Illini Softball Continues Play at Third Annual B1G/ACC Challenge

Friday, February 16

Chapel Hill, N.C.

12:30 p.m. CT

University of Illinois

Pittsburgh

Illini Softball Continues Play at Third Annual B1G/ACC Challenge

February 15, 2018 | Softball

The Illini will take on host North Carolina and Pittsburgh this weekend in Chapel Hill

Big Ten/ACC Softball Challenge
Game 1: Pittsburgh	Friday, Feb. 16, 2018 \| 12:30 p.m. CT \| Chapel Hill, N.C. \| Anderson Stadium Live Stats
Game 2: North Carolina	Friday, Feb. 16, 2018 \| 3 p.m. CT \| Chapel Hill, N.C. \| Anderson Stadium Live Stats \| Live Video: ACC Network Extra
Game 3: North Carolina	Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018 \| 3 p.m. CT \| Chapel Hill, N.C. \| Anderson Stadium Live Stats \| Live Video: ACC Network Extra
Game 4: Pittsburgh	Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018 \| 9 a.m. CT \| Chapel Hill, N.C. \| Anderson Stadium Live Stats
Full Tournament Notes	Illinois \| Pittsburgh \| North Carolina
Statistics	Illinois \| Pittsburgh \| North Carolina
Series History	Pittsburgh: Illinois leads, 5-1 // Last: W, 2-0; 2/14/2014; Tampa, Fla. // Streak: Won 2 North Carolina: Series tied, 3-3 // Last: W, 13-0; 2/11/17; Guaynabo, P.R. // Streak: Won 2
Social Media	@IlliniSB \| #Illini \| Facebook \| @IlliniSB \| YouTube

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Illinois softball team continues play this weekend when it travels to Chapel Hill, N.C., for the third annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge, hosted by North Carolina at Anderson Stadium on Feb. 16-18. The Illini are set to face Atlantic Coast Conference foes Pittsburgh and UNC twice on the weekend, opening the tournament against the Panthers on Friday at 12:30 p.m. CT, before facing the host Tar Heels at 3 p.m. Play continues on Saturday against UNC at 3 p.m., before wrapping up play against Pitt on Sunday at 9 a.m.

ILLINI NOTES

The 2018 season marks the 19th season for the Illinois softball program, with the Illini owning a 57.6 winning percentage as a program with a 563-415-2 overall record, as well as a 182-162 mark in Big Ten Conference action.
The Illini opened the 2018 campaign with a 1-4 record at the UCF Friends of Jaclyn Invitational last weekend in Winter Springs, Fla. The Illini started off strong with a 9-1 walk-off win over Providence in five innings in the season opener, before falling to North Florida, 5-3. After taking a 10-3 setback to South Alabama in Saturday's first game, the Illini dropped back-to-back battles against the host Knights, 3-2 in eight innings on Saturday evening, and Louisville, 9-7, on Sunday morning. The Illini led UCF until the seventh inning, before the home team tied the score to send the game to extra innings. Trailing throughout much of the contest against the Cardinals, the Illini battled back to tie things at 7-7 in the sixth inning, before UL took the game with a pair of runs in the seventh frame.
The Illinois softball team continued its growth in 2017 under third-year head coach Tyra Perry, finishing the year with a 39-20 overall record, tying for the fourth-most wins in program history and making their second-straight NCAA Regional appearance and sixth overall trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Illini registered a top-four finish in the Big Ten Conference with a 14-8 mark, while also advancing to the conference tournament semifinals for the first time since 2004.
The Illini registered back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances for the first time since 2009-10 and are looking to make history in 2018 with a third-straight appearance, which would be a first for the program.
The 2017 campaign marked the second-straight season the Illini have registered 30 wins or more and marks the first time since posting 30-win seasons in 2007 and 2008.

BIG TEN/ACC CHALLENGE

In its third season, the Big Ten/ACC Softball Challenge has expanded in 2018 to feature 10 schools from each conference, playing four games each at five campus sites over a three-day period.
Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin will represent the Big Ten, while ACC members Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, North Carolina and N.C. State will serve as host sites for this year's Challenge. The other ACC participants will be Boston College, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech.
The Big Ten has posted a combined 33-31 record in the first two years of the Challenge, with the Illini going 3-1 during the inaugural event in 2016. The Illini also traveled to Chapel Hill in their only appearance in the Challenge, sweeping Boston College and splitting with UNC on the weekend.
The Big Ten and ACC offices collaborate to determine the schedule each season. In addition, the official title of the Challenge rotates each year. The 2018 event will be referred to as the Big Ten/ACC Softball Challenge and will continue to mirror the official title of the conferences' Challenge agreements for men's basketball, women's basketball and volleyball.

OPENING WEEKEND STANDOUTS

Senior Sam Acosta paced the Illini at the plate during the opening weekend at the UCF Friends of Jaclyn Invitational with a .438 batting average with team-highs of seven hits and five runs. She posted hits in four of five games to start the season, including three games with two hits each against UNF, UCF and Louisville.
Senior Kate Giddens has spent most of her Illini career as a pitcher, but has seen more action at the plate in the past two seasons. During the opening weekend, Giddens played in four of five games to start 2018 - seeing action as a pinch hitter and at first base. She ranked second on the team with a .400 batting average with two hits, two runs, a double and an RBI.
Junior Alexis Carrillo ranked third on the team with a .375 batting average on the weekend with three hits and three RBI, including a 2-for-3 performance with all three RBI coming against Louisville on Sunday.
Junior Danielle Brochu led the Illini in the circle with a team-low 2.52 ERA, allowing just three earned runs in 8.1 innings of work and posting 10 strikeouts. Her highlight came with a career-high seven-strikeout performance, while giving up just one earned run on four hits in four innings of relief against South Alabama on Saturday.
In her first action in the Orange and Blue, junior transfer Emily Oestreich went 1-2 with a 4.29 ERA and appeared in all five games, starting and going the distance in two contests. She totaled a team-high 15 strikeouts in 16.1 innings and earned the first win of the season after allowing just one earned run on five hits and strikeout out three in five innings against Providence on Friday.
Oestreich also had a strong outing against UCF on Saturday evening, allowing just two earned runs on five hits and one walk and totaling a team-high eights strikeouts in a complete game effort. The junior held the Knights to just one hit through the first six innings, including a run of five-straight strikeouts.