ILLINOIS STATE Softball MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS • The Missouri Valley Conference has had multiple softball teams earn bids to the NCAA Tournament in five of the last seven •
seasons, including a run of five-straight years from 2003-07. Illinois State was part of that dubious achievement from 2006-07. The Redbirds have made six trips to the NCAA Tournament in the league’s 27-year history. League members include Bradley University, Creighton University, Drake University, the University of Evansville, Illinois State University, Indiana State University, Missouri State University, the University of Northern Iowa, Southern Illinois University and Wichita State University.
VALLEY DOMINANCE – ILLINOIS STATE SOFTBALL A league member dating back to the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference’s inception in 1982, Illinois State and Redbird softball have been a dominant force in The Valley from the very beginning. Below are highlights of some of the Redbirds’ Missouri Valley Conference accomplishments in softball.
• Illinois State has won 11 Valley regular-season softball titles, six more than the next closest school (Creighton – five).
• The Redbirds are tied with Missouri State for the most conference tournament titles won with five apiece.
• Illinois State’s 355 Missouri Valley Conference wins and 823 overall wins (since joining The Valley in 1983) are the most in league history.
• The Illinois State softball program, along with its current and past players, own a
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combined eight MVC single-season and career records, including: single-season team RBI; career batting average; single-season hits; career RBI; single-season and career home runs; single-season triples; career pitching appearances; and career ERA. ISU head coach Melinda Fischer is the Valley’s all-time winningest softball coach and was selected as the MVC All-Centennial Softball Team head coach following the 2007 season. The Redbirds rank first among Valley schools in both All-America (16) and Valley Scholar-Athlete selections (14). Illinois State has made an appearance in each of the 26 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Softball Tournaments, the only Valley program to appear in every conference postseason softball tournament.
ALL-TIME CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS YEAR 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
REG. SEASON Missouri State Illinois State Illinois State Illinois State Eastern Illinois• Eastern Illinois• Western Illinois• Illinois State Southern Illinois Missouri State Drake Missouri State Illinois State Illinois State Illinois State Creighton Creighton Evansville Illinois State Illinois State Illinois State Southern Illinois Southern Illinois Illinois State Creighton Creighton Creighton
CONF. TOURNEY Missouri State Western Illinois• Illinois State Indiana State Western Illinois• Illinois State Wichita State Northern Iowa Southern Illinois Western Illinois• Drake Drake Illinois State Missouri State Missouri State Missouri State Creighton Illinois State Illinois State Evansville Creighton Creighton Creighton Missouri State Creighton Drake Bradley
• Indicates school is no longer a member of the Missouri Valley Conference
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2010 Redbird Softball Media Guide