Eastern Illinois (6-9) Softball Upcoming Schedule

February 28 – March 2 at FIU Softball Classic – Miami, Fla..
Friday, Feb. 28 at 10:30 am vs. Saint Francis (5-7) … WATCH ESPN+  |   Live Stats
Friday, Feb. 28 at 3:30 pm at Florida International (9-7) … WATCH ESPN+  |   Live Stats
Saturday, March 1 at 8 am vs. Toledo (5-3) … Live Stats
Saturday, March 1 at 10:30 am vs. Bradley (4-10) … Live Stats
Sunday, March 2 at 8 am vs. Bradley … Live Stats


ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois travels to the Sunshine State this weekend for their final in-season tournament as they will play Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the FIU Softball Classic in Miami, Fla.  EIU is coming off a 3-2 record last week at the ULM Warhawk Invitational improving to 6-9 overall this season.    

QUICK HITTER NOTES: 
Kendall Grover was named the OVC Player of the Week following her performance at the ULM Warhawk Invite last weekend.  Grover hit .429 for the weekend with two home runs and four RBI.  She ranked second among players in the tournament field with seven runs scored.  Grover drew five walks and did not strikeout in 19 weekend plate appearances.  For the season Grover is hitting .435 for the season which ranks sixth in the OVC this season.
 
McKenzie Oslanzi picked up two wins during the weekend with three strong starts in the circle that resulted in a 1.29 ERA for the weekend.  Oslanzi closed the weekend with a complete game shutout over Houston Christian.  She worked 16.1 innings in the circle with eight strikeouts.  On the season Oslanzi is 3-5 with a 4.17 ERA.  She has 19 strikeouts in 52 innings of work with three complete games.  This season Oslanzi has issued 17 walks after ranking 25th in the NCAA last season in fewest walks allowed per seven innings and a total of 29 for the year in 172.2 innings in the circle.
 
Briana Gonzalez began to swing a hot bat in the latter part of the ULM Warhawk Invite as she drove in five runs for the weekend hitting .357 at the plate.  Gonzalez also went the entire weekend without a strikeout at the plate in 17 total plate appearances.  The senior is now hitting .256 for the year with six RBI.
 
Karson Davey continues to produce for the Panthers offense as she drove in four runs last weekend at the ULM Warhawk Invite.  On the season Davey has three multi-RBI games and ranks second on the team with eight RBI.  She is currently hitting .256 with a team-best three stolen bases.
 
Alisha Frederick has extended her consecutive game streak of reaching base to seven games after hitting .429 last weekend in Louisiana playing in all five games.  She had two doubles and drove in one run.  Frederick reached three times on hit-by-pitch.  Frederick is hitting .238 for the season playing in 11 of 15 games.
 
Freshman Kira Manganello has reached base via hit-by-pitch nine times this season including four times this past weekend at the ULM Warhawk Invite.  She is currently tied for second in the NCAA in hit-by-pitch with Riley Chumbley of Western Michigan.  Victoria Valdez of Texas Tech is the national leader in that category with ten.  The nine hit-by-pitch bases already places Manganello tied for fifth on the EIU single season list with the school record of 17 set two years ago by teammate Briana Gonzalez.  Manganello is hitting .154 for the season but has an on-base percentage of .436.  In the season opening tournament in San Antonio, she had a two homerun game against Prairie View.
 
STREAKS & LEADERS (RETURNING)
Multiple Hit Games:  Kendall Grover (8), Abbey Crain (3),  Karson Davey (3), Briana Gonzalez (3)
Multiple RBI Games:  Kendall Grover (4), Karson Davey (3), Abbi Hatton (2)
Active Hitting Streaks:   Briana Gonzalez, Abbi Hatton, Morgan Hance, Kira Manganello (all with one)
Active Reached Base Streak:  Kendall Grover (9), Alisha Frederick (7), Briana Gonzalez (6)
 
SEASON LONG NOTES
Senior shortstop Briana Gonzalez was named the Panthers preseason player to watch by the Ohio Valley Conference as part of its preseason information released in late January.  Gonzalez started all 57 games last season at shortstop, one of two EIU players to start every game during the season.  She hit .299 at the plate ranking fourth in the OVC in RBI with 39 and tied for third in the conference with eight home runs.  During her sophomore season (2023) she set the school for being hit by a pitch in a season with 17, that total ranked 12th in the NCAA that season.
 
Eastern Illinois was picked to finish third in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll released in late January.  The Panthers received five of the 20 first place votes in the poll and were just one total point behind Southern Indiana which was picked second.  Southast Missouri was selected as the preseason OVC favorite.  EIU won the OVC regular season title last year, the third in program history, posting 40 wins.   The Panthers were the OVC Tournament Champion in 2023 making the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance.
 
Eastern Illinois returns OVC Player of the Year Kendall Grover as the junior third baseman ranked among the OVC leaders in most offensive categories hitting .354 with 18 doubles, ten home runs, 46 RBI, 20 stolen bases and 47 runs scored last season.  She was the OVC leader in home runs while ranking second in the league in RBI, doubles, hits and runs scored.  Grover earned NFCA Third Team All-Region honors landing in five EIU single season top ten record lists.  She was second on the team with 21-multiple hit games and ended the year with a 12-game active streak of reaching base in consecutive games.  She was recently named to the D1Softball Preseason List of the nation's top players at third base ranked 13th.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Illinois will renew series with three of the four schools in this weekend's FIU Classic field with a first time meeting with Saint Francis in the tournament opener.  EIU is 0-2 all-time against host Florida International with the last meeting in 2008.  EIU last faced Toledo during the 1993 season with the series knotted at 2-2 between the schools.  EIU wraps up the weekend against in-state school Bradley.  The Braves hold a 21-15-1 all-time series lead including two wins last year.   

ON DECK:  Following this weekend's tournament at Florida International, Eastern Illinois will open Ohio Valley Conference play on the road next weekend with a series at Lindenwood.

HEAD COACH: Eastern Illinois softball will be under the direction of Kristi Paulson and Dan Paulson.  The husband / wife duo serve as co-head coaches of the program and are in their first season leading Eastern Illinois.  The couple came to EIU following a successful stint at the Junior College level winning 205 games in five years as head coaches at Parkland College.  They guided the team to three NJCAA World Series appearances in four full seasons with their first season cancelled due to COVID 19 in 2020.  They won 50-plus games in three seasons finishing 7th (2021), 5th (2023) and 9th (2024) in the nation each of those seasons. This past year (2024) their coaching staff was named the NJCAA Coaching Staff of the Year by the NFCA going 58-6.  Both Kristi and Dan attended Eastern Illinois as undergraduate students.