April 14, 2010
ILLINOIS STATE (22-11, 10-0 MVC) VS DRAKE (24-11, 5-4 MVC) | NORMAL, Ill.
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| Game 1 |
Thursday, April. 15 vs. Drake (4 p.m.) | Audio | Video |
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| Game 2 |
Thursday, April. 15 vs. Drake (6 p.m.) | Audio | Video |
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Location
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Normal, Ill. | Marian Kneer Softball Stadium
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| Radio |
 WJBC.com (Kyle Anderson| Play-by-Play)
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NORMAL, Ill. – After falling to No. 18 Illinois and snapping a 12-game winning streak, the Illinois State softball team will return to Missouri Valley Conference play Thursday, as they host Drake in a mid-week doubleheader at the Marian Kneer Softball Stadium. The first game is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
Live stats for the doubleheader between Illinois State and Drake will be available on GoRedbirds.com.
Drake (24-11, 5-4 MVC) won two games Saturday against Northern Iowa, but fell in the series finale, 1-0. The Bulldogs are led by Erin Mollohan, who is batting a .358 and leads the team with 34 hits and 20 RBI. Mollohan has 13 doubles and four home runs on the season.
Illinois State (22-11, 10-0 MVC) has a commanding lead in the all-time series against Drake, owning a 51-18 advantage over the Bulldogs. Last season, ISU defeated Drake only once in a three-game series. Each contest in the three-game series between Illinois State and Drake was a one-run game. In the first game, ISU fell by a score of 1-0, while defeating Drake, 3-2, in the second game. In Sunday’s series finale, the Bulldogs won by one run, 7-6.
Kara Nelson leads the ISU offense in several categories. Nelson has a batting average of .444, with 52 hits and 34 runs. She has also hit 14 doubles, which is eight more than any other Redbird batter.
Another strong force in the batter’s box is Abby Olson. She has driven in 41 Redbird runs on 40 hits. The junior third baseman has a slugging percentage of .917, after hitting 14 home runs and six doubles.
The Redbirds' pitching staff owns a combined 4.12 ERA entering Thursday’s doubleheader. ISU is holding opposing batters to a .246 batting average. Jordan Birch had a no-hitter going through five innings Saturday against Evansville, but lost the bid on a blooper to right field. Birch grabbed the win and improved her record to 11-5, which is the most wins by an ISU pitcher.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, TRC gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
