McLean County Times

The Illinois State softball team is set to travel to Tennessee for the second consecutive weekend. The Redbirds will participate in the Middle Tennessee Invitational in Murfreesboro, followed by a game against Ohio in Nashville as part of the Lipscomb Purple/Gold Challenge.

The tournament schedule includes two games on Friday, February 28: Illinois State will face Middle Tennessee at 1:30 p.m. CT and Ball State at 4 p.m. CT. On Saturday, March 1, they will again play Middle Tennessee at 11 a.m. CT and Ball State at 4 p.m. CT. The weekend concludes with a match against Ohio on Sunday, March 2, at 10 a.m. CT.

Middle Tennessee (4-11) will host their first home games of the season this weekend. They recently lost an extra-inning game to Austin Peay but saw strong performance from freshman pitcher Leila Ammon, who holds a team-best ERA of 3.82.

Ball State (7-2) ranks as one of the top scoring programs nationally with an average of 8.11 runs per game. Redshirt junior Hayley Urban leads MAC players in slugging percentage and OPS while ranking second in batting average and home runs.

Ohio (9-4) went undefeated last weekend at the Low Country Classic, led by freshman pitcher Anna Wise who was named Mid-American Conference Pitcher of the Week for her outstanding performance.

Illinois State has won its last two games and three out of five overall after sweeping Southeast Missouri and Lamar last Sunday in Chattanooga despite cold weather cancellations on Friday.

Addison Masching was instrumental for ISU last weekend with a .385 batting average and six RBIs, including four during Sunday's win over Lamar where ISU scored a season-high six runs.

Pitcher Hannah Meshnick continues to excel with a current ERA of 1.32 and ranks third in MVC for complete games pitched this season.

For more updates on Illinois State Softball, fans can follow their social media accounts or visit GoRedbirds.com for additional information regarding tickets and merchandise.