March 9, 2012
NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State softball team will get a final non-conference tune-up this weekend at the Red and Black Tournament in Louisville, Ky. The Redbirds will face No. 14/14 Michigan and St. Louis, Sunday, at 10 a.m. and noon, respectively, before playing a doubleheader with host No. 17/18 Louisville, Monday, at 11 a.m.
ISU (11-10) brings a four-game winning streak to Louisville, after going 4-2 at last weekend's Citrus Classic in Orlando, Fla. The Redbirds won their final four games of the tournament, including a victory over then-No. 10/11 Baylor, marking their first win over a nationally-ranked opponent since 2010 and the first for a Missouri Valley Conference school this season. ISU is 1-6 against top-25 foes this season, with one of those losses coming to the Wolverines earlier this season in Clearwater, Fla.
"This is a schedule that definitely tests you and I think it is awesome that we get another shot at Michigan," head coach Melinda Fischer said. "You take one pitch back from that game earlier this year, and that game could have ended differently. (St. Louis head coach) Christy Connoyer definitely has a great repertoire of knowledge from working at Purdue and Southern Illinois, and she has really built that program since taking over there. Louisville, who is undefeated, will be another big game for us. For anyone to be undefeated at this point in the season is an amazing feat."
Senior Liz Andrews and junior Jhavon Hamilton lead Illinois State offensively and have combined for five home runs and 20 RBI. Andrews went 4-for-5 with three extra-base hits, including a walk-off double, in the Redbirds' 6-5, nine-inning win over Georgetown and Hamilton belted a grand slam to lift ISU to a 6-4 win over Baylor. In the circle, senior Jordan Birch leads the team with a 6-6 record and a 2.60 ERA. After a rough outing in a loss to Pittsburgh, Birch rebounded to allow just seven hits and one run in her final 14 innings last weekend, picking up victories over South Alabama and Penn State.
Michigan (15-5) won four of its five games last weekend at the Citrus Classic, notching victories over a pair of nationally-ranked teams in No. 17/18 UCLA and No. 19/20 Auburn. Haylie Wagner, who earned her second Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honor of the season earlier this week, leads the Wolverines in the circle with an 11-1 record and a 1.34 ERA. The freshman lefty was the pitcher of record in Michigan's 3-1 win over ISU in Clearwater. Lauren Sweet leads the Wolverines with a .370 batting average and Ashley Lane has hit a team-high five home runs. Amanda Chidester has belted four homers and leads the squad with 17 RBI.
St. Louis (11-9) went 1-3 at last weekend's Missouri Breast Cancer Tournament, dropping three-straight to UMKC, Missouri State and No. 12/12 Missouri, before rebounding with a win over Southeast Missouri State. Jessica Buschjost leads SLU with a .353 average and Erin Harcar is hitting at a .309 clip with a homer and seven RBI. Alyson Brand, who is hitting just .147, leads the Billikens with three homers and 11 RBI. St. Louis uses a three-player rotation in the circle, with Kelcie Matesa leading the staff with a 2.96 ERA and 55 strikeouts. Hannah Huebbe has posted a 6-2 record and 3.29 ERA, and Julian Austin has a 2-3 record in six starts with a 3.17 ERA.
Louisville (15-0) continued its best start in program history by winning a trio of games at last weekend's Tennessee Classic in Knoxville. The Cardinals picked up wins over Middle Tennessee State, Memphis and Boston. Louisville is hitting .337 as a team with five players hitting .350 or better. Kristin Austin boasts a team-best .469 average and Taner Fowler is hitting .440 with a team-best five home runs. The Cardinal pitching staff has also been impressive, posting a team ERA of 1.23 and limiting opposing hitters to a paltry .147 average. Tori Collins has been the primary starter and is 7-0 with a 1.28 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 49.1 innings. Chelsea Leonard has bolstered the staff with a 0.77 ERA and 4-0 record, while Caralisa Connell has made seven appearances in the circle, going 4-0 with a 1.91 ERA.
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