Games 46: Illinois (30-15) vs. Eastern Illinois (29-14)
When & Where	April 25, 2018 // 5 p.m. CT // Eichelberger Field // Urbana, Ill.
Game Coverage	Live Stats | Live Video: BTN2Go | Radio: WDWS 1400 // Listen
Full Game Notes	Illinois | Eastern Illinois
Statistics	Illinois | Eastern Illinois
Series History	Illinois leads, 16-3 // Last: L, 4-3; 5/2/2017; Urbana, Ill. // Streak Lost 1
Tickets	FREE
Social Media	@IlliniSB | #Illini | Facebook | @IlliniSB | YouTube

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Illinois softball team wraps up its six-game homestand when it welcomes Eastern Illinois to Eichelberger Field on Wednesday (April 25). First pitch is set for 5 p.m. CT.

ILLINI NOTES

• With just eighth games remaining on the schedule for the regular season, the Illini sit at 30-15 on the season and are in sixth place in the Big Ten Conference standings with a 9-6 record. The Illini own an impressive 11-1 mark at home in Eichelberger Field and are riding a five-game winning streak after sweeps of Green Bay and Iowa last week.
• In the latest NCAA softball RPI that was released on Monday (April 17), the Illini came in at the No. 53 spot and rank as the sixth-highest team in the RPI rankings. No. 25 Minnesota leads the conference, with No. 29 Michigan, No. 32 Ohio State, No. 34 Nebraska and No. 36 Northwestern rounding out the top five.
• The 2018 season marks the 19th season for the Illinois softball program, with the Illini just eight wins from recording the program's 600th victory with a 592-426-2 (.581) overall record. In Big Ten conference action, the Illini also hold a 191-168 (.532) 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 RIDING FIVE-GAME WIN STREAK AFTER SWEEPS OF GREEN BAY & IOWA

• The Illinois softball team posted an undefeated on the week with five-straight wins, including a doubleheader sweep of Green Bay and a B1G series sweep of Iowa over the weekend.
• The Illini opened their week with a pair of wins, 4-1 and 6-4, over Green Bay in nonconference action last Wednesday at Eichelberger Field. UI then took all three games against the Hawkeyes this past wekeend, including earning a 7-1 win on Friday, a dramatic 6-5 walk off win in eight innings on Saturday night and a 9-7 victory in Sunday's series finale.
• Junior Alexis Carrillo delivered the walk-off RBI single to score senior Sam Acosta, who represented the game-winning run  on Saturday night.
• Redshirt-junior Carly Thomas led all players with a .556 batting average on a 10-of-18 effort of the plate, with half her hits going for extra bases, including three doubles, a triple and a home run. She added five RBI, five runs and 18 total bases, while registering a 1.000 slugging percentage, a .579 on-base percentage and a 1.000 fielding percentage.
• Thomas totaled eight hits (2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR), five RBI and four runs, while notching a 1.364 slugging percentage and a .750 on-base percentage against the Hawkeyes. She had a big series opener, going 4-for-4 with two double and a triple, while also tallying three runs and two RBI on Friday, before adding her sixth home run of the season on Saturday and finished up the series with a 3-for-4 effort at the plate with two RBI and a stolen base.
• Freshman Bella Loya registered a .444 batting average (8-of-18) with a home run as well as a team-leading six RBI and five runs. She added 11 total bases, a .611 slugging percentage and .444 on-base percentage, while also recording a 1.000 fielding percentage with 41 putouts and an assist at two different positions – seeing action behind the plate in the doubleheader against Green Bay and at first base in all three games against Iowa. Her weekend was highlighted by a 3-for-4 performance with three RBI on Friday night, followed by another 3-for-4 effort with a run on Saturday.
• Junior Taylor Edwards collected four of the Illini's five wins, posting a 4-0 record - including all three wins over the Hawkeyes - with a 1.91 ERA after allowing just seven earned runs in 25.2 innings of work. She made four appearances and three starts on the week, totaling two complete games and a pair of strikeouts. Her weekend was then highlighted by a two-hit, one-unearned run, six-inning outing to earn the series opening win over Iowa on Friday and strong relief effort on Saturday, where she earned the win after giving up just two earned runs on five hits and three walks in 5.2 frames.

DINGERS FOR DAYS

• The Illini have registered 40 home runs this season and have knocked at least one home run in five of their last eight games - including hitting three in a win over Maryland on April 8. UI also posted an eight-game span of knocking at least one home run in each game that ran from the second contest 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 paces the Illini with eight home runs and rank in tie for 10th in the Big Ten.
• Freshman Bella Loya sits just behind Thomas with seven homers, while redshirt-junior Carly Thomas sits in third on the team with six dingers. Junior Kiana Sherlund and freshman Maddison Demers have each added four dingers this season, with three of Sherlund's long balls coming as grand slams.

SHERLUND & THOMAS LEADING THE ILLINI OFFENSE

• Junior Kiana Sherlund and redshirt-junior Carly Thomas have been offensive catalysts for the Illini this season with the duo leading the squad and ranking in the top five of the Big Ten with Sherlund sitting third with a .400 average and Thomas ranking fifth with a .388 clip, while also ranking in the top 10 in the conference in runs, hits, RBI and total bases.
• Sherlund paces the conference with 68 hits, seven triples and 99 total bases, as well as sitting tied for third with 42 runs, eighth with 37 RBI and 12th with 11 stolen bases.
• Thomas also ranks in a tie for third with 42 hits and 96 total bases, as well as sitting fourth with 57 hits and tied for sixth with 39 RBI.
• Sherlund's 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 0.16 triples per game also sitting fifth in the NCAA.
• With 17 doubles on the season, Thomas ranks in a tie for fourth all-time in program history for two-baggers in a season.
• Sherlund also ranks fifth in the nation in hits, as well as 45th in total bases, 48th in runs per game and 75th in batting average, while Thomas ranks seventh in the country in doubles, as well as 13th in doubles per game, 20th in sacrifice flies, 48th in runs per game, 51st in total bases and 53rd in hits. 
• Sherlund owns a team-high 22 multiple-hit games -  including five three-hit contests and two four-hit game - while also totaling 10 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.
• Thomas also owns 10 mulitple RBI games with two three RBI games and two four RBI games this season.

ILLINI AT THE PLATE

• The Illini lead the Big Ten in eight offensive categories, including batting average (.324), slugging percentage (.498), runs scored (294), hits (412), RBI (267), doubles (73), triples (14) and total bases (633), while also sitting second in sacrifice flies (10) and third in on-base percentage (.389) and home runs (40).
• In league action, the Illini lead with 31 doubles, while also ranking second in runs (113), hits (102) and total bases (207).
• The Illini owns one of the top-ranked offenses in the nation, ranking seventh in the country with 6.53 runs per game and ninth with a .324 batting average. The Illini also rank in the top 50 nationally in doubles per game (1.62, 12th), slugging percentage (15th, .498) triples per game (0.31, 22nd), double plays per game (0.47, 25th) and home runs per game (0.89, 44th).
• Junior Kiana Sherlund currently owns a team-leading five-game hitting streak, with freshman Bella Loya owning the longest of the season for the Illini at 15-games, while Thomas owns the longest reached-base streak at 24 games.