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Eastern Illinois (16-12) Softball Upcoming Schedule

March 29 at Saint Louis (12-17)
March 29 at Saint Louis at 4 pm … Live Stats
  
ON-TAP: After several weather adjustments to the early season portion of the schedule Eastern Illinois has added a midweek game at Saint Louis on Wednesday.  The Panthers improved to 5-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference with a doubleheader sweep of SIUE on Sunday.  The pair of wins moved EIU to 16-12 on the season.  Saint Louis enters at 12-17 overall but the Billikens do own a 5-1 record in Atlantic-10 Conference play.  This is the first of two meetings this season between the schools.

QUICK HITTER NOTES: 
Rachel Kaufman was a dual threat for the Panthers in their doubleheader win over SIUE on Sunday.  Kaufman pitched a complete game shutout in the opener allowing just three hits as she has not allowed an earned run in OVC play this season (12 innings pitched).  She walked just one batter in the seven innings and has issued just five walks all season a total that ranks 13th in the NCAA.  Her season ERA dropped to 1.67 as she improved to 4-3 in the circle.  She ranks second in the OVC in ERA this season. Kaufman was also solid at the plate going 5-of-6 from with a pair of doubles.  She is hitting a team best .382 with five doubles, five home runs and 18 RBI.  Her average ranks fifth in the OVC.  Kaufman reached base in both games on Sunday extending her current active streak of reaching base to 21 straight games.
 
Briana Gonzalez has had a knack for getting hit-by-pitches this season.  Gonzalez had that happen in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader marking the ninth time she has been hit-by-pitch this season.  That total currently ranks 23rd in the NCAA and first in the OVC.  On the season Gonzalez is hitting .283 but has an on-base percentage of .402.  She has four doubles and three home runs.
 
Olivia Price went the distance for the third time in nine starts this season in the circle including having to go back out twice following weather delays in the second game on Sunday.  Price would complete the game with a 5-2 win as she improved to 6-2 on the season with 40 strikeouts.   Price is tied for fourth in the conference in wins and owns a 2.35 ERA.
 
Riley Dittmar reached base in both of her pinch hitting opportunities on Sunday in the doubleheader win over SIUE.   Dittmar reached in the seventh of the game one win with a hit marking her first pinch hit of the season.   She would draw a walk and come around to score in the fifth of the game two win.   As a team this season EIU is hitting .293 in pinch hitting chances with three pinch hit home runs.   In the game one win, Lindy Milkowski came off the bench and delivered the game winning hit in a pinch hitting opportunity.
 
Marama Makea came around to score the winning run in the game one win over SIUE as she was inserted as a pinch runner for Rachel Kaufman.  It was the sixth time this season Makea has scored as a pinch runner.  She has made two starts this year with a double at East Tennessee.
 
Aryn Henke scored two of the Panthers five runs on Sunday in the game two win.  Henke had one hit and drew one walk to reach base in the contest.  The walk in the fifth inning was the 17th of the season drawn by the junior college transfer which leads the OVC and ranks 100th in the NCAA

STREAKS & LEADERS
Multiple Hit Games: Jaylen Prichard (10), Lindy Milkowski (6), Rachel Kaufman (5), Kendall Grover (5), Aryn Henke (5)
Multiple RBI Games: Lindy Milkowski (7), Rachel Kaufman (5), Jaylen Prichard (3), Kendall Grover (3), Briana Gonzalez (3)
Active Hitting Streaks:   Rachel Kaufman (2), Briana Gonzalez (2), Kendall Grover (2), Marama Makea (2)
Active Reached Base Streak:  Rachel Kaufman (21), Briana Gonzalez (3), Riley Dittmar (3)
 
SEASON LONG NOTES
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. 
 
Olivia Price and Lindy Milkowski were named the Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher and Player of the Week (Feb 20) following the Panthers 5-0 performance at the Mardi Gras Classic.  Price tossed a no-hitter and worked 10 innings in the circle with a 1.35 ERA.  She added 11 strikeouts.  Milkowski hit .462 during that tournament with four home runs and eight RBI.  She had 17 total plate appearances drawing three walks without being struck out.
 
Lindy Milkowski was named the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week for the second time this season after her weekend performance at the Bellarmine Tournament (March 6).  In four games played, Milkowski hit .500 with three doubles, three home runs and ten RBI.   She had a slugging percentage of 1.250 for the weekend.  EIU closed out the tournament with a Monday morning run-rule win over Valparaiso where Milkowski added one hit to finish the weekend hitting .474. 
 
Senior Morgan Lewis was named the EIU Player to Watch for the upcoming OVC season in the preseason poll.  Lewis has battled injuries during parts of the previous two seasons but was an All-OVC Newcomer selection in 2021 leading the OVC in stolen bases.  This season Lewis has appeared in 17 games hitting .241 going 7-for-8 in stolen base attempts.   EIU does return first team All-OVC performer Lindy Milkowski and All-OVC Newcomer team member Alexa Rehmeier from last year's team. 

 
SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Illinois added a midweek game at Saint Louis to take the place of several weather cancellations earlier this season.  This will be the first of two with the Billikens this season.  EIU holds a 16-13 all-time lead in the series.

NEXT UP:  Eastern Illinois will continue OVC play on the road at Tennessee State following the midweek game at Saint Louis.  The Panthers are then set to host Southern Indiana on April 7-8.

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 77-71 with an OVC record of 31-31.  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.