Eastern Illinois (23-20, 14-3 OVC) Softball Upcoming Schedule
 
April 18-19 vs. Tennessee Tech (15-24, 11-7 OVC) … at Charleston, Ill. (Williams Field)
Saturday – April 18 at 12 pm … Live Stats  | ESPN+
Saturday – April 18 at 2:30 pm … Live Stats  |  ESPN+
Sunday – April 19 at 12 pm … Live Stats | ESPN+

ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois picked up a midweek win on Thursday over Saint Louis as the Panthers improved to 23-20 overall.  EIU now hosts Tennessee Tech in an OVC weekend series as the conference season has three weeks remaining.  EIU holds the OVC regular season lead at 14-3.  Tennessee Tech comes to Charleston at 15-24 overall, 11-7 in the OVC sitting in third place in the OVC race. The Golden Eagles beat Bellarmine in a midweek contest.

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 .351 including a .458 average in Ohio Valley Conference play.  Stiverson leads the Panthers with 16 multi-hit games including multi-hit games in eight of her last ten contests hitting .507 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 seven games.  Over the last ten games Hance is hitting .464 with four multi-hit games including a four hit game against UT Martin.  Hance is hitting .305 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 19 games on Thursday at Saint Louis.  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 24 giving her a .418 on-base percentage.
 
Marybeth Dyson has now reached base in nine 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 .308 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.
 
Rylan Gick picked up a win in the midweek start over Saint Louis tossing four innings while allowing just one run.  Freshman Grace Lemke closed the final three innings to pick up her first college save. 
 
STREAKS & LEADERS
Multiple Hit Games: Lizzie Stiverson (16),  Chloe Wamboldt (12),  Alisha Frederick (10),  Marybeth Dyson (9),  Abbi Hatton (9)
Multiple RBI Games: Abbi Hatton (8), Lexie Griffin (7), Alisha Frederick (6), Lizzie Stiverson (6)
Active Hitting Streaks: Mo Hance (7), Lizzie Stiverson (6), Alisha Frederick (6)
Active Reached Base Streak:  Alisha Frederick (19), Marybeth Dyson (9), Mo Hance (7)
 
SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Illinois hosts Tennessee Tech this weekend for Ohio Valley Conference play.  The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series 41-34 but EIU has had the upper hand in recent years.  The Panthers have won the season series in each of the past four years including regular season series sweeps in 2022, 2023 and 2025.  TTU did eliminate EIU from the OVC Tournament when the schools met in 2022.

ON DECK:  Eastern Illinois will host UIC for a midweek game at Williams Field before a weekend OVC series at Southern Indiana.

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.  
 
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.
 
Catcher Sophia Olman was named the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week following the Panthers spring break week trip which included a non-conference win at Lipscomb and series sweep at SIUE.  Olman earned the honor on March 23 after driving in 10 runs for the week while hitting .565 for the week with two doubles and a home run.  She posted a slugging percentage of 1.000 for the week adding four walks and a hit-by-pitch.