Game originally scheduled for Wednesday, April 15 ... moved back to Thursday, April 16 at 4 pm 

Eastern Illinois (22-20) Softball Upcoming Schedule
 
April 16 at Saint Louis (18-22) … at St. Louis, Mo. (Billiken Sports Center)
Thursday – April 16 at 4 pm … Live Stats  | ESPN+

ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois returns to action on Thursday with a midweek game at Saint Louis.  The Panthers are coming off their first OVC series loss of the season losing two of three at Southeast Missouri to fall to 22-20 overall.  After a pair of one run losses on Saturday, EIU bounced back to take the series finale 6-4.  Saint Louis enters at 18-22 after the Billikens lost two of three on the road in an Atlantic-10 series at George Mason.

QUICK HITTER NOTES: 
Lizzie Stiverson continues to swing a hot bat for the Panthers as the senior transfer hit .545 during the weekend series at Southeast Missouri.  For the season Stiverson has increased her season average to .341 including a .458 average in Ohio Valley Conference play.  Stiverson leads the Panthers with 15 multi-hit games including multi-hit games in seven of her last nine contests hitting .500 during that stretch.
 
Mo Hance has not been far behind Stiverson's production at the plate over the last ten games as the sophomore holds the Panthers best current active hitting streak at six games.  Over the last ten games Hance is hitting .455 with three multi-hit games including a four hit game against UT Martin.  Hance is hitting .298 on the season.
 
Abbi Hatton became the second EIU player this season to drive in five runs in a game as she had five RBI in the series opener at Saint Louis.  Hatton leads the Panthers with eight multi-RBI games this season and her 30 overall RBI lead EIU while ranking fifth in the OVC this season.  Hatton hit a pair of home runs over the weekend giving her four for the year which is third on the Panthers team.
 
Alisha Frederick reached base in all three games over the weekend as she extended her current streak of reaching base to 18 games.  That total leads the OVC and ranks 14th longest in the NCAA this season.  Frederick hit .333 for the weekend series at SEMO driving in three RBI while collecting one walk.  This season Frederick is fourth in the OVC in walks drawn with 23 giving her a .409 on-base percentage.
 
Marybeth Dyson has now reached base in eight consecutive games as the centerfielder reached base via a free pass (walk or hit-by-pitch) four times in the series at Southeast Missouri.  Dyson is currently hitting .304 for the season, one of four everyday players for the Panthers that are hitting .300 or better this year. 
 
Sophia Olman continues to have a field day driving in runs against OVC opponents.  The junior catcher hit a pair of home runs and drove in two more runs over the weekend at Southeast Missouri.  In OVC play this season Olman has driven in 23 runs which leads the league in conference only games.  She is hitting .362 in OVC play with five doubles, one triple, five home runs and a slugging percentage of .830. 
 
Bryanna French went 1-1 in the circle during the weekend at Southeast Missouri coming in to pitch in relief in all three weekend games.  She had a 2.74 ERA for the weekend and is holding a 4.25 ERA for the overall season.  French is now 8-6 overall with one save.  In OVC action those numbers have increased with a 6-2 record in conference play and a 2.69 ERA.
 
STREAKS & LEADERS
Multiple Hit Games: Lizzie Stiverson (15),  Chloe Wamboldt (12),  Alisha Frederick (10),  Marybeth Dyson (9),  Abbi Hatton (9)
Multiple RBI Games: Abbi Hatton (8), Lexie Griffin (6), Alisha Frederick (6), Lizzie Stiverson (6)
Active Hitting Streaks: Mo Hance (6), Lizzie Stiverson (5), Alisha Frederick (5)
Active Reached Base Streak:  Alisha Frederick (18), Marybeth Dyson (8), Mo Hance (6)
 
SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Illinois will travel to Saint Louis for a midweek contest, the first between the two schools since the 2024 season.  EIU holds a 18-13 all-time lead in the series with the two schools each picking up a run rule win in their two games in 2024 at the Western Kentucky Invitational.

ON DECK:  Eastern Illinois will host Tennessee Tech at Williams Field this weekend with the OVC series currently set for April 18-19.

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.