McLean County Times

After spending the initial 27 games of their season on the road, the Illinois State softball team is set to host its first home series of the year. The Redbirds will face Belmont in a three-game Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) series at Marian Kneer Stadium.

Due to anticipated adverse weather conditions on Sunday, the teams will play a doubleheader on Friday starting at 1 p.m., with the second game commencing approximately 35 minutes after the first concludes. The final game is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m.

Fans can access live stats for each game via StatBroadcast, with links available on GoRedbirds.com. All three games will also be streamed live on ESPN+.

Illinois State holds a historical advantage over Belmont with a 5-1 lead in their all-time series. The last meeting between these teams occurred in 2023 when they split two games in Nashville, and the third was canceled. They did not compete against each other in 2024.

Belmont currently leads the MVC standings with an impressive record of 21-7 overall and 5-0 in conference play. They have achieved a ten-game winning streak, which is currently the longest in the league. Belmont ranks No. 10 on the D1Softball Mid-Major Top 25 Poll and No. 39 in NCAA RPI standings.

In recent action, Belmont secured an 8-0 victory over Murray State, where Maya Johnson excelled by recording 12 strikeouts and allowing only one hit. Johnson is leading several NCAA categories including strikeouts (168), strikeout-to-walk ratio (33.60), and ERA (.72). Nicole Hughes spearheads Belmont's offense with a .386 batting average.

Illinois State aims to end its seven-game losing streak after dropping three games to Southern Illinois last weekend. The Redbirds are recognized for their defensive capabilities, ranking second in fielding percentage within the league. Abby Knight leads Illinois State offensively with a .301 batting average while Hannah Meshnick heads their pitching staff with a 3.38 ERA.

The Redbirds boast four players named to the 2025 All-MVC preseason team: seniors Delainey Bryant and Bella Wilkerson, along with sophomores Paige McLeod and Hopkins.

For further updates on Illinois State Softball, fans can follow them on Twitter (@RedbirdsSB), Instagram (@redbirdsoftball), and Facebook (Illinois State Redbird Softball).

GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App offer additional resources such as tickets, multimedia content, merchandise, photos, and more.