Eastern Illinois (27-20, 17-3 OVC) Softball Upcoming Schedule
 
April 25-26 at Southern Indiana (13-25, 10-11 OVC) … at Evansville, Ind. (USI Softball Field)
Saturday – April 25 at 12 pm … Live Stats  |  ESPN+
Saturday – April 25 at 2:30 pm … Live Stats  |  ESPN+
Sunday – April 26 at 12 pm … Live Stats |  ESPN+

ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois won its sixth straight game on Wednesday with a 6-3 win over UIC marking the first time since the 1997 season that EIU had beaten its in-state foe.  The Panthers enter the second to last weekend of the Ohio Valley Conference season sitting in first place in the OVC standings with a two-game lead over UT Martin.   The Panthers are 27-20 overall, 17-3 in the OVC.  EIU is playing to win its third straight OVC regular season title with two weeks left in the season.   This week the Panthers travel to face Southern Indiana.  The Screaming Eagles are currently 13-25 overall, 10-11 in the OVC.  USI enters the weekend seventh in the conference race.

QUICK HITTER NOTES: 
Alisha Frederick reached base in all four games last week with at least one hit in each contest against Tennessee Tech.  On Wednesday she added two hits against UIC.  The junior has now reached base in 23 consecutive games which ranks as the 12th longest active streak in the NCAA entering the week.  Frederick is hitting .315 for the season with a team high 25 walks which is tied for the tenth most in EIU single season history.
 
Lizzie Stiverson has been swinging one of the hottest bats on the Eastern Illinois team over the past month as the Illinois transfer leads the Panthers with a .364 average.  Stiverson was 3-for-3 on Wednesday against UIC after she added a pair of multi-hit games last week giving her a team-high 18 games this season with multiple hits.  Wednesday's three-hit game against UIC was her fourth 3-hit game this season.
 
Mo Hance picked up hits in all four games last week as the sophomore outfielder increased her current hitting streak to ten straight games through the weekend.   That active hitting streak climbed to 11 straight games with an infield hit in her final at-bat on Wednesday.   Hance has increased her season batting average to.315 on the season while hitting .481 over her current 11 game hit streak.  She is one of five Panther players with 40 or more hits this season.
 
Abbi Hatton hit her fifth home run of the season on Wednesday night with a three-run shot that helped lift the Panthers to a 6-3 win over UIC.  It was Hatton's ninth multi-RBI game this season which leads the Panthers team.   The sophomore has a team-high 34 RBI which ranks fifth in the OVC this season.
 
Eastern Illinois improved its team win total to 27 over the weekend with a series sweep of Tennessee Tech and Wednesday's win over UIC.  The Panthers have six regular season games remaining plus any games in the 2026 OVC Tournament in Peoria, Ill, on May 6-9.  EIU is looking to reach the 30 win mark for the third straight season after winning 34 games last year as the program made its second NCAA Tournament in the last three years.  EIU has won 17 OVC games this season and three more conference wins in the remaining six OVC games would give them 20 or more OVC wins for the third straight season. 

Freshman Viola Smith has made her collegiate hits to date count.   She had her first career hit during the Panthers March spring break trip with a home run against Lipscomb.   On Saturday she was inserted into the starting line-up in the second game and picked up two hits, both solo home runs.  Her fourth career hit for the Panthers came on Sunday with a two-run double.  Smith is hitting just .222 for the season but has a .778 slugging percentage after going 0-for-2 on Wednesday against UIC.
 
Karlie McKenzie came in to pitch four strong innings on Wednesday and pick up the win over UIC moving her season record to 8-8.  After a rough start to the non-conference portion of the season, McKenzie has been 8-1 with a 2.91 ERA and 55 strikeouts since March 8 when OVC play began.  In that span EIU is 22-4 as a team with the pitching staff sporting a 3.20 team ERA.  Bryanna French has six wins and four saves with Rylan Gick also posting an 8-1 record in the circle.  Gick tossed a complete game shutout last weekend against Tennessee Tech.
 
Shortstop Chloe Wamboldt was a big part of the Panthers hot start to the Ohio Valley Conference season.  After struggling at the plate in the series against Western Illinois and Southeast Missouri, the junior bounced back over the weekend and now has a four-game hitting streak.  Wamboldt is second on the Panthers team with 50 hits and a .325 batting average.  This season eight of her 14 multi-hit games have been three hit contests. 
 
STREAKS & LEADERS
Multiple Hit Games: Lizzie Stiverson (18),  Chloe Wamboldt (14),  Alisha Frederick (12),  Marybeth Dyson (10), Abbi Hatton (10)
Multiple RBI Games: Abbi Hatton (9), Lexie Griffin (7), Alisha Frederick (6), Lizzie Stiverson (6)
Active Hitting Streaks: Mo Hance (11), Alisha Frederick (10), Peyton Dwigans (5)
Active Reached Base Streak:  Alisha Frederick (23), Mo Hance (11)
 
SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Illinois will travel to Evansville this weekend to face Southern Indiana.  The Panthers currently hold a 14-2 all-time lead in the series.  EIU has won ten straight games over USI dating back to the 2023 regular season when the Screaming Eagles took two of three in the regular season against the Panthers.  EIU has since swept the regular season series in 2024 and 2025 as well as beating USI four different times in the OVC Tournament the last three seasons.

ON DECK:  After the Panthers weekend series at Southern Indiana, EIU will conclude the regular season hosting Tennessee State on May 1-2 at Williams Field.

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.