Eastern Illinois (30-20, 20-3 OVC) Softball Upcoming Schedule
 
May 1-2 vs. Tennessee State (2-35, 2-22 OVC) … at Charleston, Ill. (Williams Field)
Friday – May 1 at 5 pm … Live Stats  |  Watch  
Saturday – May 2 at 1 pm … Live Stats  |  ESPN+
Saturday – May 2 at 3:30 pm … Live Stats |  ESPN+

ON-TAP: Eastern Illinois heads into the final weekend of the regular season on a nine game win streak after four wins last week against UIC in a midweek contest and Southern Indiana in a three-game OVC series.   The Panthers improved to 30-20 overall, 20-3 in the OVC.  One win by EIU would clinch at least a share of the OVC regular season title while two wins this week would hand the Panthers their third straight OVC championship and fifth overall in program history.  EIU hosts a Tennessee State team that will not qualify for the OVC Tournament as the Lady Tigers are 2-35 overall, 2-22 in the OVC.   

QUICK HITTER NOTES: 
Lizzie Stiverson was named the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week following her performance in all four games last week.  Stiverson hit .667 for the week picking up hits in all four games with multiple hits in three of the four contests.  For the season Stiverson now has a team-high 20 multi-hit games and has posted a team-best .375 batting average.  Stiverson added to her season totals in doubles (10), home runs (3), RBI (27) and runs scored (33) with last week's performance. 
 
Bryanna French was named the Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week following her performance in the circle last week helping EIU post a 4-0 record.  French pitched in three games coming out of the bullpen in all three games to post a 1-0 record with two saves.  She did not allow any runs in 10.1 innings of work.  She had saves against UIC and Southern Indiana (Game 1) before 6.1 innings of shutout relief work on Sunday to collect the win.  French is now 9-6 on the season with five saves and a 3.74 ERA.
 
Eastern Illinois has a chance to feel those OVC Championship vibes once again as the Panthers need one win to clinch at least a share of the OVC title and two wins for the outright Ohio Valley Conference title.  A OVC crown would be the fifth in program history for the Panthers joining championship runs in 2011, 2013, 2024 and 2025.   With an OVC Championship this weekend, EIU would become just the second school in conference history to win three or more consecutive regular season championships joining Southeast Missouri which won five straight from 1995-99.

Eastern Illinois will recognize the six members of its 2026 senior class on Saturday following the Panthers doubleheader with TSU.  Set to be honored are seniors #2 Emily Konkel, #3 Lexie Griffin, #5 Marybeth Dyson, #14 Lizzie Stiverson, #17 Karlie McKenzie and #33 Bryanna French.
 
Alisha Frederick reached base in all four games last week as the junior extended her consecutive games on base streak to 26 games.  The streak is now the seventh longest active streak in the NCAA with Mya Perez from Texas A&M the national leader at 52 straight.    Frederick currently has the second best batting average on the team at .318 with an on-base percentage of .421.  Frederick is tied for the team lead in walks drawn with Sophia Olman with both players earning 26 free passes this season, a total that is tied for ninth on the EIU single season list.
  
Eastern Illinois added to its season long ball total over the weekend hitting five home runs in the series sweep at Southern Indiana along with an Abbi Hatton home run in the midweek win over UIC.  On the season EIU leads the OVC with 31 home runs.  That total now ranks as the tenth most in a single season at EIU for a team.  EIU's home run hitting this season has been balanced with Sophia Olman leading the way with seven followed by Lexie Griffin with six and Abbi Hatton with five.  A total of eleven different players have hit at least one home run this season for the Panthers.
 
Eastern Illinois improved its team win total to 30 with wins last week against UIC and Southern Indiana.  The win on Sunday to sweep the series at USI pushed EIU to a pair of program milestones for the season.  EIU posted its 30th win giving the Panthers four straight seasons with 30 or more wins.  On Sunday the Panthers collected OVC win number 20 giving them three straight seasons with 20 or more OVC wins.  The school record for OVC wins in a season is 22 set two years ago.   

Sophia Olman continues to drive in runs for the Panthers coming up especially big against OVC opponents.  The junior hit .400 last week over the four games with two home runs and five RBI.  Olman is currently the Panthers leader in home runs with seven while ranking second in RBI with 32.  This season in OVC only contests Olman is hitting .369 with six doubles, seven home runs and 29 RBI.
 
Pitcher Rylan Gick tossed yet another complete game in the circle as she allowed just one run in Saturday's 6-1 win over Southern Indiana.  Gick has tossed back-to-back complete games in her last two OVC starts allowing just one run over 14 innings with 17 strikeouts and just three walks issued.  She punched out a season high ten batters on Saturday against USI and leads the Panthers with 81 strikeouts this season with a team best 11 wins. 
 
STREAKS & LEADERS
Multiple Hit Games: Lizzie Stiverson (20),  Chloe Wamboldt (14),  Alisha Frederick (13),  Marybeth Dyson (10), Abbi Hatton (10)
Multiple RBI Games: Abbi Hatton (9), Lexie Griffin (7), Lizzie Stiverson (7), Sophia Olman (7)
Active Hitting Streaks: Lizzie Stiverson (4), Abbi Hatton (4)
Active Reached Base Streak:  Alisha Frederick (26), Peyton Dwigans (8), Abbi Hatton (6)
 
SERIES HISTORY: Eastern Illinois hosts Tennessee State for Senior Day at Williams Field.  The Panthers hold a 58-15 all-time lead over the Lady Tigers entering the final weekend of the regular season.  EIU swept the regular season series in 2023 and 2025 while taking two out of three from TSU during the 2024 regular season series. 

ON DECK:  Eastern Illinois will travel to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament next weekend in Peoria, Illinois.  The Panthers opening round game will be on Thursday, May 7 as EIU has locked up either the 1 or 2 seed in the upcoming tournament which grants a double-bye and no games on Wednesday (May 6).  EIU's opponent for that game is still TBD.

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.