The University of Evansville softball team will return to Missouri Valley play this weekend as they travel to Normal, Ill. to face Illinois State in a three-game series at Redbird Softball Complex.

The Aces will take an 18-9 record into the weekend, having won three straight games and eight of their last ten games.

The Aces are coming off of a 5-1 win at Tennessee-Martin on Wednesday in which the Aces hit three home runs in the game. Senior Brittany Herald (Old Hickory, Tenn./Middle Tennessee State) started things off with a two-run shot in the third to put the Aces up 2-1. In the fifth, Herald and Jennifer Stahlhut (Troy, Ill./Triad) hit back-to-back home runs for the final score of 5-1. Herald is hitting a conference-best .420 this season and has moved into third all-time at UE with 19 career home runs.

The Aces’ defense continues to be one of the best in Division I. This week, the Aces were ranked 11th nationally with a .976 fielding percentage. The Aces have turned eight double plays and have committed just 19 errors as a team.

Offensively, the team carries a second-best batting average of .274 into the weekend series. Ten players have combined for 24 home runs and four Aces’ starters are hitting better than .300. Kristen Shirk (Milford, Ohio/Milford) leads the team hitting .412 against conference opponents.

Illinois State (13-14, 3-4) has struggled as of late but picked up two wins over Indiana State on Wednesday in Terre Haute, Indiana. Kara Nelson, who has the second-best average of .390 in the MVC, leads the Redbirds.

The Aces (18-9, 4-2) will kick off with a doubleheader at noon on Saturday and will conclude the series with a single-game on Sunday at noon.