NORMAL, Ill. – Veteran head softball coach Melinda Fischer announced on Friday that her team will play 54 regular-season contests against 30 different opponents during the 2020 season, beginning in early February.
"We are all looking forward to the challenging and competitive schedule we've put together," Fischer said. "It's always important to play tough non-conference opponents in preparation for Missouri Valley Conference play and this schedule will certainly allow us to do just that and be ready."
Week 1 – USF Tournament – Feb. 6-8
For the sixth-straight year, the Redbirds will launch their campaign at the University of South Florida. A single game against the Bulls is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT on Feb. 6, before ISU will take on Michigan, Florida, Fresno State and Georgia State over the span of two days. Four of the five teams ISU will face during opening weekend finished with an RPI in the top 65. The Redbirds' match-up with Fresno State will be the first since 2000, when current ISU volunteer assistant coach Margie Wright was leading the Bulldogs. Wright is the third-winningest head coach all-time in Division I softball, behind Michigan's Carol Hutchins and Arizona's Mike Candrea.
Week 2 – Littlewood Classic – Feb. 14-16
ISU's trip to the Littlewood Classic, hosted by Arizona State, marks the 30th-consecutive year that the Redbirds have made the trip to Tempe, Arizona. All four of the Redbirds' opponents – the Sun Devils, Boise State, Kentucky and Detroit Mercy – reached the NCAA Tournament in 2019, with the Wildcats advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals after coming out on top at the Lexington Regional. It will be the first meeting for ISU versus Boise State and Detroit Mercy, while the Redbirds have only fallen once to Kentucky.
Week 3 – FAU "Strike-Out Cancer" Tournament – Feb. 21-23
For the second-straight year, the Redbirds will return to Boca Raton for a three-day event at Florida Atlantic. ISU will have a rematch with Long Island to get the tournament started, as the Redbirds fell 5-3 to the Sharks last season despite a 3-for-4 outing by Mack Leonard. The Redbirds will take on Hofstra for the fourth time in program history, before meeting North Florida for just the second time. ISU will look to keep its winning ways alive versus the tournament host Owls and will wrap up the event with another contest against Long Island.
Week 4 – Holiday Inn Hilltopper Spring Fling – Feb. 28 - March 1
The Redbirds will return to Bowling Green, Kentucky, for the second time in four years to participate in Western Kentucky's Holiday Inn Hilltopper Spring Fling. ISU holds undefeated all-time records against its first two opponents of the event – IUPUI and Austin Peay. The Redbirds run-ruled the Jaguars at WKU in 2017, before winning their National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC) opening game at Marian Kneer Stadium, 5-4. ISU will also take on the tournament host Hilltoppers, as the Redbirds hold a slim 5-3 series advantage. All contests between the two programs have been at Western Kentucky, dating back to 2001.
Week 5 – LSU Round Robin – March 6-8
ISU returns to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for the fifth-consecutive year for its final preseason tune-up. The Redbirds will play a pair of contests against Campbell and LSU over the span of three days. It will be the first meeting between ISU and the Camels, while the Tigers hold a 5-1 series advantage over the Redbirds. The Redbirds' most memorable outing versus LSU at Tiger Park was in 2018, when ISU took the No. 10 Tigers to 10 innings behind complete game pitching efforts by then-freshman Morgan Day.
The Redbirds will stay in Louisiana for an extra day to take on Southern University for a single game on March 9, before opening Missouri Valley Conference play on the road at Southern Illinois, who earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament last year, on March 14-15.
Illinois State will host 15 contests at Marian Kneer Stadium, including Bowling Green (March 17) for its home opener and in-state rival Illinois (April 1). The Redbirds will also take on Evansville (March 28-29), Indiana State (April 4-5), Drake (April 10-11), Bradley (April 21) and Valparaiso (April 25-26) on their home field.
The 2020 MVC Softball Championship Tournament is set to be held at Evansville on May 6-9. For the full 2020 slate, please visit GoRedbirds.com.
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