.red_text {
font-size: 9pt;
color: #000000;
font-family: Arial;
font-weight: bold;
text-transform: none;
text-decoration: underline;
}
.body_text {
font-family: "Arial Narrow";
font-size: 9pt;
color: #000;
font-weight: normal;
}
.link_text {
font-family: "Arial Narrow";
font-size: 9pt;
color: #FF0000;
font-weight: normal;
}.TableFont {
font-family: Arial;
font-size: 7pt;
color: #FFF;
}
.TableContent {
color: #000000;
font-family: "Arial Black";
font-size: 10pt;
font-weight: normal;
text-transform: uppercase;
vertical-align: bottom;
text-decoration: underline;
}
.personal_best {
background-image: url(http://grfx.cstv.com/schools/ilsu/graphics/auto/TableGraphic.jpg);
height: 250px;
width: 600px;
color: #CE142B;
vertical-align: 25%;
}
NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State softball team (14-21, 6-3 MVC) will conclude its non-conference schedule, which is rated as the toughest nationally in the RPI, against DePaul (24-8, 7-0 BIG EAST), Wednesday evening at Marian Kneer Stadium. First pitch for the annual "Strike Out Cancer" game is slated for 5 p.m.
The Redbirds are coming off their third-straight series win to begin Missouri Valley Conference play. ISU took two of three last weekend at Southern Illinois, including two victories on Saturday by a combined score of 31-2.
Slap Hits
- The Redbirds have committed just 22 errors in their 35 games, fewest in the MVC, and rank seventh nationally with a .978 fielding percentage.
- Junior Kara Repp enters the weekend leading ISU with a .309 batting average. A career .184 hitter before this season, the junior enters the week on a team-best 20-game on base streak.
- Freshman catcher Jordan de los Reyes is tied for the MVC lead with eight home runs. She is also tied for fifth in the league with 30 RBI.
- Illinois State is hitting .342 and scoring 7.7 runs per game in MVC games, both league-bests, compared to .204 and 3.4 marks in non-conference action.
- Senior first baseman Laura Canopy has hit four home runs in ISU's nine MVC games, which is tied for the most in the Valley in conference action only.
- Sophomore pitcher Regan Romshek has been ISU's workhorse in the circle this season. She has thrown 137.2 innings, second-most in the league.
- After beginning the season 1-10, preseason All-MVC choice Taylor Baxter is 4-0 in her last four decisions.
- This week's game against the Blue Demons is the fifth of 10-straight against foes from the state of Illinois.
- All but four of ISU's 21 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.
- ISU's non-conference schedule is the toughest in the nation, according to the RPI.
- 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 964 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 Blue Demons (24-8 Overall, 7-0 BIG EAST)
The Blue Demons enter Wednesday's game winners of six-straight and 10 of their last 12. DePaul swept Seton Hall last weekend to move their BIG EAST mark to a perfect 7-0.
The DePaul offense features eight players that are hitting over .300, including junior Mary Connolly, who leads the squad in batting average (.409), slugging percentage (.763), home runs (eight), RBI (27) and runs scored (24). Sophomore Morgan Maize sits second on the team with four long balls and 20 RBI, while senior Kirsten Verdun ranks second on the team among regular starters with a .352 average.
Verdun serves as a dual-threat for the Blue Demons, as she is also the ace of the pitching staff. The 2012 All-American is 16-5 with a 1.95 ERA, and has started 21 of DePaul's 32 contests. Connolly is second on the team with six starts, and has gone 4-2 with a 2.25 ERA.
Series History
The Redbirds hold a slight 17-16-1 lead in the all-time series with the Blue Demons. ISU has won two-straight, including a 5-4 victory last season in Chicago. The Redbirds will be searching for their first home win over DePaul since the 2010 campaign.
A Fresh Start
- While the Redbirds struggled offensively during the non-conference portion of the schedule, the unit has been much better in Missouri Valley Conference action.
- In nine MVC games this season, the Redbirds are hitting .342 as a team and averaging 7.7 runs per game, both league-bests. ISU also leads the Valley in conference-only on-base percentage (.433), slugging percentage (.604) and home runs (16).
- Illinois State has gone 8-18 in non-conference action. The offense hit .204 in those games, en route to 3.4 runs per contest.
Flashing the Leather
- Defense has been a strength of ISU this season, as its 22 errors committed are fewest in the MVC. The Redbirds also lead the league with a .978 fielding percentage, which ranks seventh nationally.
- The Redbirds have committed more than one error just four times, and have never been charged with more than two in a game.
- ISU has been stout defensively from behind the plate, as well. Catchers Stephanie Gallant and Jordan de los Reyes have combined to throw out 38-percent (14-of-37) of attempted base stealers.
Close, But No Cigar
- Of the Redbirds' 21 defeats in 2014, 11 have been by two runs or less. ISU has also held leads in seven of those games, including three times in the seventh inning, only to see them evaporate.
- All but four of ISU's 21 losses this season have come against teams that were either ranked in the top 25 or made the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
- Against teams not ranked or coming off a NCAA Tournament appearance, the Redbirds are 9-4. They have also notched five wins over postseason teams from a year ago (San Jose State, James Madison, Louisville and Northern Iowa (2x)).
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 35 games, ISU has swiped 36 bags, and is on base to register 54 steals. That would be the most in a single-season for the program since 1991, and third-most all-time.
- Six Redbirds have already set new or equaled personal bests for steals in a single-season, led by Nichelle Harrison (12-for-15), Kolby Hoffman (9-for-11) and Laura Canopy (8-for-10).
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 135 of a possible 140 appearances this year.
- Conversely, ISU's outfield entered 2014 with little experience. Only Nichelle Harrison returned as a starter, while the other outfielders on the roster entered with a combined 53 career appearances.
- Through 35 games, the Redbirds have utilized eight 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 810 games and make 718 starts over the last three-plus seasons. Over that time, ISU has won 115 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 ninth in program-history with 22 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 32 home runs, third-most in the league, thanks to unexpected contributors. Canopy has hit five homers, while the others have been hit by seven different players who combined to hit nine bombs 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 923-632-4 record during her tenure at Illinois State, making her the winningest coach in ISU Athletics and MVC softball history.
- Her 964 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.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
