Five Games in Louisville to Wrap Up Pre-Conference Action

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March 6, 2014

NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State softball team (6-13) will play its final pre-conference games of the season this weekend and early next week in Louisville, Ky. The Redbirds will play four games, Friday through Sunday, as part of Louisville's Red and Black Classic, before taking on Louisville in a single game on Tuesday.

ISU begins play on Friday against Ohio at 4:30 p.m., CST. Saturday's slate features two games, first against Ohio State at 1:30 p.m., CST and later against the host Cardinals at 6:30 p.m., CST. The Red and Black Classic concludes on Sunday against Massachusetts at 11:30 a.m., CST, before the Redbirds will take on Louisville again, Tuesday at 12 p.m., CST.

The Redbirds are coming off a 1-4 weekend at the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Record. ISU went up against a tough slate that featured four top-25 teams, and was only a few pitches away from coming home with some quality wins. The Redbirds lost their four games by a total of six runs, including two seventh-inning rallies by No. 25 Auburn and No. 17/19 Missouri after being down to their final strike. In order to close out some of those potential victories moving forward, head coach Melinda Fischer feels that her team needs to further develop its toughness.

"It's our internal attitude," Fischer said. "We've worked on this with our mental training. That's where you need somebody who says, `Give me the ball, I am going to go out there and pitch it.' Unfortunately, we are not in that position right now. They just have to have the confidence that they are prepared, number one, and number two, that they can control what they can control. I thought we were in control, but let it slip away. It's a mental adjustment and physical desire. As this team progresses in these situations, I feel like they are going to get more mentally and physically tough."

Slap Hits

• All 13 of ISU's losses this season have come to teams that were either ranked in the top-25 or made the NCAA Tournament in 2013, including six against top 10 teams and five versus 2013 Women's College World Series participants.
• The Redbirds have committed just 11 errors in their first 19 games, fewest in the Missouri Valley Conference, and own the league's best fielding percentage at .980.
• Senior Kolby Hoffman enters the weekend with two home runs, which matches her career-high, and eight RBI, which are more than half of what she had last year in 43 games (15). A career .173 hitter entering the season, the Dwight, Ill., native is second on the team with a .271 batting average.
• Freshman catcher Jordan de los Reyes leads the Redbirds with four home runs and 12 RBI, which rank second and fourth in the MVC, and first among freshmen.
• Redshirt senior outfielder Nichelle Harrison has not committed an error in the last 79 games (4-22-12 at Bradley), a stretch that includes 97 chances.
• Sophomore pitcher Regan Romshek has posted a 1.88 ERA the last two weekends, and ranks fourth in the MVC with a 2.76 overall mark. She has thrown 71.0 innings, second-most in the league.
• The 2014 Redbird schedule features 21 games against teams that made the NCAA Tournament in 2013. The Redbirds have gone 2-12 in those games thus far.
• Now in her 29th season at the helm of ISU, and 31st overall, head coach Melinda Fischer ranks 18th all-time among DI coaches with 956 wins.
• ISU has been to the NCAA Tournament in three of the last four seasons and nine times overall. The Redbirds have also won 12 regular-season conference titles and six tournament crowns.

Scouting the Bobcats (12-8)

The Bobcats enter this weekend with an impressive 12-8 record, but have lost seven-straight games, including both games of a doubleheader at Lipscomb, Wednesday night. Junior catcher Adrienne Gebele has led OU offensively, hitting .400 with two home runs and 10 RBI. Despite not having a home run, senior infielder Alexandria Basquez leads the team with 13 RBI. In the circle, Ohio's work horse has been sophomore Savannah Jo Dorsey, who has appeared in 18 of 20 games, including eight starts. She enters the weekend 9-5 with a 2.47 ERA.

The Redbirds and Bobcats will meet for the fifth time, Friday. ISU has won three of the previous matchups, including the most-recent one in 2010.

Scouting the Buckeyes (6-9)

The Buckeyes enter this weekend with a 6-9 record. OSU most-recently participated in the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic alongside the Redbirds, and went 2-3. Junior Caitlin Conrad leads the Buckeyes with a .357 batting average and is tied for the team-lead with nine home runs. OSU features a deep pitching staff, as four different players have started at least one game and six have appeared at least once. Junior Alex DiDomenico has made the most starts, six, and is 3-2 with a 3.54 ERA.

The Buckeyes lead the all-time series between the two squads, 5-4. OSU has won the last two meetings, which came in 2008 and 2009.

Scouting the Cardinals (8-6)

After being ranked in the top-20 of both major preseason polls, the Cardinals have gotten off to a relatively slow start in 2014, as they enter the weekend 8-6 after being rained out at last weekend's Louisville Slugger Invitational in Fullerton, Calif. Junior Kelsi Jones, who made just eight starts last season, is leading Louisville's offense with a .378 average, two home runs and nine RBI. The Cardinals returned the duo of seniors Rachel Le Coq and Caralisa Connell in the circle after each posted a sub-2.50 ERA last season. This year, however, Le Coq is 2-3 with a 3.41 ERA, while Connell is 3-2 with a 3.43 ERA.

