The University of Illinois Springfield softball team will continue the season with another tournament appearance. The Prairie Stars will travel to Evansville, Indiana at the Blue Bridge Battle. At the Blue Bridge Battle, the Stars will face Davis & Elkins (2/23 at 2:00 p.m.), Cedarville (2/23 at 4:00 p.m.), Ashland (2/24 at 10:00 a.m.), and Findlay (2/24 at 12:00 p.m.).

UIS (5-3)

The Prairie Stars went 2-2 at the Music City Classic last weekend in Tennessee. Friday morning saw the Stars play Cedarville and Harding. UIS was able to come away with two close wins. Against Cedarville, UIS controlled the game for a large part, including out-hitting the Yellow Jackets 11-3, but only came away with a 7-5 win. Harding proved to be another tough opponent as both teams took turns scoring. A three-run fifth inning gave the Stars the lead, and Rosie Bartletti came in to shut the door to secure the win. Saturday morning's games were moved back because of the cold weather as the Stars faced off against Northwood and Ashland. Northwood jumped all over UIS early, as they routed the Prairie Stars 10-1. Ashland and UIS went run for run in the second game of the day. With nothing to separate the two teams in seven innings, the game had to go into extras. UIS batted first but couldn't score the runner on second. The Eagles were able to load the bases in the bottom of the eighth and drive in the winning run on a single down the left field line. 

The team recorded 36 hits, seven steals, and thirteen walks. Rosie Bartletti holds a 3-0 record so far this season with 17 strikeouts and a 1.31 ERA. 

Davis & Elkins (6-2)

This will be the first meeting ever between the Prairie Stars and the Senators. The team from West Virginia traveled to Tucson, Arizona last weekend to play in the Cactus Classic. D&E went 2-2 with wins against San Francisco State (5-4) and Western New Mexico (8-3). Their losses came at the hands of the University of Nebraska at Kearney and Adams State. The loss to Nebraska Kearney was a low scoring affair (1-4) that only featured six hits between the teams. Adams State jumped on the Senators early as they rattled off 17 hits on the way to an 11-6 win. In both of their wins, Davis & Elkins had a huge seventh inning to either take the lead, or provide enough insurance runs to secure the win. 

Cedarville (1-6)

The Yellow Jackets went 1-3 at the Music City Classic last weekend. Cedarville had to wait for their last game of the weekend to earn their first win of the season, coming against Drury. All three of their losses were by three or less runs, 5-7 to UIS, 0-3 to Davenport, and 5-7 to Indianapolis. Cedarville's 9-5 win against Drury was propelled by their eight-run fifth inning. 

Ashland (2-1)

The Eagles went 2-1 to start their 2024 season at the Music City Classic last weekend. Ashland dropped their season opener on Friday to McKendree in extra innings 2-3. Their second game on Friday was canceled due to rain. On Saturday the Eagles were able to win two close games in the cold temperatures. Ashland beat Davenport 7-5 before beating UIS 8-7 in extra innings. Davenport looked to have the early advantage with a 5-2 lead after two innings. A three-run fourth inning tied the game. A single run in both the sixth and seventh inning pushed the Eagles to their first win of the 2024 season. 

Findlay (4-2)

The Oilers began their season on February 3 at the Railsplitter Invitational in Harrogate, Tennessee, where they split four games. Their two wins in Tennessee came against Ferris State, 9-4 & 5-4. Findlay lost 1-3 to Lincoln Memorial and 2-6 to Purdue Northwest. The next games for the Oilers came against Notre Dame (Ohio) in a doubleheader on February 10. Findlay was able to score 23 runs on 24 hits in the two games as they run-ruled the Falcons twice, 11-3 (6 inn.) & 12-4 (5 inn.). 

How to Follow 

Every game will be attempted to be live streamed through UIS Softball's Facebook account. Each game will also feature live stats, which can be found through the UIS Softball schedule. If you will be attending the games in person, Tickets will be available online at www.kwcpanthers.com/tickets. Single day passes are $8 while three-day passes are $20. To follow the tournament schedule, click here.