DES MOINES, Iowa – Winners of four-straight games and five out of its last six games overall, Illinois State will hit the road this weekend and travel to Des Moines, Iowa, to take on Drake in a three-game weekend conference series at Ron Buel Field.

First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 5 p.m., followed by a 2 p.m. start on Saturday and a noon game on Sunday to wrap up the series.
Live stats for each game will be available via StatBroadcast and links can be found on the softball schedule page on GoRedbirds.com. All three games will also be streamed will live on ESPN+.

THE SERIES
The Redbirds lead the all-time series over the Bulldogs, 29-23, with Drake holding a 13-18 mark in home games against the Redbirds. Last year, Drake took two out of three games against Illinois State in a three-game set in Normal.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
•    Drake (11-20, 3-6 MVC) improved its overall record to 11-20 on the season following a 3-1 record last week against Western Illinois and Indiana State. 
•    The Bulldogs had a season-best offensive performance against the Leathernecks, with a season-high 14 runs in a 14-2 victory and then took two of three games against the Sycamores to give them their first MVC series win of the year.
•    At the plate, the Bulldogs are led by freshman standout Ava Curry, who leads the team in hitting at .364 and went 5-for-13 (.384) last week with two runs scored and two RBI. Both of her RBI's were game-winners, with a go-ahead single and a walk-off sacrifice fly.
•    Sophomore Natalee Watts also produced at the dish last week for Drake, going 6-for-13 (.462) with a double, a triple, and a home run over four games.
•    In the circle, senior Paige Bedsworth leads the way for the Bulldogs and owns a record of 4-1 with the second-best ERA in the MVC at 1.55. Over 40.1 innings of work, she has compiled 24 strikeouts to 11 walks and is holding opponents to a .199 batting average.

REDBIRD NEWS & NOTES
•    Illinois State (11-23, 5-5 MVC) is on a roll of late, winning its last four games and five out of the last six overall.
•    On Tuesday, the Redbirds clinched a series win over I-74 rival Bradley with a shutout 1-0 victory in Peoria in midweek action. That followed a doubleheader sweep of UIC last weekend to win that series, with the final game to be resumed in Normal on April 30 following a postponement due to rain.
•    The Redbirds are one of the better defensive teams in the league, boasting a .963 fielding percentage which ranks second overall behind Belmont. The Redbirds have committed the second-fewest errors in the MVC (36) and lead the Valley in double plays turned (14). Illinois State pitching has also been solid, as the Redbirds rank third in the Valley in team ERA at 3.59.
•    Abby Knight leads Illinois State with a .324 batting average and is tied for third in the MVC in doubles (9). Addison Masching has recorded a team-leading 12 RBI this season and is the only player on the Redbird roster with a four-hit game.
•    Hannah Meshnick, fresh off a complete-game shutout of Bradley on Tuesday night, leads the Redbird pitching staff with a 3.00 ERA and six wins in the circle, totaling 45 strikeouts on the season.
•    Illinois State features four standouts selected for the 2025 All-MVC preseason team in seniors Delainey Bryant and Bella Wilkerson and sophomores Paige McLeod and Adisyn Hopkins. The four selections led all MVC programs.

For updates on Illinois State Softball, follow the Redbirds on Twitter (@RedbirdsSB), Instagram (@redbirdsoftball), and Facebook (Illinois State Redbird Softball).

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