The Redbirds and Cardinals have met seven times previously, with Louisville owning a 4-3 edge. The Cardinals have won three-straight, including a 9-3 victory last season.

Scouting the Minutewomen (1-4)

The Minutewomen enter the weekend at 1-4. Their only action of the season came at the NFCA Leadoff Classic, Feb. 21-23. A year after hitting .357, junior shortstop Quianna Diaz-Patterson is off to a hot start in 2014, as she is hitting .375. Senior Tiffany Meeks led UMass last season with nine home runs and 40 RBI, and enters this weekend with a team-high three. The Minutewomen's pitching staff labored to a 6.68 ERA through their first five games. Senior Caroline Raymond was the main workhorse for UMass last season and appears on track for the same role in 2014, as she is 1-3 with a 4.30 ERA in four appearances and three starts.

The Sunday's meeting between the Redbirds and Minutewomen will be the seventh all-time. ISU leads the all-time series, 4-2, but UMass has won two of the last three, including a 4-3 victory last season.

Close, But No Cigar

• All of Illinois State's 13 losses this season have come against teams that were either ranked in the top 25 or made the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
• Of those losses, seven have been by two runs or less. ISU has also held leads in five of those games, including twice in the seventh inning, only to see them evaporate.
• Against teams not ranked or coming off a NCAA Tournament appearance, the Redbirds are 4-0. They have also notched two wins over postseason teams from a year ago (San Jose State and James Madison).

Flashing the Leather

• Defense has been a strength of the Redbirds this season, as their 11 errors committed are fewest in the Missouri Valley Conference. ISU also leads the league with a .980 fielding percentage.
• The Redbirds have committed more than one error just twice, being charged with two in losses to No. 20/22 Louisiana-Lafayette (Feb. 21) and No. 17/19 Missouri (March 1).
• ISU has been stout defensively from behind the plate, as well. Catchers Stephanie Gallant and Jordan de los Reyes have combined to throw out 35-percent (7-of-20) of attempted base stealers.

On the Move

• Not normally known as a team that steals a lot of bases, the Redbirds have been more active on the base paths this season.
• Through 19 games, ISU has swiped 18 bags, and is on base to register 52 steals. That would be the most in a single-season for the program since 1991, and third-most all-time.
• Four Redbirds have already set new personal bests for steals in a single-season, led by Kolby Hoffman (7-for-8) and Nichelle Harrison (5-for-7).

Just Get On

• While the Redbirds have struggled to the tune offensively of a .204 batting average, they have found other ways to get on base.
• ISU's on-base percentage (.318) significantly out paces its batting average, due in large part to 65 walks and 16 hit by pitches, both of which rank second in the MVC.
• Senior outfielder/first baseman Laura Canopy ranks fifth in the league with a .478 OBP, second with 13 walks, and second with four hit by pitches.

Experience In, Youth Out

• All six players that have seen action in the infield for Illinois State this season are upperclassmen, compared to four of seven Redbirds that have appeared in the outfield being juniors or seniors.
• All four infield starters - Laura Canopy, Kolby Hoffman, Brittny Drish and Sara Bradley - returned from the 2013 squad. That quartet combined to start 174 games last season, and has made 94 of a possible 95 appearances this year.
• Conversely, ISU's outfield entered 2014 with little experience. Only Nichelle Harrison returned as starter, while the other outfielders on the roster entered with a combined 53 career appearances.
• Through 19 games, the Redbirds have utilized six different starting outfield combinations, while a total of seven players have seen action in the outfield.

Senior Laden

• The 2014 Redbird roster features five seniors - Taylor Baxter, Sara Bradley, Laura Canopy, Nichelle Harrison and Kolby Hoffman, which marks the most seniors on a squad since the 2005 Redbirds had six.
• The group has combined to appear in 703 games and make 631 starts over the last three seasons. Over that time, ISU has won 106 games, made two NCAA Tournament appearances and won both a MVC regular-season and tournament title.

New Power Sources

• Entering the 2014 season, lack of power projected to be a potential issue for ISU, as the Redbirds graduated players who hit 48.6-percent of its home runs last season.
• The main source of returning power was senior Laura Canopy, who tied for the team-lead with 10 long balls last season and ranks 11th in program-history with 18 in her career. No other Redbird on the roster, however, entered the season with more than seven career home runs.
• ISU has still been able to hit 11 home runs, though, thanks to unexpected contributors. Canopy has hit just one homer, while the others have been hit by four different players who combined to hit three homers last year.

The Legend Continues

• Head coach Melinda Fischer is in her 29th season at the helm of the ISU softball program, and 31st as a head coach.
• Fischer has posted a 915-624-4 record during her tenure at Illinois State, making her the winningest coach in ISU Athletics and MVC softball history.
• Her 956 career wins overall rank her 18th all-time nationally among DI coaches, and 11th among active coaches.
• Fischer also played softball at ISU, and helped lead the Redbirds to a second-place finish at the AIAW Women's College World Series in 1969.
  

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