NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State softball team will be tested early, as they open the 2020 campaign for the fourth-straight year in Tampa, Florida, Feb. 6-8. The Redbirds are set to face a pair of preseason Top-25 ranked opponents during the five-game stretch at the USF-Rawlings Invitational.
LINEUP
The USF-Rawlings Invitational – Tampa, Fla.
Live Stats | Watch (USF-only)
Thursday, Feb. 6 – at USF (RV), 2:30 p.m. CT
Friday, Feb. 7 – vs. No. 17/14 Michigan, 1 p.m. CT
Friday, Feb. 7 – vs. No. 7/9 Florida, 5:45 p.m. CT
Saturday, Feb. 8 – vs. Fresno State (RV), 8:15 a.m. CT
Saturday, Feb. 8 – vs. Georgia State, 5:30 p.m. CT
CLOSING IN ON 1,100
Illinois State head coach Melinda Fischer needs just eight wins to accumulate 1,100. Fischer's 1,092 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.
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
For the second-straight year, ISU was picked to finish fifth in a poll of the league's head coaches. The Redbirds finished sixth in the Missouri Valley Conference standings in 2019 with an overall record of 18-33 and an 11-10 mark in conference play. Junior Morgan Day was selected to the preseason All-MVC team, after earning second-team all-conference honors in 2019. The right-handed hurler pitched a team-high 12 complete games for the Redbirds last season with five shutouts. Day's selection to the Preseason All-MVC squad marks the 14th-consecutive season that ISU has placed someone on the team.
WELCOME BACK
The Redbirds welcome back six starters, including middle infielders Emme Olson and Taylor Vanderpool. Two-time all-conference performer Alyssa Wiebel is back as the only starter returning in the outfield, while Day brings back the most experience in the pitcher's circle for the Redbirds in 2020. Additionally, ISU returns over half of its runs scored and RBI production from a season ago.
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