Redbirds Back In Tennessee For Softball This Weekend

NORMAL, Ill. – For the second weekend in a row, the Illinois State softball team will head to the state of Tennessee as the Redbirds travel to Murfreesboro for four games at the Middle Tennessee Invitational, before capping off the weekend in Nashville on Sunday against Ohio as part of the Lipscomb Purple/Gold Challenge.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday, Feb. 28 – Illinois State at Middle Tennessee – 1:30 p.m. CT
Friday, Feb. 28 – Ball State vs. Illinois State – 4 p.m. CT
Saturday, March 1 – Illinois State at Middle Tennessee – 11 a.m. CT
Saturday, March 1 – Illinois State vs. Ball State – 4 p.m. CT
Sunday, March 2 – Illinois State vs. Ohio – 10 a.m. CT

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
•    Middle Tennessee (4-11) will be playing at home for the first time this season, when they host the Redbirds and the Cardinals this weekend. The Blue Raiders are coming off an extra inning loss to Austin Peay in Clarksville on Wednesday and got a stellar outing from freshman Leila Ammon who pitched 4.2 innings while giving up zero earned runs to bring her season ERA to a team-best 3.82. Last weekend at the Mercer Tournament, MTSU picked up a win in the final game over Alabama State, 8-7, as Ava Brooks and Addy Edgmon both had great weekends hitting over .350 with slugging percentages over .600. 
•    Ball State (7-2) enters the weekend as one of the nation's top scoring programs, ranking 15th nationally at 8.11 runs per game. Redshirt junior center fielder Hayley Urban made a splash last weekend at the Charlotte Invitational and currently leads all MAC players in slugging percentage (1.059) and OPS (1.609), while ranking second in both batting average (.471) and home runs (3).
•    Ohio (9-4) went 4-0 last weekend at the Low Country Classic and were led by freshman pitcher Anna Wise, who was named the Mid-American Conference Pitcher of the Week for her performance. Wise pitched 12.0 innings, allowing two unearned runs on five hits, while walking one and striking out six, with opponents only hitting, .116 against her in two wins in the circle over the weekend. The Bobcats are hitting .316 as a team, led by Maddie Wilcox (.375), Emma Hoffner (.368) and Brenna Farmer (.362) who have combined to drive in 44 of the team's 84 runs on the year.

NEWS & NOTES
•    The Redbirds are winners of their last two games and three out of the last five overall, thanks to a Sunday sweep last weekend in Chattanooga over Southeast Missouri (5-4) and Lamar (6-1). ISU finished the tournament 2-2 overall, after Friday's contests were cancelled due cold temperatures.
•    ISU ranks second in the MVC in team ERA (2.46) and fielding percentage (.974) through 13 games.
•    Addison Masching led the way for the Redbirds last weekend in Chattanooga, as she hit .385 and drove in six runs for the Redbirds. Her four RBI effort on Sunday helped the Redbirds score a season-high six runs in a win over Lamar.
•    In the circle, Hannah Meshnick continues to shine for the Redbirds as she picked up a win and her first save of the season in Chattanooga. Meshnick currently ranks fifth in the MVC with a 1.32 ERA and is third in the league with four complete games in 47.2 innings pitched.

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

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