Eastern Illinois (20-17, 12-0 OVC) Softball Upcoming Schedule
 
April 3-4 vs UT Martin (21-15, 9-3 OVC) … at Charleston, Ill. (Williams Field)
Friday – April 3 at 4 pm … Live Stats  |  ESPN+
Friday – April 3 at 6:30 pm … Live Stats  |  ESPN+
Saturday – April 4 at 12 pm … Live Stats  |  ESPN+


ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois had its 15 game win streak snapped on Tuesday afternoon with a 3-0 non-conference loss at Indiana State.   The Panthers will look to keep their OVC win streak alive as EIU enters the weekend at 20-17 overall, 12-0 in the OVC.  EIU hosts a UT Martin team that is currently tied for second in the OVC standings at 21-15 overall, 9-3 in the OVC.  The Skyhawks won two of three last weekend against SIUE.

QUICK HITTER NOTES: 
Eastern Illinois had its 15 game win streak snapped on Tuesday at Indiana State.  It was the longest win streak in the school's NCAA Division I history and ranked as the fourth longest in the nation entering the week.  EIU has already posted its best start to an OVC season at 12-0 with the previous mark of 10-0 set during the 2000 season.
 
Karlie McKenzie got back on track last week in the circle as the senior posted a 2-0 record with one save and a 0.50 ERA for the week.  McKenzie opened the week with a complete game win over Bradley allowing just one earned run.  During the series with Western Illinois, she posted a complete game shutout on Saturday and closed Sunday's game for her first save of the season.  It was the eighth save of McKenzie's career as she ranks second in career saves at EIU.  McKenzie had a shutout into the sixth on Tuesday at Indiana State before suffering the loss.
 
Lizzie Stiverson has warmed up at the plate over the past two weeks.  The senior had her seven game hit streak snapped on Tuesday at Indiana State.  Stiverson had multiple hits in each of the weekend games against Western Illinois hitting .533 during the five games raising her season average to .320 which is currently second best on the roster.
 
Freshman Brooklyn Groppel stepped up big over the weekend for the Panthers as she delivered a key two-run pinch hit to help EIU win the first game of the weekend series with Western Illinois.  Groppel finished the weekend hitting .500 with four RBI.  On the season Groppel is hitting .290 having made seven starts in 24 total appearances.
 
Alisha Frederick has now reached base in 13 straight games as the junior has seen her season average climb to .295.  Her on-base average is even higher at .411 which leads the Panthers.  Frederick is currently third in the OVC in walks drawn this year with 20 free passes. 
 
Rylan Gick added two wins to her season total last week as she came in as a relief pitcher in the midweek win over Bradley before a complete game win over Western Illinois.  The two wins moved Gick's season win total to eight wins which leads the OVC.  Gick has now picked up five wins, and one save in her last six appearances in the circle. 
 
Bryanna French picked up a win and a save for the Panthers last week as she came in to close the win over Bradley in the midweek before a complete game win on Sunday over Western Illinois.  French has three wins and a save in her last four appearances in the circle for EIU. 
 
EIU hit over .300 for the second straight week of games as the Panthers batted .310 as a team for the five games against Bradley and Western Illinois.  As a team EIU averaged just over five runs per game with four players – Lizzie Stiverson, Adysen Rios, Alisha Frederick and Mo Hance – all hitting .400 or better for the week.  Four players tied for the team lead with four RBI for the week as Maddux Marshall, Brooklyn Groppel, Marybeth Dyson and Sophia Olman all drove in four runs.
 
Eastern Illinois had just two hits on Tuesday at Indiana State coming off the bats of Mo Hance and Marybeth Dyson.  Dyson currently has the Panthers longest active hitting streak at three games.
 
STREAKS & LEADERS
Multiple Hit Games: Chloe Wamboldt (11), Lizzie Stiverson (11), Alisha Frederick (8),  Marybeth Dyson (7),  Abbi Hatton (6)
Multiple RBI Games: Lexie Griffin (6), Abbi Hatton (6), Alisha Frederick (5)
Active Hitting Streaks: Marybeth Dyson (3)
Active Reached Base Streak:  Alisha Frederick (13), Abbi Hatton (4), Marybeth Dyson (3)
 
SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Illinois hosts OVC member UT Martin this weekend as the Panthers hold a 52-36 all-time lead in the series.  EIU has won eight of the last nine in the series taking two of three at UT Martin last year after series sweeps in 2023 and 2024.

ON DECK:  Eastern Illinois will play just an OVC series next week as the Panthers travel to Southeast Missouri on April 11-12.

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.