NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State softball team will host its final Missouri Valley Conference series at home this weekend, when the Redbirds welcome in the UNI Panthers for a crucial three-game set at Marian Kneer Stadium.

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+. Following Sunday's contest, Illinois State will honor its four seniors with a special Senior Day postgame ceremony.

THE SERIES
The Redbirds and Panthers and will clash for the 122nd time in program history on Friday, with the Redbirds leading the all-time series 79-41-1. UNI swept Illinois State in last year's series in Cedar Falls, with 8-0, 4-1, and 19-1 victories.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
•    UNI (26-16, 14-7 MVC) is looking to bounce back from a 6-2 loss to in-state rival Iowa State on Tuesday. Despite the defeat, the Panthers saw strong individual performances at the plate, with Skylar Benesh and Addison McElrath each recording multi-hit games. 
•    The Panthers are coming off a standout weekend performance in their last MVC series against league-leader Southern Illinois. Junior slugger Kate Lappe put together one of the most dominant series performances of the season, batting .625 with four home runs, six RBIs, and a 2.125 slugging percentage. Redshirt junior Anna Wischnowski led the charge in the circle, picking up both wins in the series with 5.2 innings pitched and just three hits allowed. Her 1.59 ERA over the weekend helped secure UNI's critical series victory.
•    For their performances, Lappe and freshman Drew Hinrichs earned MVC weekly honors. Lappe notched her second MVC Player of the Week nod of the year and became the first Panther to earn D1Softball.com National Player of the Week recognition. Hinrichs was named MVC Freshman of the Week for the first time in her career.
•    UNI enters the weekend leading the MVC in several key statistical categories, including home runs (65), RBIs (247), runs per game (6.29), slugging percentage (.504), on-base percentage (.399), and stolen bases (88). The Panthers also rank top-20 nationally in multiple categories, including eighth in walks (203) and 11th in home runs per game (1.55).

REDBIRD NEWS & NOTES
•    Illinois State (19-26, 12-9 MVC) scored seven runs over the first two innings on Tuesday to pick up a 7-3 win over Bradley to secure the series sweep over their I-74 rivals. Outfielder Julia Larson was the offensive standout for the Redbirds, as she recorded a double and a triple and drove in five runs for ISU. 
•    The win gave the Redbirds their second MVC series sweep of the season, following a three-game sweep of Valparaiso earlier in the year. The Birds continued their hot streak of late, having now won eight of their last nine games overall.
•    The Redbirds took two out three games last weekend against Missouri State, winning the first two games before dropping the second game of a doubleheader on Friday. With those wins, the Redbirds jumped the Bears in the league standings and currently sit in fourth place.
•    Hannah Meshnick picked up a complete-game victory over Missouri State in the first game of the series, while her battery mate Bella Wilkerson had three hits and three RBIs to pace the Redbirds. ISU also picked up a win in the first game of the doubleheader on Friday, as Paige McLeod fired a gem of her own in the circle with a complete-game victory and the offense got a big 3-run home run off the bat of Bella Atkinson to secure the series victory.
•    ISU continues to be one of the better defensive teams in the league, boasting a .966 fielding percentage which ranks second overall behind Belmont. The Redbirds have committed the second-fewest errors in the MVC (45) and are third in the Valley in double plays turned (15). Illinois State pitching has also been solid, as the Redbirds are tied for second in the Valley in team ERA at 3.34.
•    Senior Abby Knight continues to lead the way for the Redbirds, batting a team-best .342 with nine doubles and 16 RBI. Fellow senior Delainey Bryant, who picked up her 200th career hit in the series against Missouri State, is hitting .307 and leads the Redbirds with four home runs on the year.
•    Outfielder Julia Larson has been rolling of late, as she has reached base in 12 straight games (longest streak of the year for a Redbird player) and has a nine-game hitting streak heading into the weekend. Knight also brings a nine-game hitting streak into the contest and Bryant has hit in seven games in a row.
 
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