Eastern Illinois (19-16, 11-3 OVC) Softball Upcoming Schedule

April 10 at Purdue (20-17) Bittinger Stadium- West Lafayette, Ind.
Thursday – April 10 at 4 pm … Live Stats  |  Watch Big Ten Plus
 
April 12-13 vs. Southern Indiana (10-18, 7-6 OVC) Williams Field – Charleston, Ill.
Saturday – April 12 at 3 pm … Live Stats  |  Watch ESPN+
Sunday – April 13 at 12 pm  … Live Stats  |  Watch ESPN+
Sunday – April 13 at 2:30 pm … Live Stats | Watch ESPN+

ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois will play the second of three Big Ten teams on the schedule this season when the Panthers travel to Purdue on Thursday.  The game was originally scheduled for Wednesday but was moved back one day due to weather.  The Boilermakers are 20-17 on the season.   EIU then hosts Southern Indiana for a three game weekend series at Williams Field.  USI enters at 10-18 overall, 7-6 in the OVC.  Eastern Illinois enters the weekend in first place in the OVC standings at 19-16 overall, 11-3 in the OVC following a three-game weekend sweep at Tennessee Tech.

QUICK HITTER NOTES: 
Karson Davey was lights out at the plate during the Tennessee Tech series hitting .700 at the plate with multiple hits in all three games including extra base hits in two of the three contests.  Davey is now hitting .305 for the season with a four-game active hit streak.  She has doubles in three of her last four games with seven total for the year.  She was 3-for-3 in stolen bases giving her a team best seven stolen bases this season.
 
Morgan Hance hit .714 last week in the series at Tennessee Tech getting hits in two of the final three games of the series.  In the final game on Saturday the freshman drove in a season high four runs producing offense on all three of her hits in the game.  For the year Hance is hitting .432 but does not have enough plate appearances to currently qualify for the OVC Top Ten.  She has three multi-hit games this year. 
 
McKenzie Oslanzi had the ball in all three games last weekend at Tennessee Tech as the sophomore leads the OVC in innings pitched this year.  She threw five innings of one-run softball in the opener but did not factor in the decision in the extra inning win.  She picked up a save with 1.1 innings of no-hit relief in game two and then picked up the win with four innings in the run-run final game win.  McKenzie is second in the league in wins while ranking in the top five in strikeouts and ERA.
 
Kendall Grover continues to be a player opposing teams try to pitch around and yet the 2024 OVC Player of the Year continues to find ways to contribute.  She had hits in all three games of the Tennessee Tech series and has now reached base in 19 consecutive games.  Her .435 batting average is second in the OVC while she leads the conference in slugging percentage, on-base percentage, OPS, runs scored and walks.  She is among the OVC leaders in doubles, home runs and RBI.
 
Briana Gonzalez closed the Tennessee Tech series with a bang at the plate driving in six runs over the final two games of the series.  Her big hit of the weekend was a grand slam in game two that gave the Panthers some fuel to pick up the run-rule win and broke what had been a scoreless tie.  It was her first home run this season.  Gonzalez followed in the final game of the series going 2-for-3 with two RBI giving her 17 for the season.
 
Abbey Crain picked up hits in all three games last weekend at Tennessee Tech as the fifth-year outfield increased her season batting average to .310 for the season.  Crain drove in a pair of runs in the middle game of the TTU series going 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs scored.  She scored four times during the series and currently ranks sixth in the OVC in runs scored with 26.
 
Karlie McKenzie had a solid weekend in the circle for EIU picking up one win in relief as she did not allow an earned run during seven innings of work over two games.  McKenzie struck out ten batters and walked just one.  She had nine strikeouts in her five-inning relief appearance picking up the win in EIU's extra inning game one victory.  She leads the OVC in saves with three.
 
Alisha Frederick drove in runs in two of the three games at Tennessee Tech giving her 20 RBI for the season which ranks 11th in the OVC this season.  Frederick had two RBI in the extra-inning game one win at TTU giving her four multi-RBI games this season.  She played both first and second base during the series against Tennessee Tech collecting ten put outs and three assists. 
 
Bryanna French gave up earned runs in OVC play for the first time this season at Tennessee Tech as she picked up the win in relief in the middle game of the weekend series.  French is now 2-0 with one save in OVC play with a 2.10 ERA.  She has been used as the third pitcher in the Panthers arsenal this season.

STREAKS & LEADERS
Multiple Hit Games:  Kendall Grover (16), Abbey Crain (8),  Karson Davey (8), Alisha Frederick (6),  Briana Gonzalez (6)
Multiple RBI Games:  Kendall Grover (7), Briana Gonzalez (5), Abbi Hatton (4),  Abbey Crain (4),  Alisha Frederick (4)
Active Hitting Streaks:   Kendall Grover (4), Karson Davey (4), Abbey Crain (3) 
Active Reached Base Streak:  Kendall Grover (19), Karson Davey (4) 

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.
 
Alisha Frederick was named the OVC Player of the Week (March 24) as the sophomore hit .438 during the Panthers five games, helping the team post a 4-1 record.  In the doubleheader win over UT Martin, Frederick hit a home run in both ends of the twin bill as she drove home six runs for the weekend.  Frederick had an on-base percentage of .500 while scoring four runs and picking up two stolen bases.
 
Karlie McKenzie was named the OVC Pitcher of the Week (March 24) as she made four appearances and factored in the decision in three of those outings.  McKenzie posted a 2-0 record in the circle with one save.  She had a 2.15 ERA for the week with 13 strike outs. The save in the final game of the series was the third of the year for McKenzie which leads the OVC and ranks 15th in the NCAA.
 
SERIES HISTORY: This marks the second straight year that Eastern Illinois will play at Purdue with the Boilermakers holding a 6-1 all-time series lead.  EIU's win in the series came in March 1996 at the Southern Illinois Tournament.   Last season Purdue beat EIU 9-5 in late March.   EIU and Southern Indiana met five times last season with the Panthers winning all five.  EIU swept the regular season series at USI and then beat the Screaming Eagles two different times in the OVC Tournament.   EIU now leads the all-time series 10-2.

ON DECK:  Eastern Illinois hits the road for four games next week with a midweek game at Saint Louis before an Easter Weekend OVC series at Tennessee State.

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.