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 Illinois State (22-18, 7-5 MVC) fell 6-1 to DePaul Wednesday
evening in a nonconference contest and has dropped five of its last
seven games. ISU managed just two hits off Blue Demon starter
Kirsten Verdun and scored its lone run on an RBI double by junior
Lauren Kellar. Senior starter Megan Warner suffered the loss and
fell to 8-6 on the season, allowing five runs on six hits in three
innings inside the circle.
"DePaul has been playing very well recently," head coach Melinda
Fischer said. "That had a lot of quality at-bats against Megan and
later in the game against Sophia (Perez). The difference in the game
was that they were able to get hits when they needed them. I thought
the hits by Jhavon (Hamilton) and Lauren were going to spark us in
the sixth, but it stopped soon after that."
Heading into the weekend, the Redbirds sit fifth in the MVC
standings, a game behind Drake (17-19, 8-4 MVC). Junior Jhavon
Hamilton leads the Illinois State offense with a .333 batting
average and is tied for the team lead with six home runs and 21 RBIs.
Sophomore Laura Canopy and senior Liz Andrews are also hitting over
.300 for the Redbirds, owning averages of .330 and .316,
respectively. In the circle, senior Jordan Birch leads the pitching
staff with a 1.76 ERA. The Monroe, Wash., native is 13-11 on the
season with 134 strikeouts around just 27 walks and is holding
opposing hitters to a .207 average in her 131 innings. Warner
brings a 3.87 ERA into the weekend and has notched 36 strikeouts in
88 2-3 innings of work.
Drake was swept by Northern Iowa in conference play last weekend,
before rebounding with a nonconference win over in-state rival Iowa
State Tuesday in Des Moines, Iowa. The Bulldogs return 10 letter winners and seven starters from last year's squad and were
tabbed sixth in the MVC Preseason Coaches' Poll. Drake is led by
head coach Rich Calvert, who is in his ninth year at the helm of the
Bulldog program and served as an assistant under Fischer at Illinois
State from 1986-92.
"Drake has played a competitive schedule this season, and even though
we do not know a lot about the current roster, we have to be ready
to go," Fischer said. "I think both teams are looking to gain
confidence after last weekend, and from our perspective we have to have the
confidence to put some hits together and score some runs. I also think we have
to have confidence in the fact that we can make a run at the conference title.
It is not out the picture, but in order to really make a run for it, we have to
take care of the teams that are ahead of us right now, and Drake is in that
position."
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Offensively, Drake is hitting .245 as a team, with only one
player, Hayley Nybo, hitting over .300. Nybo leads the team with
a .314 average, five homers, 25 RBIs and a .539 slugging
percentage and is one of three Bulldogs with eight doubles. Amy
Pierce is hitting .288 with a team-best three triples, and Torey
Craddock and Lindsey Vande Wall both boast .284 averages. Drake
leads the Valley with 71 stolen bases this season, 19 more than
any other league team. Vande Wall has swiped 18 bases to lead
the team, and Pierce has been successful in 14 of her 16 stolen
base attempts.
Jordan Gronewold and Rebekah Schmidt are the only two pitchers
to throw innings for Drake this season and have combined for six
shutouts and a 2.73 ERA. Gronewold has been the ace of the staff
with a 13-13 record and 2.51 ERA in her 31 starts. The sophomore
righty has fanned 140 opposing hitters in 159 innings. Schmidt
has made the other six starts for the Bulldogs and has appeared
23 times out of the bullpen. The freshman righty is 4-6 on the
year with a 3.18 ERA.
Illinois State and Drake have met 74 times on the softball
diamond, and the Redbirds lead the all-time series 53-21. ISU
took two of three games in last year's series in Des Moines, but
the Bulldogs have won six of the last eight meetings.
The Redbirds will be attempting to "Pack the Park" Sunday, as
kids will be invited to run the bases following the game, and the
team will be available for a postgame autograph session. Ice
cream sundaes will also be available for purchase as part of a
"Sundae Sunday" promotion. Former Redbird greats Tiffany Prager
and Cathy Peverly Stone will also be in attendance this weekend,
as Prager will serve as a Redbird ambassador for Saturday's
games and Peverly Stone will be the ambassador for Sunday's
contest.
[Text from
news release received from Dustin Hall, athletics
communications, Illinois State University]
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