Tweet #LOYALandTRUE

Eastern Illinois (5-5) Softball Upcoming Schedule

February 24-26 at Frost Classic (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Feb. 24 vs. Memphis (2-8) at 10 am …  Live Stats
Feb. 24 vs. Western Michigan (3-2) at 3 pm …  Live Stats
Feb. 25 vs. Akron (3-2) at 10 am …  Live Stats
Feb. 25 at Chattanooga (4-2) at 12:30 pm …  Live Stats
Feb. 26 vs. Akron at 1:30 pm …  Live Stats
  
ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois will play in the Frost Classic hosted by Chattanooga this weekend.  The Panthers are 5-5 on the season.  After opening the year with an 0-5 record at the Incarnate Word Tournament during the opening weekend, EIU rebounded to post a 5-0 record and win the Mardi Gras Classic last weekend.  Jaylen Prichard and Lindy Milkowski both hit  over .460 for the tournament as EIU hit .333 as a team scoring 36 runs with 12 home runs. 

QUICK HITTER NOTES: 
Eastern Illinois junior pitcher Olivia Price was named the Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week following her efforts in the circle for the Panthers last week. Price was 1-0 with 10.1 innings of work and a 1.35 ERA.  She opened the weekend with a no-hitter against Alabama State facing the minimum 21 batters with the lone ASU player reaching on a walk and out on the next play.  Price had 11 strikeouts for the weekend with just two walks allowed.  The last EIU pitcher to win an OVC Pitcher of the Week award was teammate Alexa Rehmeier last March.
 
Olivia Price tossed just the eighth no-hitter in program history with her win over Alabama State on Feb. 17.  Price faced the minimum 21 batters with the lone ASU runner reaching on a walk and out on the next play.  The last no-hitter was thrown last season by current teammate Tieghan Morio during a 4-0 win over Alabama A&M.  EIU's other no-hitters have been tossed by Jessica Wireman, Coli Turley (2), Stephanie Maday (2) and Hanna Mennega. 
 
Lindy Milkowski was named the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week following her efforts at the plate in the Mardi Gras Classic.  Milkowski hit for both power and average during the five games going 6-for-13 for a .462 batting average with four home runs and eight RBI.  She added one double for a weekend slugging percentage of 1.462.  Milkowski had 17 total plate appearances for the weekend drawing three walks without being struck out.  She was the last EIU player to win an OVC Player of the Week honor taking home the honor after the final regular season series last May.  Milkowski currently leads the OVC in home runs, RBI and runs scored.
 
Jaylen Prichard moved her consecutive game hit streak to seven games collecting a hit in all five games in Louisiana last weekend.  The sophomore outfielder hit .471 over the weekend and leads the Panthers with a .406 average for the season.  She has one double, one home run and six RBI.
 
Briana Gonzalez also picked up a hit in all five games at the Mardi Gras Classic as she has extended her consecutive game hit streak to six games.  Gonzalez is hitting .370 for the season with two doubles, one home run and five RBI.  She hit .353 last weekend including 2-for-2 in stolen base opportunities. 
 
Eastern Illinois hit 12 home runs as a team last weekend during a 5-0 showing at the Mardi Gras Classic.  The Panthers now have 13 home runs for the season with eight different players connecting for at least one home run.  EIU set the school record for home runs two seasons ago with 56 and chased that record last season finishing with 48 long balls, the second most in school history.  The 13 home runs currently leads the OVC and ranks 15th in the NCAA.  Lindy Milkowski, Aniya Holt and Rachel Kaufman all rank in the top five in the conference in home runs.
 
Pitcher Alexa Rehmeier has been chewing up innings in the circle for the Panthers as she was 2-0 with one save during three appearances last weekend as the Mardi Gras Classic.  Rehmeier pitched 13 innings allowing just four hits, one earned run with 18 strikeouts. She posted a weekend ERA of 0.54.  For the season Rehmeier leads the OVC in strikeouts with 22.  She is 2-1 overall with a 2.10 ERA.
 
Rachel Kaufman continues to pull double duty for the Panthers both in the offensive line-up and in the circle.  Kaufman went 1-0 in one appearance last weekend with a 1.91 ERA.  At the plate she hit .313 with two home runs while driving home three runs.  For the season she is one of eight Panthers hitting over .300 (.318 average) while holding the top team ERA at 1.45 in four appearances.

STREAKS & LEADERS
Multiple Hit Games: Jaylen Prichard (5), Denaed Santini (2), Lindy Milkowski (2), Briana Gonzalez (2)
Multiple RBI Games: Lindy Milkowski (3), Jaylen Prichard (2)  
Active Hitting Streaks:  Jaylen Prichard (7), Briana Gonzalez (6), Rachel Kaufman (3), Maddie Swart (3)
Active Reached Base Streak:  Jaylen Prichard (7), Briana Gonzalez (6), Rachel Kaufman (3), Maddie Swart (3)

 
SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Illinois heads to the Frost Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn., this weekend and will have previously faced three of the four teams on its weekend slate. The tournament opener on Friday will be the first-ever meeting between EIU and Memphis.  The Panthers will be facing Western Michigan for the fifth time in program history with the series tied 2-2.  EIU faces Akron twice in the weekend event as the two school have seven previous meetings with EIU leading 4-3.  EIU is 2-4 all-time against tournament host Chattanooga.

NEXT UP:  Eastern Illinois continues early season tournament action next weekend when they will travel to Louisville, Ky., and play both Valparaiso and Bellarmine in a weekend tournament. 

HEAD COACH: Tara Archibald is her fourth 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.   In 2021 she posted her second straight winning record as EIU finished at 25-19 overall, 16-14 in the OVC.  Last season EIU was 25-30 overall, 10-17.  The Panthers did qualify for the OVC Tournament marking their first appearance since the 2018 season.  Archibald has a career record of 66-64 with an OVC record of 26-31.  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 Huggins and Toby Ring.