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Eastern Illinois softball has added to its roster for next season as head coach Tara Archibald announced the addition of junior college All-American pitcher Karlie McKenzie.
 
McKenzie had a standout season in 2022 pitching Kaskaskia College to the NJCAA World Series as the team finished with a 49-18 record.   She posted the third highest strikeout total in the NJCAA ranks with 264 strikeouts in 153 innings of work.  McKenzie was 23-3 with a 2.23 ERA earning NJCAA third-team All-America honors, GRAC Freshman of the Year and first-team All-Region. 
 
""We are extremely excited to welcome Karlie to campus this fall!  She is a very talented pitcher, with great spin and velocity, who has the ability to collect a lot of strikeouts," said Archibald.  "Karlie has incredible presence on the mound and will complement our pitching staff very well. She is coming off a very impressive season, with Kaskaskia College, and I can't wait to see what she will accomplish in her three years as a Panther!"
 
McKenzie is from Cottage Grove, Wis., where she played at Monona Grove High School.  She earned All-Conference, All-District and All-State honors as a senior after posting a 14-2 record.  McKenzie had 195 strikeouts in 100 innings pitched with a 1.12 ERA in the circle.
 
EIU softball won the OVC Tournament this past season winning 34 games as the program made its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance playing in the Evanston Regional hosted by Northwestern.