Eastern Illinois (13-13, 5-1 OVC) Softball Upcoming Schedule

March 21-22 at UT Martin (10-13, 2-4 OVC) … Bettye Giles Field (Martin, Tenn.)
Friday, March 21 at 2 pm … Live Stats  |  Watch ESPN+
Saturday, March 22 at 12 pm … Live Stats  |  Watch ESPN+
Saturday, March 22 at 2:30 pm … Live Stats  |  Watch ESPN+


ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois heads into the third week of the Ohio Valley Conference softball season coming off a weekend sweep of Morehead State.  The Panthers improved to 13-13 overall, 5-1 in the OVC as they have won their opening two conference series.  EIU travels to UT Martin for a weekend series that has been slid up to a Friday/Saturday schedule due to expected inclement weather on Sunday.  UT Martin has lost both of its first two OVC series and plays at Middle Tennessee on Wednesday before hosting the Panthers.  The Skyhawks are 10-13, 2-4 in the OVC entering the week.

QUICK HITTER NOTES: 
Kendall Grover had another standout weekend at the plate as the junior hit .556 for the series against Morehead State with two doubles and a home run.  During the six games of OVC play she is hitting .600 with three doubles, four home runs and nine RBI.  Grover's season average of .430 is second in the OVC this season.  She has already joined the EIU career top ten for doubles (6th with 40) and home runs (tied 9th with 22).  Grover needs one RBI and two runs to join the Panthers career top ten in both of those categories.
 
Karson Davey collected hits in all three weekend games against Morehead State hitting .556 for the series.  The sophomore outfielder had multiple hits in two of the three games giving her five multi-hit games this season.  Davey scored three runs and drove home two as she has gone five straight games without striking out.  For the year Davey is hitting .273 with a .350 average in OVC contests.
 
Sophia Olman has caught all six games in OVC play producing hits in all three games this past weekend against Morehead State.  Olman hit .500 for the weekend with her first hit this year coming on Sunday against Morehead State.  Olman had a pair of weekend doubles while driving in one run.  Behind the plate in ten appearances this season Olman has been perfect in 38 defensive chances. 
 
Abbi Hatton drove home runs in all three games against Morehead State as the freshman ranks second on the team with 15 RBI this season.   Hatton has four multi-RBI games including driving home two in the final game win over MSU on Monday.  Her season high was four RBI in the win against Bradley at the FIU Classic.  Hatton is hitting .284 this season and ranks first among OVC freshman in RBI.
 
Marshall Maddux has started all six OVC games at the shortstop position being used in the flex position in half of those contests.  She picked up her first collegiate hit during the Monday doubleheader with Morehead State while driving in two runs in the game one winner.  She had two hits in the second game including a double.
 
Kira Manganello continues to find a way to reach base this season.  Despite her .129 batting average, the freshman has an on-base percentage of .440 this season.  A good portion of that on-base percentage comes from her NCAA leading 13 hit-by-pitch plate appearances including one this past weekend against Morehead State.  Manganello has also drawn five walks.
 
Alisha Frederick had a stolen base in two of three games in the series against Morehead State as she is now 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts this year.  Frederick hit .286 with three runs scored in the series win playing both second and first base against Morehead State.  She added one sacrifice bunt and leads the Panthers with four this year, that total tied for fourth in the OVC this year.
 
Bryanna French saw her first time in the circle during OVC play this season with two appearances against Morehead State.  She pitched in both games of Monday's St. Patrick's Day doubleheader.  She tossed one perfect inning in EIU's 9-0 run-rule win over the Eagles before coming back with two innings of relief in game two.  She allowed one unearned run picking up the win to improve to 2-3 on the year.  French's other win this season was also in relief in the season opening win over Prairie View A&M.
 
Karlie McKenzie pitched in all three games of the weekend series against Morehead State as the junior walked away from the weekend with a win and a save to her credit.  McKenzie picked up a save in Sunday's game one win and then threw four scoreless innings in the run-rule Monday victory.  For the weekend she had a 1.56 ERA in 9.0 innings of work with six strike outs.   The save was the second of the year for McKenzie as she ranks 31st in the NCAA in saves this season. 
 
Abbey Crain picked up a hit in all three games of the weekend series hitting from the Panthers lead-off spot as she extended her current hitting streak to six straight games.  Crain is currently third on the team in batting average with a .300 clip with 20 runs scored which ranks second on the team and third in the OVC this season.
 
 
STREAKS & LEADERS
Multiple Hit Games:  Kendall Grover (12), Abbey Crain (5),  Karson Davey (5)
Multiple RBI Games:  Kendall Grover (6), Abbi Hatton (4), Karson Davey (3), Abbey Crain (3), Briana Gonzalez (3)
Active Hitting Streaks:   Kendall Grover (6), Abbey Crain (6), Karson Davey (4), Briana Gonzalez (4), 
Active Reached Base Streak:  Kendall Grover (10), Abbey Crain (7), Abbi Hatton (6), Kira Maganello (5)
 
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.  Southeast 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.
 
Kendall Grover was named the OVC Player of the Week (Feb. 24) following her performance at the ULM Warhawk Invite.  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.  She added her second OVC Player of the Week Award after the OVC opening series against Lindenwood.  Grover hit .667 over the series with three home runs and one double finishing the weekend with a 2.333 slugging percentage.  In the series finale on Sunday, she was walked four times including two intentional walks. 
 
McKenzie Oslanzi was named the OVC Pitcher of the Week (March 10) for her efforts against Lindenwood.  Oslanzi had a pair of bookend complete game shutouts in the series.  She allowed one unearned run in the second game of the series taking a loss in relief finishing the weekend with a 2-1 record and 0.00 ERA.  She is currently second in the OVC in wins while ranking in the OVC Top Ten in innings pitched, strike outs and ERA.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Illinois hits the road for its third week of OVC competition.  EIU holds a 50-35 all-time series lead over UT Martin having swept the regular season series each of the last two years.  The Panthers have seven straight wins the series which includes a an OVC Tournament win in 2023 when EIU eventually went on to win the conference tournament and secure the program's first NCAA Tournament bid.      

ON DECK:  Eastern Illinois will host Big Ten member Washington on Thursday, March 27 before a weekend series against defending OVC Tournament champion Southeast Missouri on March 29-30. 

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.