The Illinois State Redbirds softball team will begin Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play with a three-game series at Evansville on March 7 and 8. The series starts with a doubleheader scheduled for Friday at Tri-State Orthopedics Field at James & Dorothy Cooper Stadium, followed by the final game on Saturday.
Under Coach Kramos, the Redbirds have yet to win a conference opener, holding an 0-3 record in those games. Over the past three seasons, Illinois State has posted a 50-29 record in MVC competition and finished last season with a 16-11 mark in the league.
The team enters conference play following a strong showing at the Make It Happen Games in Madeira Beach, Florida. From February 27 to March 1, Illinois State went 4-1, recording wins against Colgate, UAlbany, Siena and UMass. The Redbirds achieved two shutouts during this stretch and now hold an overall record of 10-6.
Two players received MVC weekly honors on March 3. Morgan Calhoun was named Freshman of the Week after batting .500 with two home runs and six RBIs over five games. She leads her team with a .440 average this season and is fourth in the conference. Hannah Meeks earned Player of the Week honors for hitting .538 with four doubles, one grand slam and six RBIs over the weekend. This marks Meeks’ second career MVC Player of the Week award.
Junior pitcher Paige McLeod won all three of her starts in Florida, allowing only three earned runs across 18.1 innings for an ERA of 1.15. She pitched two complete games and now ranks third among conference pitchers with a season ERA of 2.07.
Hannah Meeks hit her first career home run—a grand slam—against UMass as part of her standout performance that included two doubles and five RBIs in that game alone.
Senior Bella Atkinson contributed three home runs during last weekend’s tournament; she currently ranks sixth in total homers within the conference this season with four overall. Freshman Morgan Calhoun added two more home runs to bring her season total to three—tying her for most by any freshman so far this year.
Defensively, sisters Ella Boyer and Ava Boyer worked alongside teammates Bella Atkinson (third base), Hannah Meeks (first base), and Morgan Calhoun (first base) to turn six double plays during their recent trip to Madeira Beach; their nine total double plays this year place them among national leaders.
Illinois State Redbirds benefit from support such as the Redbird Athletics Excellence Fund which aids competitiveness and recruitment according to their official website. The program also uses facilities like OSF HealthCare Athletics Training Center for student-athlete preparation (source). As part of Illinois State University (source), they compete across NCAA Division I events regionally (source). Fans can find news updates, schedules, rosters and additional resources through GoRedbirds.com.
