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Eastern Illinois Softball Upcoming Schedule
+ May 11 vs. Tennessee Tech at 10 am … Live Stats  |  Watch on ESPN+
May 11 vs. UT Martin at 3 pm … Live Stats |  Watch on ESPN+
  (Winner of EIU / TTU game will advance to play UT Martin, loser ends season)
 
ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois travels to Oxford, Ala., to play in the 2022 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.  This will be the Panthers first OVC Tournament appearance since the 2018 season.  Megan Burton is the lone EIU player to have previously played in an OVC Tournament game.   This will be EIU's 20th overall tournament appearance.  In 2018 played as the No. 6 seed, EIU posted a 2-2 record.  EIU's best OVC Tournament finish was runner-up three straight seasons between 1997 and 1999 losing in the championship game all three seasons to Southeast Missouri.   

QUICK HITTER NOTES: 
Jaylen Prichard extended her streak of reaching base to ten straight games as the freshman hit safely in both games on Sunday against Tennessee Tech to extend her hitting streak to five games.  On the season Prichard is third on the team with a .327 batting average.  She connected for her second home run of the season two weeks ago against Belmont and has nine doubles, one triple and 23 RBI this season. 
 
EIU rallied from a 12-0 deficit after two Tennessee Tech at-bats in game one on Sunday as the Panthers won 16-15 in eight innings.  EIU scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh before Jaylen Prichard had a walk-off single in the eighth for the win.  In the seventh EIU had RBI hits from Prichard, a grand slam from Lindy Milkowski and solo home run by Riley Dittmar. 
 
Lindy Milkowski was named the OVC Player of the Week following her performance against Tennessee Tech in the doubleheader sweep on Sunday.  Milkowski was 5-for-8 at the plate for a .625 batting average.  She drove in eight RBI as she became the team leader in RBI with 46.   She now has three grand slams, nine total home runs and 15 doubles. She joins Hannah Cravens and Alexa Rehmeier as weekly award winners in the OVC for EIU this season.  Cravens was the OVC Player of the Week on March 14 while Rehmeier was the OVC Pitcher of the Week on March 21.
 
Eastern Illinois scored in double figures in both of its weekend games with Tennessee Tech as the Panthers have scored a school record 295 runs this season.  EIU's previous school record was 262 runs scored during the 2018 season.  The Panthers have scored in double figures ten times this season with the 16 runs in game one on Sunday a season high. 
 
Eastern Illinois won in dramatic fashion in the eighth inning on Sunday to beat Tennessee Tech 16-15.  It was the fifth time this season that EIU has played an extra inning game with a 3-2 record in extra innings.  The longest game this season was an 11-inning contest that EIU won 6-5 over SIUE.  EIU has a nine inning win over IUPUI and a pair of nine inning loses to No. 15 Louisiana and Austin Peay.
 
The Panthers hit .435 for the weekend series against Tennessee Tech with three players hitting over .600 in the Sunday doubleheader.  Morgan Lewis, Jaylen Prichard and Lindy Milkowski all went 5-for-8 at the plate to hit .625 for the weekend.  Kendall Fields hit .571 for the weekend while Rachel Kaufman hit .500 at the plate.  For the season EIU is hitting .288 as a team which is the third best season batting average in school history. 
 
Freshman Alexa Rehmeier collected both wins in the circle for EIU on Sunday against Tennessee Tech.  Rehmeier came in and faced one batter in the eighth inning of the game one win.  She would pitch 5.2 innings of relief in the second game allowing only two hits and no runs.   Rehmeier leads the Panthers with 12 wins, 107.2 innings pitched and 99 strike outs this season.  She has an ERA of 3.51 which is second on the team behind Kaitlyn Reifsteck at 2.81 in 47.1 innings of work.
 
EIU's offensive power numbers for the season continue to climb the EIU single season record book list.  EIU now has 48 home runs which is second most in school history.  EIU has 80 doubles which is the second most in school history (school record of 81 in 2018).  EIU has scored 295 runs this season which set the single season school record during the weekend series at Belmont.  EIU has driven in a school record 274 runs, the previous mark was 235 set during the 2011 season.   
 
