Illinois State Opens Conference Play at Missouri State

NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State softball team will travel to Springfield, Mo. to officially kickoff its 2022 conference season. The Redbirds are set to face the Missouri State Lady Bears for the first time in nearly two years for a three-game series on March 19-20.

The doubleheader on Saturday, March 19 was originally scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. CT, but now the first game will start 2 p.m. CT with the second game following approximately 30 minutes after. 

SERIES INFORMATION

Illinois State (9-13, 0-0 MVC) at Missouri State (8-12, 1-1 MVC)

Dates/Times:

Saturday, March 19 – 2:00 p.m. CT (doubleheader – game 1)

Saturday, March 19 – 4:30 p.m. CT (doubleheader – game 2) 

Sunday, March 20 – 12:00 p.m. CT 

City: Springfield, Mo.

Field: Killian Stadium

TV: ESPN3

SERIES HISTORY

The Redbirds and the Lady Bears will meet for the first time in nearly two years. The last time these programs met was on April 13, 2019, for a doubleheader in Normal, Ill. at Marin Kneer Stadium. Missouri State won both games, outscoring the Redbirds 15-7. Illinois State currently leads the all-time series record 67-41, but the Lady Bears have won the past five contests against the Redbirds. The last time the Redbirds beat the Lady Bears was when they swept the series at home in 2017 (Apr. 22-23). 

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

In 2021, Missouri State posted an overall record of 26-17 and a 16-6 record in conference play. The Lady Bears were third in the Missouri Valley Conference after the regular season. Missouri State lost to Northern Iowa in the semifinals of the MVC Tournament to end its 2021 campaign. 

Missouri State has played a tough schedule to begin the 2022 season, similar to Illinois State. The Lady Bears have played multiple teams receiving votes in top 25 national polls such as Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, and Arkansas. They began their conference season with a midweek doubleheader against Southern Illinois, splitting the matchup 1-1. Missouri State is currently 8-12 overall and 1-1 in conference heading into the series against the Redbirds.

PERFECTION

Junior pitcher Hannah Ross continued to reach new heights in the circle at the Middle Tennessee State Tournament in Murfreesboro, Tenn. (Mar. 10-11). The Scottsdale, Ariz. native, tossed the Redbirds first perfect game in over a decade in the second game of the tournament versus UT Martin. It was the third perfect game in program history and she threw a single-game career high in strikeouts (5). 

The last perfect game to be thrown by a Redbird prior to Ross' was February 27, 2011. Taylor Baxter (2011-14), a freshman at the time, threw a career high eight strikeouts in a 9-0 win over Central Connecticut State.

Through the first five weeks of the season, there have been 20 single-pitcher perfect games in NCAA DI softball, Ross's included (2/13-3/12). The majority of perfect games were five-inning run rules, with UCLA being the only team to have two perfect games so far this season (both thrown by the same pitcher and both five-inning contests). 

What makes Hannah Ross' special, is that there was only two hits in the entire contest, the fewest hits in a perfect game this season. One was a single by Delainey Bryant to break up UT Martin's no-hitter. The other is what saved the perfect game. Jayden Standish hit a walk-off solo home run to win the game and save Ross' perfect seven innings. If the game would have continued into extra innings, a runner would have been placed on second and the perfect game would have been ruined by a mere rule. It is the only perfect game this season that has been won/saved by a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.

REILI IS RAKING!

Sophomore outfielder Reili Gardner is currently the team leader in batting average (.388), hits (26), runs scored (12), and stolen bases (3-for-3). She is second in the Missouri Valley Conference in batting average (.388) and tied for first in hits (26). A season ago, Gardner averaged .233 with 20 hits in 39 games. She has already surpassed her 2021 hit total through the first 22 games of the 2022 season. 

OLSON NAMED SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE

Senior team captain Emme Olson is a leader on the field, in the classroom, and around her community. For her outstanding achievements in all three of these areas, Olson is one of 30 NCAA Division I softball student-athletes selected as a candidate for the 2022 Senior CLASS Award. 

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists later in the season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one candidate.

For updates on Illinois State Softball, follow the Redbirds on Twitter (@RedbirdsSB) and Instagram (@redbirdsoftball).

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