Eastern Illinois Softball Upcoming Schedule

February 6-8 at Georgia Southern Bash in the Boro (Statesboro, Ga.)
Friday – Feb. 6 vs. Western Kentucky at 11:30 am … Live Stats
Friday – Feb. 6 at Georgia Southern at 4:30 pm … Live Stats | Watch ESPN+
Saturday – Feb. 7 at Georgia Southern at 2 pm … Live Stats | Watch ESPN+
Saturday – Feb. 7 vs. UNC Greensboro at 4:30 pm
Sunday – Feb. 8 vs. Western Kentucky at 8:30 am … Live Stats

ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois opens play for the 2026 season at the Georgia Southern Bash in the Boro.  The Panthers won 34 games last season winning both the Ohio Valley Conference regular season and tournament titles.  EIU made its second NCAA Tournament appearance in the last three years competing in the Austin, Texas Regional.  EIU opens the season facing Western Kentucky, Georgia Southern and UNC Greensboro.  Western Kentucky won 30 games last season before being eliminated in the Conference USA Tournament.  Georgia Southern won 29 games last season ending their season at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.  UNC Greensboro won 39 games last season before being eliminated in the Southern Conference Tournament. 

QUICK HITTER NOTES: 
Karlie McKenzie made 38 appearances with 17 starts in the circle during the 2025 season. She earned first team All-Ohio Valley Conference honors as a pitcher and was named OVC Tournament MVP after a complete game eight-inning shutout in OVC Tournament game while posting a 2-0 record with one save during tournament.  For the season she was 11-3 with a 2.79 ERA and an OVC leading six saves, a total that tied the EIU single season record and ranked seventh in the NCAA.  Those numbers were even more stellar in OVC action with a 6-0 record with four saves and a 1.87 ERA.
 
Mo Hance played in 43 games making 33 starts becoming the starter at designated player during the Ohio Valley Conference season. She was named first team All-OVC at designated player and to the OVC All-Newcomer Team hitting .360 for the season with three doubles, 16 RBI and 25 runs scored. Hance drew 11 walks to post an on-base percentage of .398.
 
Abbi Hatton was named one of two EIU players to watch in the OVC this season.  She started 55 games during the 2025 season with most of time spent as a starter at first base with some games played as the designated player.  She was named to the Ohio Valley Conference All-Newcomer Team after hitting .285 with seven doubles and four home runs.  Hatton led team with 38 RBI which ranked fourth in the OVC during the season.
 
Bryanna French was named one of two EIU players to watch in the OVC this season.  She appeared in 19 games making two starts in the circle during the 2025 season posting a 3-4 record with one save and a 3.95 ERA.  She made first appearance of the season in relief in season opener against Prairie View A&M in season opening win... French picked up wins against Morehead State and Tennessee Tech in Ohio Valley Conference play.  Her save came against Southeast Missouri.
 
Eastern Illinois softball has won its last two season openers as the Panthers beat Prairie View A&M in extra innings last season after beating UT Arlington in the 2024 season opener.   In 2024 that win would lead to a 5-0 start as the Panthers eventually won 40 games during the year.  Last season EIU went 2-3 in its season opening tournament before finishing the year with 34 wins.
 
Eastern Illinois will look to replace last year's OVC Player and OVC Pitcher of the Year from the Panthers roster.   Kendall Grover moved on to play at Florida this season after winning back-to-back OVC Player of the Year awards for the Panthers.   McKenzie Oslanzi moved on to pitch this season at Kentucky after earning OVC Pitcher of the Year honors.  EIU had eight players earn OVC honors last year with Karlie McKenzie, Abbi Hatton and Mo Hance returning this year from that group.
 
The Panthers did hit the transfer portal themselves as they added infielder Lizzie Stiverson from Illinois and catcher Lexi Griffin from Illinois State.  Those two transfers join incoming transfer Rylan Gick from Purdue University Northwest along with junior college infielder Chloe Wamboldt from Rock Valley College.  EIU's class of newcomers also features seven freshmen.
 
Infielder Alisha Frederick returns to the Panthers line-up after playing in 51 of 56 games last season.  Frederick drove in 33 runs and ranked second on the team with nine stolen bases.  All told Frederick is part of the Panthers returning right side of the defensive line-up with Abbi Hatton at first base (55 games), Marybeth Dyson in right field (44 games) and Sophia Olman catching (40 games).  Dyson was used primarily as a defensive player with just 42 at-bats for the year.
 
Sophia Olman became the Panthers everyday catcher late in the season sitting behind the plate for 40 games with 37 starts.  She hit .242 with six doubles and a .991 fielding percentage.   Olman enters the 2026 with the Panthers longest active on-base streak at nine games.  She is followed by Maddux Marshall with three games. 
 
STREAKS & LEADERS (RETURNING FROM 2025)
Multiple Hit Games:   Abbi Hatton (8), Mo Hance (8), Alisha Frederick (7)
Multiple RBI Games:   Abbi Hatton (11), Alisha Frederick (6), Sophia Olman (4)
Active Hitting Streaks:  Sophia Olman (1)
Active Reached Base Streak:  Sophia Olman (9), Maddux Marshall (3)
 
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. 
 
SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Illinois opens the 2026 season playing at the Georgia Southern Bash in the Boro.  This will be the first meeting between the host school and Eastern Illinois with the Panthers having previous matchups against the other two schools in the field.  EIU opens the season against Western Kentucky facing the Hilltoppers for the third consecutive season in an early season tournament.  WKU leads the all-time series 6-2 including two wins last year and one in 2024.  This will be the sixth meeting between EIU and UNC Greensboro.  EIU holds a 3-2 all-time series lead with the last meeting in 2013.

ON DECK:  Eastern Illinois will continue early in-season tournament play on Feb. 13-15 playing at the Mardi Gras Mambo in Youngsville, Louisiana.

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.