbirds went 4-1 and won the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament in Los Angeles. There, ISU completed a program-first when it defeated two ranked foes on the same day - No. 17 Florida (1-0) and No. 12 UCA (2-1).
The Redbirds are being led at the plate by the hot bat of senior Amber Smith, who was been on a tear of late with a .405 season batting average and six hits in her last 10 at-bats. Also hot for ISU at the plate is junior Niki Stansell, whose .364 batting average is second on the team, while she leads the Redbirds in runs scored (12), hits (16), doubles (4), home runs (3) and slugging percentage (.659).
In the circle, ISU pitchers appear to have found their rhythm, as the pitching staff has dropped its ERA below 4.00 to 3.58. Birch continues to impress after throwing her first-career shutout in a dominating 7-0 win over South Carolina Feb. 27. Birch leads all ISU pitchers with a 1.91 ERA and a 3-3 record. The fire-balling right-hander from Monroe, Wash., has struck out 42 batters against just 10 walks in 36.2 innings pitched, for a 2.21 strikeout-to-walk ratio and an average of 1.16 strikeouts per inning.
For her efforts last weekend, Birch was named The Valley Co-Pitcher of the Week Monday. In doing so, she became the first Illinois State pitcher to be named conference pitcher of the week since former Redbird Stacy Birk won MVC Pitcher of the Week honors March 12, 2007.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, TRC gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
