Please note there is a chance of inclement weather in the Morehead, Ky., area this weekend, please check EIU social media channels for any changes 

Eastern Illinois (5-16) Softball Upcoming Schedule
 
March 7-8 at Morehead State (1-13) … Morehead, Ky. (University Field)
Saturday – March 7 at Morehead State at 11 am … Live Stats  |  ESPN+
Saturday – March 7 at Morehead State at 1:30 pm … Live Stats  |  ESPN+
Sunday – March 8 at Morehead State at 11 am … Live Stats | ESPN+

ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois opens Ohio Valley Conference on Saturday with a weekend series at Morehead State.  The Panthers played four nationally ranked teams last weekend at the ASU/GCU Invite as EIU opens conference play at 5-16 overall.  EIU faces a Morehead State team that is 1-13 on the season. 

QUICK HITTER NOTES: 
Eastern Illinois softball was picked to finish in third place in the 2026 Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll.  The Panthers are the defending OVC regular season and tournament champions having won back-to-back OVC regular season titles in 2024 and 2025.  The Panthers have been the OVC Tournament champions in 2023 and 2025 making NCAA Tournament appearances while losing in the OVC Tournament Championship game in 2024.  Morehead State was picked to finish last in the OVC preseason poll.
 
Eastern Illinois opens the OVC season having won five straight OVC season openers.  The Panthers last OVC season opening loss was during the 2019 season with a road loss at Murray State.  The OVC did not have a conference schedule in 2020 due to COVID-19 shutting down the second half of the season.  
 
Mo Hance led the Panthers at the plate last weekend as the Panthers faced four nationally ranked teams with six games over the span of four days.  Hance hit .333 for the week with one stolen base.  A returning first team All-OVC performer at designated player, Hance is now hitting .241 for the season.
 
Alisha Frederick was the other Panther that was able to hit over .300 last weekend for the Panthers as she hit .308 at the plate while drawing three walks for a .438 on-base percentage.  Frederick is currently third on the Panthers team with a .254 average with one double and one home run.
 
EIU had several players have hitting steaks come to an end last weekend in Arizona.  Lexie Griffin, Maddux Marshall, Mo Hance and Marybeth Dyson all had five game hitting streaks snapped over the weekend.  Griffin also had her team-best eight game streak of reaching base end during the weekend.  Marshall had a seven game streak of reaching base come to an end. 
 
Lizzie Stiverson currently has the longest active hitting streak for an EIU player at two games.  She picked up hits in both games against nationally ranked Grand Canyon to end the weekend with her fourth multi-hit game of the season on Sunday.  Stiverson hit .294 for the weekend.
 
Chloe Wamboldt added to her stolen base total on the weekend in Arizona going 1-for-1 while hitting .294 at the plate.  Wamboldt is second on the team in batting average this season at .277 with eight stolen bases.  The eight stolen bases currently rank third in the OVC.
 
Rylan Gick picked up the win in the circle last week for the Panthers combining with Karlie McKenzie in the shutout win over UC Riverside.  On the season Gick is 2-3 with a 5.52 ERA and 28 strikeouts.  She is currently fifth in the league in strikeouts while her teammate Bryanna French is fourth in the conference with 32 strikeouts this season.
 
Lexie Griffin delivered her team leading third home run of the season over the weekend.  Griffin is third in the OVC with three home runs while her team leading 12 RBI rank her sixth in the league.  Griffin currently holds the Panthers top batting average of .288 as EIU opens OVC action.
 
STREAKS & LEADERS
Multiple Hit Games: Chloe Wamboldt (5), Marybeth Dyson (4), Lexie Griffin (4),  Alisha Frederick (4), Lizzie Stiverson (4) 
Multiple RBI Games: Lexie Griffin (4), Abbi Hatton (3),  Lizzie Stiverson (2), Alisha Frederick (1)
Active Hitting Streaks: Lizzie Stiverson (2)
Active Reached Base Streak: Lizzie Stiverson (2)
 
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 opens the 2026 OVC schedule at Morehead State this weekend.  The Panthers lead the all-time series between the two schools 56-24.  Eastern Illinois has won 23 straight games in the series dating back to the 2015 season.  Morehead State's last win was in game one of an OVC doubleheader (W, 4-3) on March 23, 2015.  EIU won the second game of the doubleheader and has won each game since.

ON DECK:  Next weekend Eastern Illinois will host Lindenwood as the Panthers open their 2026 home schedule.  The series will start with a single game on Saturday, March 14 with a doubleheader on Sunday, March 15.

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.