Coach B Classic
Game 10: Northern Illinois	Friday, March 2, 2018 | 10 a.m. CT | Carbondale, Ill. | Charlotte West Stadium Live Stats
Game 11: Southern Illinois	Friday, March 2, 2018 | 2 p.m. CT | Carbondale, Ill. | Charlotte West Stadium Live Stats | ESPN3
Game 12: Murray State	Saturday, March 3, 2018 | 10 a.m. CT | Carbondale, Ill. | Charlotte West Stadium Live Stats
Tournament Playoff Schedule	Saturday, March 3 Seed 4 vs. Seed 1 | 2 p.m. CT Seed 3 vs. Seed 2 | 4 p.m. CT Sunday, March 4 Loser of Semi-Final 1 vs. Loser of Semi-Final 2 | 12 p.m. CT | Live Stats | ESPN3* Winner of Semi-Final 1 vs. Winner of Semi-Final 2 | 2 p.m. CT | Live Stats | ESPN3*  *Video only available if SIU plays in game
Tournament Central	http://bit.ly/CBC-TourneyCentral
Full Tournament Notes	Illinois | Southern Illinois
Statistics	Illinois (3-6) | Northern Illinois (2-8) | Southern Illinois (7-5) | Murray State (5-8)
Series History	Northern Illinois: Series tied, 1-1 // Last: W, 3-1; 2/21/2009; Houston, Texas. // Streak: Won 1 Southern Illinois: Illinois leads, 8-1 // Last: W, 4-2; 5/1/2013; Carbondale, Ill. // Streak: Won 6 Murray State: Illinois trails, 0-1 // Last: L, 5-3; 2/7/2015; Athens, Ga. // Streak: Lost 1
Social Media	@IlliniSB  | #Illini  | Facebook  | @IlliniSB  | YouTube

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - After the lone bye weekend of the 2018 season, the Illinois softball is back in action this weekend at the Coach B Classic, hosted by Southern Illinois at Charlotte West Stadium on March 2-4. The Illini will face Northern Illinois, the host Salukis and Murray State in a round-robin format, before each team is seeded based on win/loss record for the tournament semifinals and finals on Saturday and Sunday.

ILLINI NOTES

• The Illini split its four games at the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, winning a game each against Pitt and North Carolina. The Illini opened the tournament with a gutsy 5-4 win over the Panthers, before falling to the host Tar Heels, 6-2 in the opening day's second game. Down to their last out junior Alexis Carrillo delivered the game-tying home run to force extra innings. In the ninth, senior Kate Giddens put down a strong bunt to advance the runner, before a UP throwing error allowed freshman pinch runner Rhein Trochim to come home for the winning run.
• After the Friday loss to UNC, the Illini bounced back with a 5-2 victory over the Tar Heels on Saturday behind a strong pitching performance from junior Emily Oestreich and the Illinois defense. UI then ended the weekend with a 9-0, five-inning setback to Pitt on Sunday morning.
• The 2018 season marks the 19th season for the Illinois softball program, with the Illini owning a 57.5 winning percentage as a program with a 565-417 -2 overall record, as well as a 182-162 mark in Big Ten Conference action.
• 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 STANDOUTS

• Senior Leigh Farina led the Illini with a .556 batting average with a 5-for-9 effort at the plate, while junior Alexis Carrillo paced the team with six hits - including a double and a homer - on a .545 batting average to go along with two RBI.
• Seniors Rowan Mcguire and Kiana Sherlund each posted a .357 hitting percentage with five hits - including a double and a home run, while McGuire led the Orange and Blue with four RBI on the weekend.
• Redshirt-junior Carly Thomas knocked the Illini's first home run of the season in the tournament-opening win over Pitt, marking the first for Thomas since April 20, 2016 after sitting out last season due to injury.
• Junior Emily Oestreich registered a 1-0 record in two appearances and two starts in Chapel Hill, while posting a 3.50 ERA after allowing five earned runs in 10.0 innings.
• Junior Taylor Edwards also earned her first win of the season after allowing just one unearned run on one hit and two walks and striking out two in 5.0 innings of relief in the win over Pitt.

ILLINI AT THE PLATE

• The Illini pace the conference with a .289 batting average and rank 71st in the nation in that category, while also sitting in the top five in the league in slugging percentage (.383) and on-base percentage (.341).
• Junior Alexis Carrillo ranks at the top of the Big Ten and 53rd in the nation with a .474 batting average, while also ranking fifth in the conference in slugging percentage (.684) and on-base percentage (.476).
• Illinois also ranks 26th with 1.67 doubles per game and owns 15 two-baggers as a team, with redshirt-junior Carly Thomas leading the way with four to sit in a tie for fourth in the Big Ten and ranks 37th in the NCAA with a 0.44 doubles per game average. Senior Rowan McGuire and junior Stephanie Abello sit right behind her with two each through nine games this season.
• Senior Maddi Doane is the NCAA co-leader in toughest to strikeout after not registering a K in 18 plate appearances so far this season.
• Senior Kiana Sherlund leads the Illini with 11 hits this season, with classmate Sam Acosta right behind her with 10 knocks.
• The Illini have three home runs on the season so far with Carrillo, McGuire and Thomas each registering one.
• With seven RBIs on the season, McGuire leads the Illini, with Carrillo notching five and Sherlund and Abello each contributing four.
• In the circle, junior Danielle Brochu leads the Illini and ranks 15th in the conference with a .271 ERA in 10.1 innings of action. She has given up the least-amount of hits (12) in the Big Ten as well as the second-least amount of runs (5) and earned runs (4) to go along with 10 strikeouts in 2018.