April 1, 2010
ILLINOIS STATE (14-10, 2-0 MVC) VS NORTHERN IOWA (16-11, 4-0 MVC)
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| Game 1 |
Friday, April. 2 vs. Northern Iowa (2 p.m.) | Audio |
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| Game 2 |
Friday, April. 2 vs. Northern Iowa (4 p.m.) | Audio |
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| Game 3 |
Saturday, April 3 vs. Northern Iowa (noon) | Audio |
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Location
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Cedar Falls, Iowa | Robinson-Dresser Sports Complex
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| Radio |
 WJBC.com (Kyle Anderson| Play-by-Play)
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NORMAL, Ill.– After a mid-week doubleheader against in-state rival Western Illinois, the Illinois State softball team will head to Cedar Falls, Iowa, for its first Missouri Valley Conference road game against Northern Iowa Friday-Saturday. Friday's game will begin at noon at the Robinson-Dresser Sports Complex.
Live stats for the three-game series between Illinois State and Northern Iowa will be available on GoRedbirds.com.
Northern Iowa (16-11, 4-0 MVC) swept MVC rival Indiana State in a three-game series March 27-28. The Panthers are led by Jen Larsen, who is batting a .408 and leads the team with 31 hits. Larsen has four doubles and three homers on the season.
Illinois State (14-10, 2-0 MVC) has a commanding lead in the all-time series against Northern Iowa, owning a 56-15 advantage over the Panthers. Last season, ISU defeated UNI twice in a three-game series. The Redbirds topped the Panthers in two games, April 25, at the Marian Kneer Softball Stadium. In the first game, ISU won by a score of 4-3, while defeating UNI, 7-4, in the second game. In Sunday’s series finale, Northern Iowa won by one run, 5-4.
In Illinois State’s doubleheader sweep over Western Illinois, Illinois State was led by Lauren Kellar, who was 3-for-6 at the plate, recording a double and the second homer of her career. The freshman outfielder drove in three Redbird runs and tallied seven total bases with a slugging percentage of 1.167.
On Monday, Kara Nelson was named the MVC Player of the Week for her top-notch performance at the plate against Wichita State in Saturday’s (March 27) two Redbird wins.
Nelson was another top performer at the plate for the Redbirds in Wednesday’s victory. The second baseman scored four runs on three hits, including two doubles and a home run. Nelson totaled eight bases over the two games with a batting average of .429.
The Redbirds' pitching staff owns a combined 4.34 ERA entering the three-game series. ISU is holding opposing batters to a .294 batting average. Jordan Birch shutout Western Illinois in the Redbirds’ second victory Wednesday, 6-0, which was the third shutout of the season for the Redbird pitching staff.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, TRC gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
