April 22, 2010
ILLINOIS STATE (25-14, 13-3 MVC) VS MISSOURI STATE (14-25, 9-8 MVC)
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| Game 1 |
Saturday, April. 24 vs. Missouri State (noon) | Audio |
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| Game 2 |
Saturday, April. 24 vs. Missouri State (2:30 p.m.) | Audio |
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| Game 3 |
Sunday, April 25 vs. Missouri State (noon) | Audio |
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Location
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Springfield, Mo. | Killian Softball Complex
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| Radio |
 WJBC.com (Kyle Anderson| Play-by-Play)
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| Game Notes |
Illinois State Notes in PDF Format |
NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State softball team enters its three-game series against Missouri State in a tie for first place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with Southern Illinois. The Redbirds and the Bears will play a three-game series Saturday-Sunday, in Springfield, Mo. The first pitch Saturday is slated to begin at noon.
The all-time series against Missouri State is the second-longest for Illinois State against any opponent in program history, spanning 78 games, second only to the ISU-Southern Illinois series (114 games). The Redbirds lead the all-time series against the Bears, 51-28.
Illinois State (25-14, 13-3 MVC) split a two-game series against Missouri State (14-25, 9-8 MVC) last season in Normal, Ill. The Redbirds lost the series opener, 3-2, but rallied back and won the second game by five runs, 7-2.
Missouri State heads into the weekend series in fifth place of the Valley, but the Bears are coming off of a win over MVC rival Drake, 6-0. The Bears fell to the Bulldogs twice in Saturday’s (April 17) doubleheader in Des Moines, Iowa. The Bears have a league mark of 9-8
Missouri State is hitting .259 as a team through 39 games. The Bears have 258 hits and have driven in 114 runs on the year. Missouri State’s leading hitter is Jenna Schwark, who owns a batting average of .345 with 39 hits. In the circle, the Bears pitchers own a 3.49 team ERA. Missouri State pitchers have struck out 168 opposing batters.
At the plate, Illinois State is led by Kara Nelson, who leads the team and the Valley with 58 hits and a .430 batting average. Another strong presence at the plate is junior third baseman Abby Olson, whose 14 home runs lead all ISU batters. In ISU’s last two games, Jessica Roche has been perfect at the plate going 6-for-6 with two RBI and a double.
The Redbirds' pitching staff owns a combined 3.92 ERA entering this weekend's series. ISU is holding opposing batters to a .242 batting average. The Redbird pitchers are led by Jordan Birch, who grabbed a win Wednesday against Indiana State to improve her season record to 13-6.
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