NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State softball team (28-9, 14-5 MVC) will play its final Missouri Valley Conference series of the regular season on the road this weekend, when it takes on Valparaiso (5-31, 1-20 MVC).
A doubleheader is set to begin at 12 p.m. on Friday, before the three-game series concludes at 11 a.m. on Saturday. There will be no live stream available, but fans are able to follow along via live stats.
A LOT AT STAKE
Illinois State – who currently sits atop the Valley standings – is still in contention for the regular season title. Head coach Melinda Fischer's Redbirds will go head-to-head with former ISU standout Kate Stake's squad. Stake was an All-American infielder for the Redbirds from 2002-05 and still holds the single game home run record at Marian Kneer Stadium. The Redbirds, who last won the regular season crown in 2017, have 13 regular season titles in program history, including 11 under the direction of Fischer.
NATIONALLY KNOWN
As a team, the Redbirds rank in the top 35 in NCAA Division I in win-loss percentage, earned run average (ERA), strikeout-to-walk ratio and shutouts. Mack Leonard, who leads the team at the plate with a .423 batting average and nine home runs, ranks among the best in the nation in on-base percentage. In the circle, Leonard and Morgan Day have combined for 27 of ISU's 28 victories and all the Redbirds' shutouts. Day, who has the seventh-most strikeouts in NCAA Division I with 221, ranks 10th nationally in strikeouts per seven innings (10.9).
POWERFUL PAIR
The junior tandem of Leonard and Emme Olson has been a threat all season, as the duo sit in the top three on the team in batting average, RBIs, doubles and total bases. Leonard has just been struck out three times in the last 10 games and is currently riding a 22-game reached base streak into this weekend's series with Valparaiso.
For updates on Illinois State Softball, follow the Redbirds on Twitter (@RedbirdsSB) and Instagram (@redbirdsoftball). Game dates, times, opponents and locations are all subject to change.
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