Illinois (23-15, 3-6 Big Ten) vs. Northwestern (14-20, 5-4 Big Ten)
When & Where	April 13, 2016 // 5 p.m. // 7 p.m. // Eichelberger Field // Urbana, Ill.
Game Coverage	Live Stats | Live Video: BTN | Live Audio: WDWS 1400
Full Game Notes	Illinois | Northwestern
Statistics	Illinois | Northwestern
Series History	Illinois trails, 12-22 // Last: W, 9-8; 4/22/2015 // Streak: Won 1
Social Media	@IlliniSB  | #Illini  | Facebook  | @IlliniSB  | YouTube

Illinois at Purdue (23-17, 5-6 Big Ten)
When & Where	April 15-17, 2016 // Friday: 5 p.m. CT // Saturday: 2 p.m. // Sunday: 11 a.m. // Boilermaker Softball Stadium // West Lafayette, Ind.
Game Coverage	Live Stats: Friday // Saturday // Sunday | Live Video (Friday & Sunday Only) | Live Audio: WDWS 1400 (Sunday Only)
Full Game Notes	Illinois | Purdue
Statistics	Purdue
Series History	Illinois leads, 19-14 // Last: L, 2-3; 5/7/2015 // Streak: Lost 1
Social Media	@IlliniSB  | #Illini  | Facebook  | @IlliniSB  | YouTube

Champaign, Ill. - The Illinois softball team will look to get back in the win column with back-to-back Big Ten Conference series this week as the Illini host Northwestern for midweek doubleheader in Eichelberger Field on Wednesday (April 13) starting at 5 p.m. CT, before heading to West Lafayette, Ind., for a three-game series at Purdue in the Boilermaker Softball Stadium on April 15-17. Game times for the three weekend contests are set for 5 p.m., 2 p.m. and 11 a.m., respectively.

The Illini had a rough weekend in Minneapolis as they were swept by No. 21 Minnesota with losses of 13-0 (5), 6-5 and 6-2 on Saturday and Sunday. Redshirt-freshman Emily Brodner led the Illini at the plate with a .429 batting average and notched three hits and two RBI, while owning a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in all three games behind the plate.

Senior Danielle Trezzo started the final two games of the Minnesota series and posted a .400 batting average with two doubles and an RBI. Trezzo registered both doubles in game two, making it her first two-double contest of her career. She now owns five career doubles with three on the season so far. 

Illini Notes

• Brodner had a standout week last week, starting all four games and registering a .500 batting average with a 5-for-10 effort to go along with three RBI and a stolen base.  
• Sophomore Annie Fleming and junior Nicole Evans have paced the Illini offense in their last 10 games, combining for 27 hits, eight doubles, three triples, four home runs, 20 RBI, 10 runs and 53 total bases. Fleming has also registered a team-high .452 batting average, while Evans contributed a .406 clip. 
• With 16 triples on the season, the Illini lead the Big Ten and rank third in the NCAA with 0.42 three-baggers per game. Individually, Fleming leads the Illini, ranks second in the Big Ten and sits sixth in the NCAA with five on the season, while Bauch is right behind Fleming with three triples this season to rank in a tie for fifth in the conference.
• The Illini's 16 triples sets a program record for triples in a season, passing the previous record of 15 in 2005.
• Fleming's five triples this season ranks third all-time in program history and have pushed her into the top-10 in career all-time rankings as she is tied for ninth with five career three-baggers.
• The Illini have also recorded the most doubles in the conference with 65 on the season and rank 16th in the country with 1.71 two-baggers per game. 
• After leading the Big Ten in doubles and triples, it is no surprise that the Illini also pace the conference with 516 total bases in 2015. UI also sits in the top three in hits (2nd, 329), sacrifice bunts (2nd, 27), stolen bases (2nd, 61) and slugging percentage (3rd, .503).     
• Defensively, the Illini have fielded 18 double plays in 2016 to lead the conference and rank 22nd in the NCAA with 0.47 double plays turned per game. 
• Evans has knocked a team-high eight homers in 2016, wihile also registering the most RBIs with 35 and the most doubles with 13. In the Big Ten, Evans' numbers rank third in doubles, tied for sixth in homers and 11th in RBI.
• Nationally, Evans ranks 35th in the NCAA with 0.34 doubles per game, while her .678 slugging percentage sits 118th in the country.
• The Illini have been stealthy on the base paths and are 61-for-79 in stolen base attempts with senior Kylie Johnson pacing the Illini with a 14-for-15 mark. Along with Johnson, Illinois has five other players with at-least five stolen bases with Thomas, senior Allie Bauch and sophomore Jill Nicklas second on the team with seven stolen bases.
• For the sixth time in program history and the first time since 2010, the Fighting Illini reached 20 wins in the month of March after earning their 20st and 21st victories of the season over Nebraska on March 26.
• The Illini's 11-0 five-inning win over East Carolina on March 6 marked an historic occasion for the softball program, as it was the 500th victory in the history of the program.
• The Illini, who have posted seven run-rule victories (Central Michigan, Penn, East Carolina, IUPUI, Seattle, Nebraska, Rutgers) this season, are outscoring their opponents 215-158 and are averaging just over five and a half runs per game.  
• In the Illini's season-opening tournament in Miami, Fla., UI registered a 5-1 win over then-No. 10 Florida State on Feb. 13, with the victory over the Seminoles marking the first win over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 4 Michigan on April 25, 2014 at Eichelberger Field. It was also just the seventh win against a top-10 foe and just the fourth  win against a top-10 team not named Michigan.  