In addition to EIU climbing the single season charts in several offensive categories, the Panthers have several players that have jumped into the single season list this year as well.  Lindy Milkowski is now tied for second on EIU single season list with 46 RBI while Hannah Cravens is fourth with 43 (school record is 63 by Haley Mitchell in 2018).  Cravens is tied for fifth on the EIU single season list for doubles with 18, one more ties for second with the school record of 22 set in 2004 by Sandyn Short.  Milkowski is eighth with 15 doubles.  Megan Burton is seventh on the runs scored list with 42 this season.  The school record is 49 set by Jen Cherveny in 1997.  Burton tied Cherveny for the school record for career runs scored with 152 during Sunday's game.  Cravens is tied for 10th with 40 runs scored this year.  Cravens is tied for second in single season home runs with 13.  Bruton and Milkowski are tied for seventh with nine this year.  Burton set the EIU single season home run record last year with 18. 
 
 
STREAKS & LEADERS
Multiple Hit Games:  Hannah Cravens (15), Megan Burton (15), Jaylen Prichard (14), Lindy Milkowski (12), Morgan Lewis (10)
Multiple RBI Games: Lindy Milkowski (12),  Hannah Cravens (12), Megan Burton (10), Riley Dittmar (9),  
Active Hitting Streaks:  Jaylen Prichard (5), Rachel Kaufman (4)
Active Reached Base Streak: Jaylen Prichard (10), Rachel Kaufman (4), Macey McElravy (4)

 
SEASON HIGHLIGHT NOTES:
Megan Burton was named one of 30 candidates for this year's Senior CLASS Award.  Burton was last year's OVC Player of the Year after setting the school single season record for home runs.  This season Burton has moved into second on the EIU career home runs list with 34.  She is currently third all-time at EIU with 44 doubles and fourth all-time with 73 stolen bases.  Burton has also climbed up the EIU career hits and runs scored lists this season.  She is now 5th with 212 career hits and tied the school record for runs scored with 152.

In the season opening weekend at the Rosemont Dome catcher Lindy Milkowski hit three home runs finishing the opening weekend with 11 RBI in the four games.  In the win over Valparaiso she hit two grand slams in the win tying an NCAA record.  Milkowski is currently first on the Panthers roster with 46 RBI after driving in eight runs during the Panthers doubleheader sweep of Tennessee Tech.  Milkowski is second in the OVC in RBI while ranking fifth in the OVC in both doubles and home runs. 
 
Starting pitcher Tieghan Morio, a transfer from Ball State, tossed just the seventh no-hitter in program history during a 4-0 win over Alabama A&M at the River City Classic II Tournament.  Morio is 4-4 on the season with nine starts in the circle.  The last EIU pitcher to toss a no-hitter was Jessica Wireman on April 11, 2015 during a 3-0 win over UT Martin.  Pitchers Coli Turley and Stephanie Maday have both pitched a pair of no-hitters in EIU softball history while Hanna Mennega has the other.
 
Lindy Milkowski hit a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning in game one on Sunday against Tennessee Tech.  It was her third grand slam of the season.  Milkowski joined Rachel Kaufman and Megan Burton as Panthers that have hit grand slams this season.  Kaufman has one as she has five home runs and 20 RBI this season.  Burton has one as she has nine home runs and 34 RB this season. 
 
Hannah Cravens continues to rank among the OVC leaders in several power categories.  She is tied for the conference lead in home runs with 13 and third in RBI with 43.  Cravens ranks second in the OVC with 18 doubles.  This season Cravens has moved into the EIU career top ten in doubles (3rd / 43), home runs (4th / 24) and RBI (7th / 107).


SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Illinois and Tennessee Tech will be meeting for the 67th time when the two schools open the OVC Tournament on Wednesday.  TTU leads the all-time series 34-31.  EIU won both games of their OVC series this past Sunday to close out the regular season.  EIU has won three of the last four against the Golden Eagles.  EIU is 2-8 all-time against Tennessee Tech in the OVC Tournament with their last appearance against the Golden Eagles in the OVC Tournament in 2012.  The winner will of the single elimination game will face UT Martin on Wednesday afternoon.  EIU is 8-1 all-time against UTM in the OVC Tournament.  

EIU series history vs. OVC Tournament Field
Tennessee Tech – 2-8 (last in 2012)
UT Martin – 8-1 (last in 2018)
Austin Peay – 4-1 (last in 2018)
Belmont – 0-0
Murray State – 3-2 (last in 2017)
SIUE – 1-3 (last in 2018)
Southeast Missouri – 4-8 (last in 2015)

NEXT UP:  Eastern Illinois will be playing in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament for the first time since the 2018 season.  The OVC Tournament champion will earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

HEAD COACH: Tara Archibald is her third season as the head coach at Eastern Illinois.   In her first 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 during the 2020 season.   Last season she posted her second straight winning record as EIU finished at 25-19 overall, 16-14 in the OVC.  Archibald has a career record of 36-29 entering the 2022 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.