NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State (25-20, 14-6 MVC) will head to Evansville, Ind. to take on the Evansville Purple Aces (21-26, 7-14 MVC) for the Redbirds' final road series of the 2023 regular season on Apr. 28-30.
SERIES SCHEDULE
Friday, Apr. 28 – Illinois State at Evansville – 5 p.m. CT | ESPN+ | Watch | Live Stats
Saturday, Apr. 29 – Illinois State at Evansville – 2 p.m. CT | ESPN3 | Watch | Live Stats
Sunday, Apr. 30 – Illinois State at Evansville – noon CT | ESPN+ | Watch | Live Stats
SERIES HISTORY
Illinois State leads the all-time series with Evansville 55-21. The series between the Redbirds and Purple Aces dates back to 1984 when the first all-time meeting occurred on April 6, 1984 (Illinois State won 3-0). Illinois State has won the last 14 contests between these two programs which dates back to their matchup in the MVC Tournament in 2016 (5/12/16). Six of those 14 games have been run-rule wins for the Redbirds.
Illinois State and Evansville met for a three-game series in 2022 on the Redbirds' home field in Normal, Ill. The Redbirds swept the Purple Aces. Illinois State won a pair of close 3-2 games to bookend the series and the middle game of the series was a 9-0, run-rule win for the Redbirds. The 9-0 win included a grand slam from junior Jayden Standish for the Redbirds. The final win of the series was a walk-off victory for Illinois State as sophomore Abby Knight singled to center field to drive in senior Kaili Chval in the bottom of the seventh!
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Evansville currently holds a 21-26 overall record with a 7-14 record in conference play. The Purple Aces got off to a slow start in MVC play as they lost two out of three games to Bradley and then got swept by Missouri State. Evansville then bounced back to win series over Belmont and Southern Illinois. After beating a red-hot Southern Illinois tea, UE fell to Murray State and then got swept by UIC. The Purple Aces enter this weekend series with the Redbirds on a seven-game slide after dropping a midweek contest against Indiana State.
The Purple Aces ended their 2022 campaign at 24-27 with a 9-18 conference record. UE started the season strong by winning five in a row and went into Valley play with a 15-7 record. Evansville won the series over Drake, took a game from UNI and then won the series over Loyola before getting swept by Illinois State. Then got swept by Missouri State. The Purple Aces ended their season on a loss to Loyola in the MVC Tournament in the first round of games.
NEWS & NOTES
Olson's Program Record: Fifth-year senior Emme Olson has been chasing the program record for career doubles since the start of the 2023 season. Olson hit 16 doubles in 2022 to end up fifth in program history in single-season doubles and end the season fifth in program history with 40 career doubles - only 10 doubles from holding the program record. When she decided to take her fifth year of eligibility, it was a no-brainer she would eventually break the record. She recorded her 50th career double against UNI on April 22, 2023 to surpass Kara Nelson (2007-11; 49 doubles) for the new program record. Congrats, Emme!
National Stats: As a team, Illinois State currently ranks 13th in the nation in team fielding percentage (.978). As a team, the Redbirds are also 19th in total doubles (70), 21st in doubles per game (1.56) and 26th in double plays per game (0.44). The Redbirds' marks in fielding percentage and double plays per game also rank first in the conference.
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