March 11, 2011
-
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Illinois State softball team will conclude the early part of its road schedule at the Missouri DeMarini Invitational this weekend in Columbia, Mo. The Redbirds (12-8) are slated to play three contests, with two coming against host No. 14/18 Missouri Saturday and Sunday, and the other against in-state rival Illinois Saturday evening.
"This weekend will be a great test for us because we have had the opportunity to play Missouri [earlier this season]," head coach Melinda Fischer said. "I thought the first time we played them we were able to hit with them, but we made some mistakes and were not able to contain their bats."
Illinois State finished 3-3 last weekend at the Citrus Classic in Orlando, Fla., earning wins over Maryland, Temple and Longwood. Senior Kara Nelson became ISU's all-time hit leader after notching her 248th-career hit on a two-run single against the Terrapins that gave the Redbirds the lead for good. Nelson leads Illinois State with a .451 batting average and is tied for the team lead with three triples.
Senior Abby Olson is poised to make history of her own and needs just three more home runs to become the career home run leader at ISU. Olson leads the Missouri Valley Conference with six homers and 19 RBI this season and leads the Redbirds with six doubles and an .898 slugging percentage.
Illinois State will open the DeMarini Invitational Saturday at 12 p.m., with a game against Missouri (12-3) and play the Tigers again Sunday at 12 p.m. to conclude the two-day event. Missouri defeated the Redbirds, 8-2, earlier this season at the USF Fairfield Inn and Suites Tampa North Tournament in Tampa, Fla. ISU jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, before the Tigers scored seven unanswered runs to seal the win. Missouri's Chelsea Thomas was honored with a pair of national player of the week awards after tossing two perfect games last weekend against MVC members Drake and Missouri State. Thomas completed the weekend with a 3-0 record, tallied 36 strikeouts and limited opposing hitters to a .048 average.
"Missouri is a team that is very solid throughout their lineup, from an offensive standpoint, and now with Thomas getting some more innings, I think their pitching staff has really solidified," Fischer said. "They are a team that has gone to Women's College World Series and they know what they want to do and have a path that they are trying to take to get there. I feel that they are a team that if we can contain and can give very few runs to begin with we can stay in the game, and if we stay in the ballgame we have a chance to beat them."
The Redbirds will take on rival Illinois (9-6) Saturday at 5 p.m. in the first of three scheduled meetings this season between the two squads. The Illini won the latest meeting, 5-1, last season in Normal, Ill., and have tallied five-straight wins over ISU. Danielle Vaji leads Illinois with a .405 batting average, while the trio of Meredith Hackett, Hollie Pinchback and Jessica Davis has combined for eight home runs and 44 RBI. In the circle, Pepper Gay leads the Illini with a 2.33 ERA, a 5-3 record, and 42 strikeouts in 48.0 innings of work.
"Illinois is very similar [to Missouri] from an offensive standpoint," Fischer said. "We watched them a couple of times in Orlando and they have their big bats back from last year. They had a great season last year and are a total program. We will get an opportunity to play them Saturday, get another shot at them next Tuesday and then play them later this season in April."
The DeMarini Invitational will mark the end of 23-straight road games for the Redbirds, as they are scheduled to host Illinois, March 15, in their home opener at Marian Kneer Stadium.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
