It took a couple innings for the Illinois State offense to heat up on Saturday against Valparaiso in game two of the weekend series, but the Redbirds (15-25, 8-7 MVC) came alive with five runs combined in the third and fourth innings on some timely hits to come away with a 6-2 over the Beacons (17-20, 6-10 MVC) to take the series win.

Valparaiso took a lead in the second inning against Illinois State in the opening contest of a three-game weekend MVC series on Friday, but the Redbirds (14-25, 7-7 MVC) answered with two runs in the top of the third inning and great pitching and defense allowed them to hang on for a 2-1 victory over the Beacons (17-19, 6-9 MVC).

Winners of six of its last eight games, Illinois State will continue its conference road trip this weekend in Indiana when the Redbirds take on Valparaiso in a three-game set at the Valpo Softball Complex.

Through the first nine innings of Tuesday's midweek game in Iowa City, Illinois State and Iowa were locked in a 0-0 tie thanks to strong pitching from both squads. However, the Redbirds (13-25) were able to push two runs across the plate in the top half of the tenth inning and held on in the bottom half to pick up a 2-1 win over the Hawkeyes (22-15) at Bob Pearl Field.

Illinois State will have its final non-conference game of the season on Tuesday, as the Redbirds travel to Iowa City to take on Big Ten Conference foe Iowa in a midweek matchup at Bob Pearl Field. First pitch is scheduled for 4pm CT.

After being held to one run in each of the first two games of the series at Drake, the Illinois State offense exploded for a season-high 15 runs on a season-best 18 hits on Sunday as the Redbirds (12-25, 6-7 MVC) won the series finale over the Bulldogs (13-21, 5-7 MVC) at Ron Buel Field by a score of 15-5 in five innings.

The second game of the weekend series between Illinois State and Drake was a close one, as the Redbirds trailed by just one for most of the game. However, Drake (13-20, 5-6 MVC) added an insurance in the bottom of the sixth inning which would prove to be the winning run as the Redbirds (11-25, 5-7 MVC) were able to score a run in the seventh but it was not enough in a 2-1 defeat to the Bulldogs on Saturday at Ron Buel Field.

It was a chilly night in Des Moines for the series opener between Illinois State and Drake, which was delayed an hour due to rain in the area earlier in the day. Unfortunately for the Redbirds (11-24, 5-6 MVC), the Bulldogs (12-20, 4-6 MVC) scored in three-straight innings to pick up a 4-1 win over the Redbirds at Ron Buel Field.