NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State softball (16-18, 7-4 MVC) will travel to DePaul (17-18, 6-6 Big East) to face the Blue Demons in the Redbirds' final non-conference matchup of the 2022 season on Tuesday, April 12 at 4 p.m. CT.
GAME INFORMATION
Illinois State (16-18, 7-4 MVC) vs. DePaul (17-18, 6-6 Big East)
Dates/Times:
Tuesday, April 12 – 4 p.m. CT
City: Chicago, Ill.
Field: Cacciatore Stadium
Streaming: Flo Softball ($$$)
SERIES HISTORY
The all-time series between the DePaul Blue Demons and the Illinois State Redbirds dates back to 1986, and DePaul holds the advantage in the all-time series record, leading the Redbirds 20-18-1. The last time these programs met was on April 13, 2021 in Normal, Ill. The Redbirds beat the Blue Demons 7-2 as Brandi LaFountaine, Kaili Chval, and Reili Gardner all picked up RBI in that contest.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
In 2021, DePaul was 25-11 overall and posted a 13-1 record in Big East conference play. The Blue Demons had a perfect record at home (10-0) a season ago. They lost early in the Big East tournament to end their 2021 campaign. In 2022, DePaul is currently 17-18 overall and 6-6 in conference. Similar to Illinois State, DePaul's preseason schedule was tough and filled with teams like Florida, Stanford, Ole Miss, UCF, and Oregon State. The Blue Demons enter the nonconference game with the Redbirds after securing a sweep of Seton Hall.
WALK. IT. OFF.
The Redbirds walked off the Evansville Purple Aces in the final game of the three-game series. Freshman Abby Knight singled to center field with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to score Kaili Chval and secure the Redbirds' first series sweep of the 2022 season. Knight also drove in another run earlier in the game on a sac fly. She was 2-for-3 with 2 RBI and a sac fly.
BIG BLAST FOR STANDISH
Sophomore Jayden Standish blasted her second career grand slam against Evansville in the second game of the series. Her big blast led to a Redbird rally and Illinois State ended up beating the Purple Aces 9-0 in five innings. Standish's first career grand slam was against Coastal Carolina on March 7, 2021 when she went 2-for-4 with 5 RBI.
FOX IS FIRING
Junior hurler Amanda Fox has been called on to lead the Redbirds in the circle as the lefty tossed 26.0 innings in six games in a span of five days. Fox had a career day against Indiana State on Apr. 3 as she went the distance and struck out 11 batters - both a career high in innings pitched (7.0) and Ks (11). She pitched another complete game against Drake in the first game of the DH as the Redbirds beat the Bulldogs 8-0 in a five-inning game.
For updates on Illinois State Softball, follow the Redbirds on Twitter (@RedbirdsSB) and Instagram (@redbirdsoftball).
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
