Illini Softball Looks to Strikeout Cancer against Iowa in Weekend Series

Friday, April 20

Urbana, Ill.

5 p.m. CT

University of Illinois

Iowa

Illini Softball Looks to Strikeout Cancer against Iowa in Weekend Series

April 19, 2018 | Softball

Illinois host the Hawkeyes on April 20-22 with first pitch set for 5, 6 and 12 p.m. Friday-Sunday

Games 43-45: Illinois (27-15, 6-6 B1G) vs. Iowa (19-22, 5-8 B1G)
When & Where	April 20-22, 2018 // Friday: 5 p.m. CT \| Saturday: 6 p.m. CT \| Sunday: 12 p.m. CT // Eichelberger Field // Urbana, Ill.
Game Coverage	Live Stats \| Live Video: BTN2Go \| TV: BTN (Saturday Only) // Radio: WDWS 1400 // Listen (Saturday Only)
Full Game Notes	Illinois \| Iowa
Statistics	Illinois \| Iowa
Series History	Illinois leads, 22-21 // Last: W, 7-4; 3/26/2017; Iowa City, Iowa. // Streak Won 8
Tickets	FREE
Social Media	@IlliniSB \| #Illini \| Facebook \| @IlliniSB \| YouTube

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Illinois softball team continues its seven-game homestand this weekend as the Illini host Iowa for Strikeout Cancer Weekend in a three-game Big Ten Conference series on April 20-22 at Eichelberger Field. First pitch is set for 5 p.m. on Friday, 6 p.m. on Saturday and 12 p.m. on Sunday.

ILLINI NOTES

With just 11 games remaining on the schedule for the regular season, the Illini sit at 27-15 on the season and are in seventh place in the Big Ten Conference standings with a 6-6 record. The Illini own an impressive 8-1 mark at home in Eichelberger Field, including a series sweep of Maryland.
In the latest NCAA softball RPI that was released on Monday (April 17), the Illini came in at the No. 57 spot.
The 2018 season marks the 19th season for the Illinois softball program, with the Illini owning a 58.0 winning percentage as a program with a 589-426 -2 overall record, with the second game against Cal Poly on March 17 marking the 1,000 game Illini softball has played. In Big Ten conference action, the Illini also hold a 188-168 (.528) mark.
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.

ILLINI EARN DOUBLEHEADER SWEEP OF GREEN BAY

The Illinois softball team earned a doubleheader sweep of Green Bay, 4-1 and 6-4, in nonconference action on a cold and windy Wednesday (April 18) evening at Eichelberger Field.
Junior Kiana Sherlund led the Illini with a 5-for-7 effort with two RBI and two runs on the day. Sherlund went 4-for-4 with two RBI, a run and a stolen base to pace the team in game two.
Junior Stephanie Abello added two hits - including a double - and two RBI, while redshirt-sophomore Veronica Ruelius added three hits - including her second homer of the season - an RBI and run in the two wins.
Freshman Bella Loya knocked her seventh home run of the season in game two, tying her with senior Maddi Doane for the team lead this season.
Junior Taylor Edwards allowed just one run on six hits and two walks and struck out one in a complete game one victory, while classmate Emily Oestreich entered in the circle in the second inning in relief of sophomore starter Akilah Mouzon and gave up just one earned run on one hit and one walk, while tying a season-high with eighth strikeouts in 5.2 innings to earn her 13th win of the season.

DINGERS FOR DAYS

The Illini have registered 38 home runs this season and have knocked at least one home run in 14 of the last 22 games - including hitting three in a win over Maryland on April 8 and in each game of their doubleheader against Northwestern. UI also posted an eight-game span that ran from the second game against Missouri on March 14 to SIUE on March 21.
The Illini have registered mulitple home runs in 10 games in 2018, including knocking a season-high five dingers in game one against UIC on March 21 and notching five contests with three homers.
Senior Maddi Doane and freshman Bella Loya pace the Illini with seven home runs and rank in tie for ninth in the Big Ten.
Redshirt-junior Carly Thomas sits in third on the team with five dingers, with junior Kiana Sherlund and freshman Maddison Demers adding four dingers this season, with three of Sherlund's long balls coming as grand slams.

HEAD COACH TYRA PERRY EARNS 500TH CAREER WIN & 100TH WIN AT ILLINOIS

With a 5-3 win over Cal Poly on March 17, head coach Tyra Perry earned her 500th career win as a Division 1 softball head coach. In her 17th season as a head coach, Perry owns a 511-446-1 (.534) overall record.
In just her third season at the helm of the Illinois softball program, Perry earned her 100th win as an Illini with a 20-2 win over Maryland on April 8 and is 102-58 (.638) during her time in the Orange and Blue.

SHERLUND STAYING HOT

Junior Kiana Sherlund has been an offensive catalyst for the Illini this season, leading UI and ranking second in the Big Ten with a .405 batting average. The junior also paces the conference with 64 hits, seven triples and 94 total bases, as well as sitting tied for third with 38 runs, eighth with 35 RBI and tied for 13th with nine stolen bases.
Her seven three-baggers this season is tied with Rachelle Coriddi (2005) for the program record for triples in a season and ranks third in the nation, with her 0.17 triples per game also sitting fourth in the NCAA.
Sherlund also ranks sixth in the nation in hits, as well as 41st in total bases, 62nd in runs per game and 81st in batting average.
She owns a team-high 21 multiple-hit games - including five three-hit contests and two four-hit game - while also totaling nine multiple-RBI games this season, highlighted by a five-RBI effort on Sunday against Maryland as well as four-RBI performances in wins over Murray State on March 3 and UIC on March 20.

ILLINI AT THE PLATE

The Illini lead the Big Ten in eight offensive categories, including batting average (.325), slugging percentage (.502), runs scored (272), hits (383), RBI (247), doubles (68), triples (13) and total bases (591), while also sitting second in home runs (38) and sacrifice flies (10) and third in on-base percentage (.392).
The Illini owns one of the top-ranked offenses in the nation, ranking 10th in the country with a .325 batting average and 12th with 6.48 runs per game and a .502 slugging percentage. The Illini also rank in the top 50 nationally in doubles per game (1.62, 13th), triples per game (0.31, 24th), home runs per game (0.90, 42nd) and double plays per game (0.40, 46th).
Redshirt-junior Carly Thomas ranks 12th in the nation and leads the Big Ten with four sacrifice flies, while also ranking 13th in the NCAA and second in the league with 15 doubles on the season. She is also 22nd with 0.36 doubles per game and 62nd with 0.90 runs per game in the NCAA.
Thomas ranks in the top 15 in the conference in runs (t-third, 38), total bases (fifth, 81), hits (eighth, 49), RBI (ninth, 34) and batting average (t-12th, .360).
Senior Maddi Doane and junior Stephanie Abello joins both Sherlund and Thomas in the top 15 in batting average in the Big Ten, with Doane sitting 10th with a .376 clip on the season and Abello tied with Thomas in 12th with a .360 average.
Doane also ranks ninth with a .663 slugging percentage and tied for ninth with seven home runs.
In Big Ten action, Thomas sits second in the league with 14 runs scored.
Abello leads the Illini with 10 multible RBI games, including two three-RBI contests and one five-RBI game.
Freshman Bella Loya is currently riding a seven-game hitting streak and owns the longest of the season for the Illini at 15-games, while Thomas owns the longest reached-base streak at 24 games - which was stopped in game one the Wisconsin doubleheader last Thursday.