Jan. 27, 2010
ST. LOUIS -
The Illinois State softball team was picked to finish fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll Wednesday. Junior Abby Olson was the lone Redbird to be named to the Preseason All-Valley Team for her performance at third base.
Illinois State earned the No. 5 preseason ranking in the coaches' poll with 66 points. Creighton, which is coming off of its third-straight MVC regular-season title, finished first in The Valley Preseason Poll with 97 out of a possible 100 points, including eight-of-10 first-place votes.
"Creighton is deserving of the No. 1 spot, but after that it could be anyone's ball game based on returning players," said head coach Melinda Fischer. "To me, the Valley is going to be stronger than ever. Everyone is going to have to come to play every day. It seems that year after year we get more consistent within our league and that is a really good thing. Teams have done a good job with preseason scheduling and that will only help make our conference stronger."
Southern Illinois earned the No. 2 preseason ranking with 85 points and one first-place vote. Northern Iowa was picked third in the poll with a total of 77 points. Drake received one first-place vote and had a total of 71 votes putting them in fourth place. Illinois State rounded out the top-five, while Wichita State (47), Missouri State (36), Bradley (33), Indiana State (21) and Evansville (17) finished sixth through 10th, respectively.
ISU's No. 5 preseason selection follows a 24-26 overall record during the 2009 season, which included a fifth-place finish in The Valley (12-11). The Redbirds return 12 letterwinners and six starters in 2010.
Northern Iowa had the most preseason All-Valley selections with four, while Southern Illinois had three honorees.
Olson, a two-time preseason All-Valley honoree, had a strong showing her sophomore year. Olson was named to the 2009 All-Valley First Team and the 2009 NFCA Mideast All-Region Team. She received the MVC Co-Player of the Week honor (April 20). She led the team in batting average (.338), on base percentage (.432) and home runs (11). For the 2009 season, she recorded 30 RBIs.
"Abby had a great season last year and did a lot for us on the offensive and defensive side of the ball," said Fischer. "We want Abby to play like she is capable of playing. As long as Abby is able to keep things in perspective, she will be able to produce the way that we think that she can. Anytime you get named to the Presason All-Valley Team it is certainly an honor, and I think she is very deserving of this recognition."
Illinois State will open its 2010 season Friday, Feb. 12, at the USF-DeMarini Tournament in Clearwater, Fla. The Redbirds are slated to open the tournament at 12:30 p.m. CST Feb. 12 against East Carolina.
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