NORMAL, Ill. – For the second weekend in a row, the Illinois State softball team will host a Missouri Valley Conference foe as the Redbirds welcome in UIC for a three-game weekend series at Marian Kneer Stadium.
Due to expected inclement weather in the area on Sunday, the two teams will play a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 12 p.m., with the second game starting approximately 35 minutes after the completion of the first contest. The third and final game of the series will take place on Saturday at a time to be determined. There will be no game on Sunday
Live stats for each game will be available via StatBroadcast and links can be found on the softball schedule page on GoRedbirds.com. Saturday's series finale will be streamed live on ESPN+.
THE SERIES
The series between Illinois State and UIC dates to 1978, with the Redbirds leading the series 11-6. The two sides last met during the 2024 season in a three-game set, with UIC taking two of the three games in Chicago. During the 2023 season, the Redbirds swept a three-game set at home against the Flames, including a 15-6 win in the series finale in 6 innings.
SCOUTING THE FLAMES
•   UIC (4-27, 0-6 MVC) started the week in South Bend, Indiana, where they fell in a close 2-1 contest to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Larissa Ortiz scored the Flames' lone run in the top of the fourth inning off an Emma Gumont single. Overall, the Flames collected six hits on the day, one each from Dee Dee Caskey, Hailey Cowing, Ortiz, Sequoia Sanchez, Grace Fleming, and Gumont.
•   The Flames have not won a game since February 15, when they defeated Colorado State 3-0 at the Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose, California.
•   Caskey leads the UIC offense with a .321 batting average, 20 runs scored, 11 doubles and one home run and ranks second in RBI with 10. Sanchez leads the group with 12 RBI on the year to go along with a .286 average, while Cowing is hitting .311 with 10 RBI and a team-high 28 hits on the year.
•   In the circle, UIC has a pair of pitchers who have both started 12 or more games in Alyssa McIntosh and Jasmine Whorley. Both have a pair of wins on the year, with McIntosh pitching the most innings on the squad at 95.0 with a 5.38 ERA and 38 strikeouts.Â
REDBIRD NEWS & NOTES
•   Illinois State (8-23, 2-5 MVC) is coming off a midweek win on Tuesday at Bradley. With the game tied at 3-3 in the top of the seventh inning, catcher Bella Wilkerson came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. She proceeded to hit a double to left field and clear the bases to give the Redbirds a 6-3 lead, which they would hold onto for the win over the Braves in the first of three midweek I-74 rivalry games.
•   Last weekend, the Redbirds dropped a tough 2-1 decision in 10 innings in the first game of Friday's doubleheader against Belmont, despite a strong pitching performance by starter Hannah Meshnick who allowed just two earned runs on seven hits in 9.1 innings of work and a solo home run off the bat of Tatum Wolford. The second game of the series went much better for the Birds, who faced a 5-0 deficit in the sixth inning but scored a pair of runs on a home run by Abby Knight and then rallied for four runs in the seventh capped off by a 3-run walk off homerun by Delainey Bryant to give the Bruins their lone loss in Valley play.
•   Knight leads the Redbirds on the season with a .309 average and leads the team with seven doubles. Masching ranks second on the team in batting average at .281 but leads the team with 10 RBI, while Bryant leads the offense with three home runs and 16 runs scored on the year.
•   Illinois State features four standouts selected for the 2025 All-MVC preseason team in seniors Delainey Bryant and Bella Wilkerson and sophomores Paige McLeod and Hopkins. The four selections led all MVC programs.
For updates on Illinois State Softball, follow the Redbirds on Twitter (@RedbirdsSB), Instagram (@redbirdsoftball), and Facebook (Illinois State Redbird Softball).
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App:Â Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Athletic Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
