University of Illinois
Marshall
Illini Make Second-Straight Trip to Lexington for NCAA Kentucky Regional
May 18, 2017 | Softball
Illinois set to face Marshall on Friday at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN2
| Kentucky NCAA Regional | |
|---|---|
| When & Where | May 19-21, 2017 // John Cropp Stadium // Lexington, Ky. |
| Schedule | Friday, May 19 Game 1: Marshall vs. ILLINOIS | 11 a.m. CT Game 2: DePaul vs. Kentucky | 1:30 p.m. CT Saturday, May 20 Game 3: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 | 11 a.m. CT Game 4: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 | 1:30 p.m. CT Game 5: Loser Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 | 4 p.m. CT Sunday, May 21 Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5 | 11 a.m. CT Game 7: (If necessary) | 1:30 p.m. CT |
| Game Coverage | Live Stats | TV: ESPN2 // WatchESPN | Live Radio: WDWS 1400 // FightingIllini.com |
| Tournament Central | http://bit.ly/Regional_TourneyCentral17 |
| Full Game Notes | Illinois | Marshall | Kentucky |
| Statistics | Illinois (37-18) | Marshall (41-10) | Kentucky (36-17) | DePaul (29-21) |
| Series History |
Marshall: Illinois trails, 0-2 // Last: L, 1-3; 2/15/2009; Tampa, Fla. / Streak: Lost 2 |
| Tickets | BUY HERE |
| Social Media | @IlliniSB  | #Illini | Facebook  | @IlliniSB  | YouTube 
|
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - For the sixth time in program history and the second consecutive season, the Illinois softball team earned a berth into the 2017 NCAA Tournament and was selected as one of the 32 at-large bids, as announced on the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday (May 14) night.
The Illini will travel to the Kentucky Regional, hosted by overall No. 14 seed Kentucky in Lexington, Ky., and will face Marshall (41-10) on Friday (May 19) at 11 a.m. CT in the opening round at John Cropp Stadium. The double-elimination regional will be held on Friday, Satutday and Sunday, with the host Wildcats (36-17) facing off against DePaul (29-21) in the other first round contest at 1:30 p.m. CT on Friday.
Illinois is making their sixth overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament and owns an 8-10 record in postseason play with appearances in 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010 and 2016. The Illini advanced to the Regional Final once in program history, falling to No. 3 seed LSU in the Waco, Texas Regional in 2004.
The Illini enter the 2017 NCAA Tournament with an overall record of 37-18 and finished in fourth place in the Big Ten Conference standings with a 14-8 mark. This past weekend, the Illini advanced the Big Ten Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2004 with a 3-0 win over Penn State, before falling to eventual champion Minnesota, 6-5 on Saturday.
In the most recent NCAA softball RPI, released on Monday (May 15), the Illini came in at No. 27 and were the third-highest team ranked in the Big Ten behind conference leaders Minnesota at No. 11 and Michigan at No. 21. Also highlighting the Top 25 list are Illini opponents No. 2 Oregon, No. 6 Auburn, No. 14 LSU and No. 24 California. Two of this weekend's Regional teams are also in the top 30 with No. 17 Kentucky and No. 28 Marshall. The Illini garnered a season-high ranking of No. 19 earlier this season on April 17.
The Illini own a 25-12 mark away from Eichelberger Field this season, going 14-6 at neutral site games and 11-6 on the road.
ILLINI NOTES
- For the first time in program history, Illinois had a quintet of student-athetes named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Assocation (NFCA) All-Midwest Region honors on Thursday, with seniors Nicole Evans and Breanna Wonderly, along with sophomore Stephanie Abello being named to the First-Team - just the second time in program history that the Illini have had three players named to the first team. Also joining the trio with Third-Team accolades was senior Alyssa Gunther and junior Annie Fleming. It is the second-straight year for both Evans and Wonderly, as Evans also earned first-team honors a season ago, while Wonderly was named to the third-team in 2016. It is the first honor for Abello, Fleming and Gunther. The trio now becomes eligible for selection to the 2017 NFCA Division I All-American squads.
- 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.
- After setting the program career record for home runs and RBI earlier this season, senior Nicole Evans nears another couple of career marks as she sits just two doubles away from tying the record set by Erin Montgomery with 52 from 2001 to 2004, as well as just two bases away from tying the total bases record, set by Angelena Mexicano with 415 from 2005 to 2008.
- Sophomore Stephanie Abello led the Fighting Illini at the Big Ten Tournament last weekend, batting at a .333 clip with two hits - a double and a home run - plus three RBI and a run scored. Her weekend was highlighted by a three-run home run against top-seeded Minnesota in the semifinals on Saturday, tying the game at 5-5 before the Gophers took the walk-off winner in the seventh inning.
- Seniors Alyssa Gunther and Ruby Rivera posted a pair of RBIs each, with Gunther also registering a triple and a sac fly, while Rivera's came on a single and sac bunt.
- In the circle, junior Erin Walker posted a 0.00 ERA in 1.2 innings of relief action against Minnesota, allowing just one hit and three walks in the outing.
- Junior Breanna Wonderly went 1-1 at the conference tournament, posting a 3.71 ERA in 11.1 innings and giving up six runs on 11 hits and six walks and striking out six in her two appearances.
NEXT UP
The winner of the Kentucky Regional will advance to the Super Regional round on May 25-28 on select campus sites.
