NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State softball team (1-9) will return to the Sunshine State this weekend to play in the Bubly Invitational, hosted by the University of Florida. The Redbirds' appearance at the invitational marks the fourth time in five years that ISU has played in a tournament at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
Illinois State will take on Syracuse and the tournament host Gators on Friday at 10 a.m. CT and 4 p.m. CT, respectively. Two more games await the Redbirds on Saturday, as they face Florida at 10 a.m. CT for the final time in 2019 and Florida A&M at 3 p.m. CT. Tournament action will conclude on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. CT with another game against the Rattlers of Florida A&M.
REDBIRDS VS. THE FIELD
This weekend's pair of games between the Redbirds and the Gators marks the third and fourth meetings of the season between the two programs. Illinois State squared off with Florida during opening weekend, falling 15-0 in five innings. This past weekend at the Littlewood Classic, the Redbirds and Gators battled in a pitcher's duel, as Florida held on for the 2-1 win, as the two runs given up by ISU is the fewest allowed in a setback to Florida, and the one-run decision is the slimmest margin of loss to the Gators in the history of the series.
Illinois State's tournament opener against Syracuse will be just the second time in program history that the Redbirds and the Orange have faced off, as ISU won 4-0 in 2001. The Redbirds are undefeated against the Rattlers, holding the 6-0 advantage over Florida A&M. The last meeting between the two programs was in 2016, when the Redbirds won 10-0 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
SHE DOES IT ALL
ISU closed the Littlewood Classic with an 8-0 run-rule victory against San Diego to secure its first win of the 2019 season on Sunday. Shannon Felde pitched her first complete game shutout of the season, matching a career-high four strikeouts, while helping her own cause with a walk-off RBI single to power the Redbirds past the Toreros in five innings. The last time ISU shut out a nonconference opponent was in 2018, when the Redbirds took down Purdue (3/4/18) at the LSU Tiger Invitational. Sunday's win also marked the first run-rule victory of a nonconference opponent since 2017, when ISU beat Rutgers (3/11/17) in five innings, 13-2.
BATTLE TESTED
For the second time in three seasons the Redbirds opened their slate with three nationally-ranked opponents in their first five games. ISU took on Florida, Arizona and Michigan to open 2019, scoring four runs on the Wolverines and a run against the Wildcats. The Redbirds' four runs against Michigan marked the most scored against a ranked opponent since ISU tacked on four in a 5-4 decision to then-No. 25 USF in the 2017 season opener. In 2017, the Redbirds also faced No. 6 Michigan and No. 4 Florida to begin their campaign.
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