Eastern Illinois Softball Upcoming Schedule
Feb. 20 vs. North Dakota … 1 pm (at Jackson, Miss.)
Feb. 20 at Jackson State … 3 pm
Feb. 21 at Jackson State … 10 am (DH)
Feb. 22 at Southern Univ. … TBA
Feb. 23 at Louisiana … 4:30 pm
Feb. 24 at Southern Univ. … TBA (Dh)
ON-TAP: After having its season opening tournament in Vicksburg, Miss., canceled last weekend and losing scheduled games this weekend, EIU has adjusted its schedule to start with games on five consecutive days. The season will open on Saturday with a single game against both North Dakota and Jackson State in Jackson, Miss. The Panthers will then stay in Jackson to face the Tigers in a doubleheader on Sunday before crossing the Mississippi River to play four games in Louisiana. EIU will play Southern University in Baton Rouge on Monday and Wednesday with a Tuesday game at Louisiana in Lafayette. North Dakota is the only team that has already played games this season holding a 1-4 record for the opening week.
MITCHELL RECORD BOOK CHASE: Haley Mitchel returns for Eastern Illinois as the senior continues her chase of several school records. Prior to the shortened season in the spring of 2020, Mitchell had increased her school record for career RBI which she set at the end of the 2019 season. Mitchell enters the year with 132 career RBI. She is second in career home runs with 26 and needs one this season to tie the school record held by Denee' Menzione. She enters the season ranked third in career batting average at .365 and first in career slugging percentage at .606. Mitchell was named EIU's preseason player to watch in the OVC's preseason release.
BURTON JOINS CAREER LIST: Infielder
Megan Burton moved into the EIU career top ten for stolen bases as the 2020 spring season was cut short. Burton ranks 10th on the career list with 46 career steals. Last season she was 6-of-8 on stolen base attempts while hitting .228 with two doubles and two home runs. For her career Burton is 46-of-51 in stolen bases.
DAVIS CLIMBS DOUBLES CAREER CHART: Mia Davis enters the 2021 season on the top ten list in several offensive categories as the outfielder ranks eighth in career doubles with 33. Davis has also produced power numbers in her career that rank in the EIU career top ten as she is eighth in home runs with 17 and seventh in RBI with 97. She enters the season as a career .327 hitter which is ranked for 10th on the Panthers charts with a .500 career slugging percentage which lands at ninth. In the 21 games played last spring Davis was leading the Panthers with a .358 batting average including five doubles, two home runs and eight RBI.
CRAVENS LOOKING TO CONTINUE EXPLOSIVE 2020: Hannah Cravens was off to an explosive start to the 2020 season as the infielder led the team with 20 RBI while hitting .333, which ranked second on the team. Cravens had a team-high four home runs and five doubles. The numbers were a big increase from her freshman production in 2020 when she appeared in 46 games hitting .205 with ten RBI.
MONTGOMERY RETURNS AS VETERAN IN THE CIRCLE: Senior
Jade Montgomery returns as the veteran in the circle for the Panthers after posting seven of EIU's 11 wins last season. Montgomery had a 3.57 ERA in 68.2 innings pitched collecting 49 strike outs. In her first year in the program Montgomery had posted four wins in 31 appearances. Also returning in the circle from two seasons ago will be
Valerie Thompson who was 3-2 on the season before suffering a season ending injury.
PANTHERS TRANSFERS: Head coach
Tara Archibald added three transfers from other NCAA Division I programs during the off season as the Panthers bolster their line-up with incoming freshmen and experienced transfer players. Joining EIU this season will be
Abi Stahlhut, a transfer from Indiana;
Abby Taylor, a transfer from Butler; and
Morgan Lewis, a transfer from Iowa.
OVC SCHEDULE: The Ohio Valley Conference adjusted its schedule this spring season based on COVID-19 protocols to provide the safest opportunity possible for teams to compete. This season EIU will play all of the other OVC schools in a three-game series split between home and away locations. EIU will then play its travel partner, SIUE, in a pair of midweek doubleheaders. EIU's home series for OVC action this spring will be against Belmont, Austin Peay, UT Martin, Murray State and Tennessee State.
SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Illinois will be playing four different opponents over a series of five days to open the 2021 season. Three of the four opponents have previously faced Eastern Illinois heading into the weekend. EIU holds a 2-0 series advantage with North Dakota with the two schools last playing in 2016. EIU holds a 3-1 series lead with Jackson State with the two schools last playing in 2014. This will be ninth time that EIU has faced Louisiana with the Rajin' Cajuns holding an 8-0 series lead. This will be the first meeting between EIU and Southern Univ.
NEXT UP: After its eight game stretch to open the season starting this weekend, EIU softball will settle back into its previous schedule of games with the UAB Green & Gold Classic on Feb. 26-28 in Birmingham, Ala.
HEAD COACH: Tara Archibald is her second season as the head coach at Eastern Illinois. Last season Archibald led EIU to an 11-10 record to open the season prior to COVID-10 shortening the season for all college teams. The Panthers did not get into Ohio Valley Conference play, so Archibald will coach her first conference games this season. Archibald is a 2004 graduate of Southern Illinois where she played softball for the Salukis helping the team make the 2003 NCAA Tournament. She hails from a softball family with her father, Gerry Glasco, the head coach at Louisiana. She has coaching stops at both the high school and collegiate ranks. She is assisted by
Rachel Houck and
Aeshia Miles.
