NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State softball team (6-7) returns to action this weekend, traveling to Bowling Green, Kentucky, for the Holiday Inn Hilltopper Spring Fling, hosted by Western Kentucky, Feb. 28 to March 1.
LINEUP
Holiday Inn Hilltopper Spring Fling – Bowling Green, Ky.
Friday, Feb. 28 – vs. IUPUI, 10 a.m. CT
Friday, Feb. 28 – vs. Austin Peay, 12:30 p.m. CT
Saturday, Feb. 29 – at Western Kentucky, 12:30 p.m. CT
Saturday, Feb. 29 – No. 1 vs. No. 4 // No. 2 vs. No. 3, 3 p.m. CT or 5:30 p.m. CT
Sunday, March 1 – Consolation // Championship, 11 a.m. CT or 1:30 p.m. CT
LAST TIME OUT
Illinois State went a perfect 3-0 at the weather-shortened "Strike-Out Cancer" Tournament, hosted by Florida Atlantic last weekend. Sophomore Mack Leonard tossed her first career shutout, a 9-0 run-rule win over Hofstra, while recording her team-leading fifth home run of the season in a win against Long Island. Three Redbirds - Taylor Vanderpool, Emme Olson and Alyssa Wiebel - went .400 or better at the dish, while Wiebel led the team with five extra-base hits and 12 total bases. Illinois State's victory over Hofstra marked the team's first run-rule decision of the season, while its extra-inning walk-off win over North Florida was the first extra-inning contest of 2020.
CLOSING IN ON 1,100
Illinois State head coach Melinda Fischer needs just two wins to accumulate 1,100. Fischer's 1,098 career victories spread out among 36 seasons as a collegiate head coach, at both Eastern Illinois (1979-80) and Illinois State (1986-present), rank her as the 19th-winningest coach in NCAA Division I softball history and the 11th-winningest active head coach.
WALK-OFF WIEBEL
In the bottom of the eighth inning on Sunday, Alyssa Wiebel knocked a walk-off RBI double to left center field to lift ISU over North Florida, 2-1, to help the Redbirds finish the weekend 3-0 at FAU's "Strike-Out Cancer" Tournament. The senior went a team-best .500 (5-for-10) at the plate with a pair of runs, four doubles, four RBIs, one walk and a home run and was recognized as the MVC's Player of the Week on Monday for her performance.
DAY DELIVERS
Morgan Day grabbed two wins in the circle this weekend, posting a 0.00 ERA, allowing just two hits in 10.2 innings of work, while holding her opponents to a .065 batting average. The right-handed hurler pitched a complete-game shutout against LIU to open the tournament, carrying a one-hitter to the seventh inning, while striking out 10 batters – her third double-digit strikeout performance of the season. Day returned to the circle on Sunday, helping the Redbirds escape a bases-loaded jam in the fifth, while striking out six in 3.2 innings of relief. For her performance at the tournament, Day was recognized as the Valley's Pitcher of the Week.
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