April 21, 2011
NORMAL, Ill. - Missouri Valley Conference supremacy will be on the line this weekend when the Illinois State softball team travels to Des Moines, Iowa, for a three-game set with MVC-leading Drake, beginning with a doubleheader Friday at 2 p.m. The Redbirds (28-13, 14-2 MVC) sit just one game behind the Bulldogs (29-15, 15-1 MVC) in the conference standings, as both teams picked up two more wins in MVC doubleheaders Wednesday.
ISU's high-powered offense has led to 13 wins in its last 15 games, as Illinois State leads the Valley in nearly every offensive category. The Redbirds enter the weekend with a .305 batting average and have hit 53 home runs this season. In a pair of wins over Indiana State Wednesday, ISU cleared the fences eight times and senior Abby Olson became the all-time home run leader at Illinois State with her 47th and 48th career shots. Fellow senior Kara Nelson extended her hitting streak to 18 games and tied the school record for career doubles, with her 47th-career two-bagger in game two against the Sycamores. Nelson pushed her league-leading batting average to a staggering .426 with three hits in six at bats against Indiana State.
Junior Liz Andrews and sophomore Elizabeth Kay have also been swinging hot bats for the Redbirds since the beginning of conference play. Kay has belted a team-high 12 home runs this season, with seven coming in league games and leads the MVC with 37 RBI. Andrews is hitting an even .400 with three home runs and nine RBI in Valley games. In the circle, junior Jordan Birch lowered her ERA to 2.80 with a five-inning, shutout win over Indiana State in game one of the twin bill. Birch is 7-1 with three shutouts and a 1.24 ERA in nine MVC starts.
Drake will counter the MVC's best offense with the league's best pitching staff. The Bulldogs have posted a conference-best 2.45 ERA this season and have limited opposing hitters to a .215 average. Jenna DeLong has been the ace of the staff, accumulating an 18-4 record inside the circle, with eight shutouts and 181 strikeouts in 154.2 innings. Opposing hitters are batting a paltry .181 against the senior righty and she boasts the best ERA in the conference at 1.86.
DeLong is also part of a very powerful Drake offense that enters the weekend hitting .279 as a team with 61 doubles and 41 home runs. Molly McClelland leads all Bulldog hitters with a .326 average and a .471 on-base percentage. Torey Craddock is not fair behind, hitting at a .324 clip with a team-high 12 doubles to go along with eight home runs. Erin Mollohan and DeLong have been the other power bats in the Drake lineup, with each tied for the team lead with nine home runs. Mollohan also leads the Bulldogs with 31 RBI and a .577 slugging percentage.
Drake is coached by former Redbird assistant Rich Calvert, who is in his ninth season as the head coach of the Bulldogs. Calvert, who is an Illinois State alum, served under current ISU head coach Melinda Fischer from 1986 to 1992.
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