May 7, 2010
ILLINOIS STATE (29-16, 16-5) VS BRADLEY (15-31, 5-18) | PEORIA, Ill.
|
| Game 1 |
Saturday, May. 8 vs. Bradley (noon) | Audio |
|
| Game 2 |
Saturday, May. 8 vs. Bradley (2:30 p.m.) | Audio |
|
| Game 3 |
Sunday, May 9 vs. Bradley (noon) | Audio |
|
Location
|
Peoria, Ill. | Laura Bradley Park
|
| Radio |
 WJBC.com (Kyle Anderson| Play-by-Play)
|
NORMAL, Ill. –After a week off due to finals, the Illinois State softball team will head to Peoria, Ill., to take on Bradley in its final regular-season series. The three-game series will be held at the Laura Bradley Park Saturday and Sunday. The first game Saturday is set to begin at noon.
Bradley heads into the three-game series in ninth place in the Missouri Valley Conference with a record of 5-18. The Braves were swept by Wichita State last weekend dropping their overall record to 15-31.
Bradley is hitting .242 as a team through 46 games. The Braves have 277 hits and have driven in 123 runs. Bradley is led by Amanda Clack, who has a .331 batting average on 45 hits and 20 runs.
In the circle, Bradley pitchers have a staff ERA of 4.29 with 193 strikeouts so far this season. Clack also leads the Bradley battery with 83 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.60. Clack has thrown one shut out and has two saves this season.
At the plate, Illinois State is led by Kara Nelson, who leads the team and the Valley with 63 hits and a .417 batting average.
After hitting a home run in the series-finale against Creighton (May 2), Abby Olson moved into a second-place tie in the Redbirds’ single-season home run record book. The junior third baseman has 17 homers so far during the 2010 season. With three-regular season games left, Olson still has time to move into a first-place tie or hold the record by herself. The current record is 18 home runs set by Emily Krueger in 2004.
The Redbirds' pitching staff owns a combined 2.89 ERA entering this weekend’s three-game series. ISU is holding opposing batters to a .242 batting average. The Redbird pitchers are led by Jordan Birch, who has a record of 15-7 on the season.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, TRC gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
