NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State softball team has released its 2015 schedule. One year after playing the most difficult non-conference schedule in the nation, the Redbirds will, once again, be playing some of the nation's top competition.
ISU will face the defending national champion Florida Gators Feb. 7, in Tampa, Florida, and in Gainesville, Florida, Feb. 21. In addition, the Redbirds will play 12 other teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season. By the time the season is two weeks old, ISU will have played six games against opponents from last year's NCAA Tournament.
"Last year we played the most difficult non-conference schedule in the country," said head coach Melinda Fischer. "We always try to make our pre-season as competitive as we can, knowing that our non-conference schedule will prepare us for the MVC."
As is custom with teams from the north, ISU will be well-traveled by the time conference play begins in mid-March. The Redbirds will begin the season with tournaments in Tampa, Florida; Tempe, Arizona; Gainesville, Florida; College Station, Texas and Louisville, Kentucky. The non-conference slate also features single games at Tennessee and DePaul.
"The opportunity to play the defending champion [Florida] is an honor," said Fischer. "In addition, we have new opponents on the schedule, which is always nice and we also return to Texas A&M. We used to play there all the time and we're anxious to go back to AggieLand. Our players are going to get to see some of the finest softball facilities in the country."
ISU's young roster will certainly be tested early on, but that is an opportunity that Fischer thinks will be a positive for this team.
"I saw plenty of progress in the fall," said Fischer. "This is going to be a fun year of growth and development and once they figure out who they are and what they need to do collectively, this will be an exciting team to watch."
Missouri Valley Conference play begins March 14, with a three-game series against Northern Iowa at Marian Kneer Stadium. It will also be the Redbirds' first home game of 2015. ISU will travel to Illinois, March 31, and welcomes in-state conference rival, Bradley, to campus April 15.
The 'Birds last home game will be against Loyola April 26. They will then travel to Drake for a three-game series before the MVC Tournament at Wichita State from May 7-9.
For the complete schedule visit: http://goredbirds.com/schedule.aspx?path=softball
All times listed are CST.
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