NORMAL, Ill. – With a three-game lead in the Valley standings, Illinois State welcomes the No. 2 team in the MVC, Northern Iowa, to Marian Kneer Stadium on Saturday and Sunday. The Redbirds hold a Valley-best 20-3 record, 30-17 overall while the Panthers travel with a 29-18 overall mark and 17-3 conference.
Live Stats // ESPN3 (Saturday Only) // Listen on 103.3 WZND // NotesÂ
The Redbirds and Panthers open the series with a noon doubleheader on Saturday. The series concludes Sunday at 11 a.m. with Senior Day to follow on the field. In conjunction with Redbird Baseball, Saturday is Reggie's Kids Club Day. For more information, visit GoRedbirds.com. Admission to Marian Kneer Stadium is free.
Winning 11 in a row, the Redbirds have the sixth longest active streak in the nation. With six Valley sweeps, Illinois State is on a 14-game MVC winning streak with a three-game lead in the conference standings. Following her second consecutive record setting weekend, Jordan de los Reyes was named the MVC's Player of the Week and selected as an NFCA top performer.
Ranking Redbirds
After winning 11 games and improving to 20-3 in the Missouri Valley conference, Illinois State (30-17 overall) earned one vote in the NFCA Top-25 Coaches Poll for the first time since 2011. The Redbirds are ranked top-25 in six statistical categories. (See p. 2 of notes)
Delo's Dingers
Jordan de los Reyes is not only one of five members of Illinois State's 200 Hit Club, but she is also the Illinois State and MVC career RBI record holder. She owns the Illinois State career home run record and is four shy of the MVC record. The senior is the single-season RBI record holder and is two away from the single-season home run record.
"This Girl is on Fire"
The walkup song for the Redbirds' ace, Sarah Finck, is accurate. With a 21-8 record, the junior pitched her second- career one-hitter at Evansville after her first at Drake. The Redbirds' ace owns a 14-1 MVC record, going 11-0 in her last 13 appearances.
Fighting Felde - Toughest to Strikeout
Without a strikeout this season, Shannon Felde is the toughest person to strikeout in the country, batting .410. The sophomore owns the second-longest known hitting streak in program history at 21 games (Feb. 10-Apr. 8) with 15 multi-hit games.
Scouting the Panthers
Sitting three games back from the Redbirds, Northern Iowa travels south to fight for a share of the MVC Championship. The Panthers won their last two series against Wichita State and Drake. UNI won their doubleheader versus the Shockers and the series against Drake, but fell 1-2 against Loyola. UNI is led by Ashley Chesser batting .390 with three teammates also over .300. Current MVC Pitcher of the Week, Alyssa Buchanan, leads the Panthers' pitching staff with a 1.54 ERA.
Redbirds vs. Panthers
Illinois State leads the all-time series versus Northern Iowa, 71-22. Illinois State won the most recent meeting during the 2016 MVC tournament, 2-1 but dropped the series at Northern Iowa during the last week of the regular season.
Up Next
Illinois State will serve as host to the 2017 Missouri Valley Conference Softball Championship May 11 to 13 at Marian Kneer Stadium. To purchase tickets visit GoRedbirds.com/tickets, call (309) 438-8000, or visit the Illinois State Athletics Ticket Office at the north entrance of Redbird Arena. Tickets can also be purchased at the gates of Marian Kneer Stadium on game day.
For updates on Illinois State Softball, follow the Redbirds on Twitter and Instagram.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
