April 25, 2011
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ILLINOIS STATE AT INDIANA STATE | TERRE HAUTE, IND.
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| Dates |
Tuesday, April 26
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Location
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Terre Haute, Ind. (Price Field)
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Tuesday
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at Indiana State (3:00 p.m. CST)
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| Radio |
GoRedbirds.com / WJBC.com (Dustin Hall | Play-by-Play) |
| AudioNow |
309-319-9425 (Call to listen to the broadcast for free on your landline or cellular phone) |
NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State softball team will wrap up its season series with Missouri Valley Conference opponent Indiana State with a midweek tilt Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m. in Terre Haute, Ind. The Redbirds (30-14, 16-3 MVC) defeated the Sycamores (14-27, 3-15 MVC) in both games of a doubleheader April 20 in Normal, Ill.
ISU pulled even with Drake atop the Valley standings by taking two out of three from the Bulldogs last weekend in Des Moines, Iowa, and is looking to capture its first regular-season conference title since 2006. Senior Kara Nelson leads Illinois State and the MVC with a .412 batting average and is currently in the midst of a 21-game hitting streak. Sophomore Elizabeth Kay belted another home run last weekend against Drake and drove in four more runs to bring her season totals to a team-best 13 homers and 47 RBI. Fellow sophomore Lauren Kellar finished the series 3-for-9 at the plate, legging out her MVC-leading fifth triple.
Juniors Jordan Birch and Megan Warner continued to provide an effective one-two punch in the circle for the Redbirds last weekend at Drake. Warner tossed a complete game, three-hitter to earn the win in game two of Saturday's doubleheader and recorded her second save of the season, providing 1.2 scoreless innings in Sunday's 5-2 win. Birch dropped to 13-3 on the year after being saddled with the loss in the opener Saturday, but rebounded Sunday, scattering seven hits over 5.1 innings to earn the win and improve her record to 14-3 on the season and 8-2 in league games.
The Sycamores enters Tuesday's contest on an eight-game losing skid, after dropping both games of a rain-shorted series last weekend to Bradley. Indiana State is led offensively by Kim Pierce, who leads the team with a .333 average and a .576 slugging percentage. Bailey Wittenauer has been the power bat in the lineup for the Sycamores, leading the squad with 10 doubles, six home runs and 32 RBI. In the circle, Kristen Felker is 8-10 for Indiana State, leading the team with 106.1 innings, 81 strikeouts and a pair of shutouts. Sara Evans has been the second starter for the Sycamores, going 3-6 with a 5.12 ERA in 69.2 innings of work.
Illinois State outscored Indiana State, 14-1, in the doubleheader last Wednesday at Marian Kneer Stadium, taking the opener, 9-0, before prevailing, 5-1, in the nightcap. The Redbirds offense belted four home runs in each game, while Illinois State pitching held the Sycamore bats to just seven hits.
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