NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State travels to Wichita State, taking on the Shockers for a three-game MVC series on Saturday and Sunday in Wichita, Kansas. The Redbirds (13-12, 3-0) and Shockers (16-10, 3-0) play a doubleheader Saturday at noon before wrapping up the weekend with a single game Sunday at 11 a.m. with each game of the series on ESPN3.
Tickets //Â Live Stats // Notes // Melinda Fischer Show
ESPN3:Â Game 1, Game 2, Game 3
With 34 hits in the trio of games last weekend, the Redbirds return to action after a three-game sweep of Indiana State to share the first-place spot in the MVC with Wichita State and Evansville. The road sweep was the first for the Redbirds since 2015 at Evansville. It is also the best start to Valley play since 2010 when the Redbirds won 10 straight.
Jordan de los Reyes opened conference play with a bang, going 7-for-10 with a 1.100 slugging percentage to earn Illinois State's third MVC Player of the Week honor this season. The senior led the Redbirds with seven RBI and seven hits during the week. On Saturday alone, de los Reyes went 6-for-8 with three runs and seven RBI.
Led by Shannon Felde's .510 average, six Redbirds are batting over .300 on the season. Felde leads not only Illinois State, but also the Missouri Valley Conference, with her remarkable average. The sophomore has reached the bases in every game played this season (14) with a 12-game hitting-streak. She has nine multi-hit games this season, including a 4-for-6 outing vs. Delaware.
Head coach Melinda Fischer already penned her name in NCAA Softball history, but she is quickly approaching another milestone number - 1,000 wins at Illinois State. She currently has 992 wins in her 32 years at the helm.
Wichita State continues its 10-game home-stand, currently on a four-game winning streak by sweeping Drake and topping Nebraska on Monday. Laurie Derrico is the current MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week after helping the team to a 3-1 record with a .462 average. Led by Mackenzie Wright, the Shockers have eight batting over .300 through 26 games.
Redbirds vs. Shockers
Illinois State leads the all-time series 64-26; however, the Shockers have won eight of the last nine meetings. Illinois State went 1-2 when hosting Wichita State in 2016. The Redbirds dropped the doubleheader, but won the weekend finale as Ali Domkuski earned the win in 0.1 innings with Sarah Finck in the starting role.
Up Next
The Redbirds wrap up their 29-game road trip at Illinois on Tuesday before hosting Southern Illinois for the home opener on April 1 and 2 at Marian Kneer Stadium.
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