Eastern Illinois (4-6) Softball Upcoming Schedule

February 20-22 at FIU Softball Classic (Miami, Fla. – FIU Felsberg Field)
Friday – Feb. 20 vs. Incarnate Word (8-3) at 2 pm … Live Stats
Friday – Feb. 20 at Florida International (9-2)  at 4:30 pm … Live Stats  |  Watch ESPN+
Saturday – Feb. 21 vs. Florida A&M (5-4) at 9 am … Live Stats 
Saturday – Feb. 21 vs. Tournament Bracket Play at TBA
Sunday – Feb. 22 vs. Tournament Bracket Play at TBA

ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois travels to Miami, Florida as the Panthers will play in the FIU Softball Classic this weekend for their third in-season tournament of the year.  The Panthers went 2-3 at last weekend's Mardi Gras Mambo in Louisiana moving to 4-6 on the year.  This week EIU will open play against Incarnate Word followed by a Friday evening contest against host FIU.   FIU enters the weekend at 9-2 overall, ranked No. 11 in this week's D1Softball Mid-Major Top 25 poll.  Scheduled play wraps up Saturday morning against Florida A&M.  EIU's final two games of the weekend will in a bracket play format set after the opening three games of round robin action. 

QUICK HITTER NOTES: 
Sophomore pitcher Rylan Gick threw the second complete game of the season for the EIU pitching staff picking up a 4-2 win over Louisiana Tech.  Gick pitched seven innings allowing six hits and one earned run while striking out five batters.  On the season Gick has appeared in seven total games with two starts.   She has a 4.98 ERA with a 1-1 record in the circle and 11 strikeouts.
 
Bryanna French picked up her second win of the season in the circle at the Mardi Gras Mambo out of the bullpen.  French tossed five innings of scoreless four hit relief in the Panthers win over Sam Houston on Saturday.   French had four strikeouts in the game without a walk.  On the season French is now 2-2 with three starts and one complete game during the opening weekend against UNC Greensboro. 
 
Lexie Griffin picked up hits in each of the last four games of the Mardi Gras Mambo as the senior transfer currently leads the Panthers offense with a .348 batting average.  Griffin added to her season double total with doubles against both Nicholls and Sam Houston increasing her team leading total to three.  She two RBI in the win over Sam Houston for her second multiple RBI game this season.
 
Abbi Hatton reached base in all five games of the Mardi Gras Mambo as the sophomore first baseman is second on the team with a .320 batting average.  Hatton drove in two runs in the win over Louisiana Tech for her third multi-RBI game this season.  Hatton currently leads the Panthers with seven RBI which ranks seventh in the OVC this season.  Hatton has been perfect in the field so far this season on 63 total chances including a pair of double plays.
 
Lizzie Stiverson warmed up at the plate over the weekend collecting hits in each of the Panthers final three games of the Mardi Gras Mambo.  For the weekend Stiverson hit .500 at the plate increasing her season average to .318.  She is currently tied for second on the team in runs scored with five. 
 
Alisha Frederick had back-to-back two hit games against Nicholls and Louisiana Tech last week at the Mardi Gras Mambo as the junior now leads the team with three multi-hit games this year.  She had a two hit game in the week one win over UNC Greensboro.  Frederick has moved to the outfield this season after starting at second base a majority of last season.  She is hitting .300 on the season with a team high nine hits.
 
STREAKS & LEADERS
Multiple Hit Games:   Alisha Frederick (3), Abbi Hatton (2), Marybeth Dyson (2), Lexie Griffin (2), Lizzie Stiverson (2)
Multiple RBI Games:   Abbi Hatton (3), Lexie Griffin (2), Lizzie Stiverson (1)
Active Hitting Streaks:  Lexie Griffin (4), Lizzie Stiverson (2), Maddux Marshall (2)
Active Reached Base Streak:  Abbi Hatton (5), Lexie Griffin (4), Lizzie Stiverson (4)
 
SEASON LONG NOTES
Eastern Illinois was picked to finish third in the Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Poll after winning back-to-back OVC regular season titles in 2024 & 2025 while winning the OVC Tournament crown last season.   The Panthers received three first place votes in the preseason poll which was led by Southeast Missouri as the preseason favorite and SIUE in second. 
 
Karlie McKenzie was ranked No. 79 on the D1Softball.com preseason rankings for Mid-Major Players.  The senior pitcher made 38 appearances with 17 starts in the circle going 11-3 with a 2.79 ERA and an OVC leading six saves.  The six saves tied the EIU single season record and ranked seventh in the NCAA for the year.  In OVC action she was 6-0 with four saves and a 1.87 ERA.   In the OVC Tournament McKenzie was 2-0 with one save and tossed a complete game eight-inning shutout in the OVC Tournament championship game to earn OVC Tournament MVP honors. 
 
EIU returns a pair of first team All-OVC players from last season's roster in Karlie McKenzie and Mo Hance.  McKenzie was the OVC Tournament MVP as a pitcher and a first team All-OVC selection going 11-3 with a 2.79 ERA and six saves.  Hance hit .360 last year with three doubles and 16 RBI to earn first team at the designated player spot.
 
Abbi Hatton and Bryanna French were both named as OVC players to watch for the upcoming season.  Hatton was an All-OVC Newcomer team selection last year hitting .285 with seven doubles, four home runs and a team-best 38 RBI.  French made 19 appearances in the circle with a 3-4 record and 3.95 ERA including one save in OVC play.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Illinois heads to the FIU Softball Classic for the second straight year in Miami, Florida.  The Panthers will renew series with all three teams in the tournament field including facing Incarnate Word and host FIU for the second straight season.  EIU opens tournament play against UIW having played at the UIW Tournament last year in San Antonio.  UIW leads the all-time series between the schools 4-2.   EIU played in last year's FIU Softball Classic and will face FIU for the fourth time in program history, FIU holding a 3-0 series lead.  The final opponent of the weekend is Florida A&M.  EIU last played FAMU in 1996 and holds a 3-1 all-time series lead over the Rattlers. 

ON DECK:  Next weekend Eastern Illinois plays its final in-season tournament in a joint tournament in the Phoenix, Arizona area.  EIU will play at the co-hosted Arizona State / Grand Canyon Tournament with two games at ASU's campus in Tempe and three games at Grand Canyon's campus in Phoenix.  EIU will play on additional game opening the weekend on Thursday night at Arizona in Tucson.  

HEAD COACHES: Eastern Illinois softball is 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 second season leading Eastern Illinois.  In their opening season at EIU they guided the Panthers to 34 wins including the OVC regular season and OVC Tournament titles.  EIU played in the NCAA Regional in Austin, Texas.  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. In 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.