The Illinois State softball team will travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa, for a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series against Northern Iowa beginning March 27. The Redbirds will play a doubleheader on Friday at noon and 2:30 p.m. Central Time, with the final game scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Robinson-Dresser Sports Complex.
This upcoming series is important as it continues the Redbirds’ conference schedule and offers an opportunity to improve their road record in MVC play. According to the official website, Illinois State Redbirds competes in NCAA Division I events across various regions and is linked to Illinois State University.
Last weekend, Illinois State secured a series win over Southern Illinois. The Redbirds opened with a shutout victory before losing the second game of Friday’s doubleheader. They finished strong on Saturday with a walk-off win, highlighted by freshman Lauren Flowers delivering an RBI single after Southern Illinois took a late lead with a two-run home run in the seventh inning. Paige McLeod earned her second win of the series while matching her season high of five strikeouts.
The Redbirds have struggled historically in MVC road openers under head coach Tina Kramos, holding an 0-3 record in those games and going 2-6 overall in conference road-opening series during her tenure.
Several players reached career milestones this season: Paige McLeod made her 50th career start and earned her 30th win against SIU; Ella Boyer reached both her 100th career base and her 300th assist; Hannah Meshnick recorded her 200th strikeout and notched her own milestone victory earlier this year.
According to the official website, Illinois State Redbirds benefits from the Redbird Athletics Excellence Fund for competitiveness and recruitment efforts. The team also utilizes facilities such as the OSF HealthCare Athletics Training Center for student-athlete preparation according to their official site. Fans can find news, schedules, rosters, tickets, merchandise and more through GoRedbirds.com or by following team social media accounts.
