TAMPA, Fla. - The first pitch of the 2015 Illinois State softball season is almost here. The Redbirds are set for five games in three days in Tampa, Florida, to open the season, beginning with Jacksonville at 12:15 CT Friday afternoon.
For the first time since 2010, ISU is coming off of a losing season. The Redbirds finished 25-27 last year against the most difficult non-conference schedule in the country. ISU played 11 games against ranked opponents, including four against top-five teams.
The difficult non-conference schedule paid off once the Redbirds settled into Missouri Valley Conference play. From April 16-April 28, ISU went on a nine-game winning streak, needing just five innings to complete the job three different times. However, ISU closed the year on a four-game losing streak and lost in the semifinals of the MVC Tournament as the hosts.
This season there are new faces all over the field for ISU, as seven new players join the 18-player roster. Six freshmen come in as part of Melinda Fischer's recruiting class while one junior, Payton Billups, joins as a junior college transfer.
Fischer is entering her 30th season at the helm of Redbird softball and her team will once again be facing the nation's best competition in the non-conference portion of the schedule. ISU will face the defending national champion Florida Gators Saturday, and will then take on a top-ten team in Michigan on Sunday.
"Last year we played the most difficult non-conference schedule in the country," head coach Melinda Fischer said. "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."
ISU's success largely depends on how quickly the new additions can contribute. Even some of the returnees have little playing time on their resume, which means this will be one of the youngest teams Fischer has had in some time at Illinois State.
The top returner is Regan Romshek. Romshek did damage with both her arm and her bat in 2014. Her 17-15 record in the circle led the team, as she threw 214 innings. Romshek compiled a 2.71 earned run average while surrendering 213 hits and 83 earned runs. She struck out 115 batters compared to 70 walks and tossed five shutouts.
At the plate, Romshek batted .268 with six home runs and 34 RBI. She was second on the team with 153 at-bats and recorded 41 hits and 24 runs, while stealing 11 bases.
Jordan de los Reyes returns to the lineup after a solid freshman season which saw her hit a team-high 11 home runs. She finished the season hitting .315, which is the top among returners. She was also third on the team in doubles with seven.
Kara Repp will be another key factor at the plate after batting over .300 last season.
ISU's first pitch against Jacksonville is scheduled for 12:15 CT and the Redbirds will then face the host, South Florida, at 5:30 p.m. All games this season will be broadcast live on GoRedbirds.com.
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