Scouting the Competition

Northwestern

The Wildcats are bringing a four-game winning streak with them to Champaign after sweeping Iowa last weekend at Sharon J. Drysdale Field. NU also captured the series finale against then-No. 21 Minnesota the weekend before. NU is halfway through a stretch of four-straight Big Ten weekends being played in Evanston, a string that continues April 15-17 against Nebraska. 

Northwestern, which was one of the nation's top slugging teams after the first three weekends of the 2016 season, turned the juice back up against the Hawkeyes, banging out eight home runs in the three-game series including five from fifth-year seniors Andrea Filler and Amy Letourneau. Letourneau had an outstanding series, especially in the first game when she was two RBIs short of a double-double: she struck out 11 while earning the win in the circle and knocked in eight at the plate on three hits including a grand slam. NU's most feared slugger in Big Ten play, however, has been senior Fran Strub, who is batting .600 and slugging 1.200 in league play—both team highs. Strub, who doubled twice at No. 2 Michigan and hit a walk-off home run against then-No. 21 Minnesota—contributed another double and home run to her resume during the Iowa series. 

In the circle, the Wildcats are led by Kristen Wood with a 1.94 ERA in 36 innings. Letourneau ranks second with a 3.69 ERA in a team-high 93.0 innings and owns a 6-7 record on the season. Freshman Kenzie Ellis (7.87 ERA, 5-5) figured in every decision for the Wildcats against the Hawkeyes, picking up a save in Game One before earning the win as a starter in Game Two and a reliever in Game Three.

Purdue

Purdue will play a Wednesday game in Chicago against DePaul before returning to West Lafayette to kick off a four-game homestand. The Boilermakers went 3-2 in Big Ten play last week, splitting a Wednesday home doubleheader with Indiana, falling 1-0 in Game 1, but rebounding with a 6-4 win. Purdue then went 2-1 on the road at Wisconsin over the weekend, splitting a Saturday doubleheader (L 9-5, W 5-4) and taking the Sunday finale 3-2 with a seventh-inning rally.

Infielder/outfielder Kristen Hoppman leads the Boilermaker bats with a .336 average, 26 stolen bases, 26 runs, five triples and four home runs, while designated player Katie Harrison has driven in a team-leading 22 RBI with nine doubles and five home runs, while also earning 13 walks. Outfielder Lauren Stewart has scored a team-best 32 runs to go with 15 RBI, eight doubles, two home runs and 16 stolen bases.

In the circle, senior lefty Lilly Fecho (16-8) has struck out 183 batters in 159 innings, including 18 complete games and four shutouts. Freshman Maddie Damon (3-6) has added 45 Ks in 54 innings, including three complete games. Sophomore Gina Snyder (4-3) has issued 43 Ks in 42 innings, while junior transfer Katie Johnson (0-0) has struck out 13 batters in 13 innings. The staff is holding opponents to a .240 average.

Next Up

Following back-to-back conference series, the Illini will take a break from Big Ten action for a midweek contest against Eastern Illinois next Wednesday (April 20) at 5 p.m. CT in Eichelberger Field.