NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State softball team faced one of the toughest opponents they will face all season Sunday at Marian Kneer Stadium. It just so happened to be the program's former greats who came together to form the Alumni Team. ISU kicked off the fall season with its annual Alumni Game and the Redbird alums came away with a 3-0 win.
Offense was at a premium with the current Redbirds recording four hits and the Alumni tallying five. The Alumni scored all three runs in its half of the third and Taylor Baxter was solid from start to finish in the circle. The current Redbirds were up against an All-Star team as all nine players on the field at one point had been named All-MVC at some point in their careers.
"This is one of the most competitive games we have in the fall," said head coach Melinda Fischer. "We've had a lot of great players return, but collectively not at the same time like this year. I looked out there and literally could not believe that all nine players were former All-Valley players and three were All-Americans. It was just a real surreal moment."
The current Redbirds certainly didn't have it easy, but they held their own thanks to their defense. There were several nice plays made in the field that kept the 2014 Redbirds in the game and it made sense that defense was the showcase. ISU's young team has not had much time together, but the time they have spent with each other has been focused on defense. If Sunday is any indication of how 2015 will be then the outlook from the defensive side is bright.
"I thought the team really paid attention to what he have been doing in practice," said Fischer. "Some of the things we've been going over and over and over on in practice transferred over to the field and that was great to see. They made some great adjustments on their own and the communication was really good for the most part."
McKensie Vissering and Sarah Finck split time pitching for the 2014 Redbirds, and Finck allowed just one Alumni hit in the final four innings of play. The freshman struck out three while walking the same amount, but improved as the game moved along.
"I was very pleased with the pitching," said Fischer. "I thought McKensie came out and did a great job and we're going to expect a lot out of her this season. I thought Sarah looked very good too. She was a little nervous, but once she settled down and found the strike zone, her pitches were working for her and she was very effective."
Molly Cull, Alex Caliva, Abby Turczyn and Caitlyn Daly recorded the hits for the 2014 Redbirds.
The Redbirds will be back in action Friday against Western Illinois. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. from Marian Kneer Stadium.
