CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -Â After equaling its 2016 win total during the final weekend of the regular season and a fourth place finish in the Big Ten Conference, the Fighting Illini softball team heads into postseason play as the fourth seed at the 2017 Big Ten Tournament, hosted by Michigan on May 11-13 in Ann Arbor, Mich. With the top-four finish, the Illini received a first-round bye and will play No. 12 Penn State on Friday (May 12) at 12:30 p.m. CT at the Wilpon Complex/Alumni Field.
The 12th-seeded Nittany Lions shutout No. 5 Nebraska, 5-0, in first round action on Thursday (May 11).Â
It is just the fourth time in program history that the Illini have garnered a four-seed or higher, earning the No. 4 seed twice previously in 2003 and 2001. The Illini earned a program-best No. 2 seed in 2004, with that season's runner-up finish also representing the best finish at a Big Ten Tournament in program history.Â
The Illini own a 9-14 overall record in the annual conference tournament and advanced to the quarterfinals a season ago as the No. 7 seed, defeating Michigan State (3-2) in the first round on Thursday, before falling to eventual tournament champion and second-seeded Minnesota, 2-0 on Friday.Â
In the most recent NCAA softball RPI, released on Monday (May 8), the Illini came in at No. 27 and were the third-highest team ranked in the Big Ten behind conference leaders Minnesota at No. 12 and Michigan at No. 21. Also highlighting the Top 25 list are Illini opponents No. 2 Oregon, No. 3 Auburn, No. 15 LSU and No. 24 California. The Illini garnered a season-high ranking of No. 19 earlier this season on April 17.
The Illini own a 24-1 mark away from Eichelberger Field this season, going 13-5 at neutral site games and 11-6 on the road.
ILLINI NOTES
- A quartet of Fighting Illini softball student-athletes garnered postseason accolades when the Big Ten Conference announced its All-Big Ten honors on Wednesday (May 10). Senior Nicole Evans was a unanimous First-Team selection and was also named to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team, while fellow senior Breanna Wonderly joined her as a First-Team All-Big Ten honoree. Junior Leigh Farina received second-team plaudits and junior Annie Fleming was selected as UI's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient.
- For the first time in program history a trio of Fighting Illini softball student-athletes garnered College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District honors as senior Nicole Evans, junior Annie Fleming and sophomore Stephanie Abello were each named to the District Five First-Team, the organization announced on Thursday (May 4).
- It is the first honor of its kind for both Evans and Abello, while Fleming becomes just the fourth Illini softball player to collect the accolade twice after being selected as an Academic All-District First-Team honoree a season ago.
- With her 17th home run of the season on Senior Day against Ohio State on Saturday (May 6), senior Nicole Evans set a new program record with her 52nd career long ball to best the previous mark of 51 homers, held by former Illini standout Angelena Mexicano.
- Junior Annie Fleming registered a team-high .412 batting average last week, going 7-for-17 with two RBI, two runs, three walks and seven total bases.
- Senior Ruby Rivera tallied a .400 batting average, going 6-for-15 with a double and a home run, to go along with four runs, four RBI, 10 total bases and a .667 slugging percentage.
- Against Ohio State, senior Nicole Evans batted at a .600 clip with three hits, including her 17th home run and record-setting 52nd of her career, as well as a run, an RBI and six walks. She registered a 1.200 slugging percentage and an .818 on-base percentage.
- In the circle, junior Erin Walker posted a 0.62 ERA in three appearances over the past week and allowed just one earned run on 11 hits and two walks, while striking out three in 11.1 innings of work.Â
- Senior Ruby Rivera currently owns a 13-game reached base streak, one game off of the season record of 14 games by sophomore Stephanie Abello. The catcher also holds the longest hitting streak at 11 games this season.
NEXT UP
The Illini will await their NCAA postseason fate and will find out on Sunday (May 14) night as the 2017 NCAA Division I Softball Championship bracket will be announced on ESPN2Â at 9 p.m. CT.
