Illini Welcome in Huskers for B1G Regular Season Finale

Friday, May 4

Urbana, Ill.

5 p.m. CT

University of Illinois

Nebraska

Illini Welcome in Huskers for B1G Regular Season Finale

May 3, 2018 | Softball

World's Largest Softball Tailgate and Senior Day on Saturday highlight final weekend of regular season

Games 51-53: Illinois (34-16, 11-7 B1G) vs. Nebraska (30-20, 8-11 B1G)
When & Where	May 4-6, 2018 // Friday: 5 p.m. CT \| Saturday: 1 p.m. \| Sunday: 12 p.m. // Eichelberger Field // Urbana, Ill.
Game Coverage	Live Stats // Live Video // Live Audio: WDWS 1400 (Saturday Only)
Full Game Notes	Illinois \| Nebraska
Statistics	Illinois \| Nebraska
Series History	Illinois trails, 7-12 // Last: L, 14-0 (5); 4/23/17; Lincoln, Neb. // Streak Lost 1
Tickets	FREE
Social Media	@IlliniSB \| #Illini \| Facebook \| @IlliniSB \| YouTube

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Illinois softball team is set to wrap up the 2018 regular season as they host Nebraska for its final three-game conference series this weekend (May 4-6) at Eichelberger Field. The popular World's Largest Softball Tailgate promotion is set for Saturday (May 5) beginning at 11 a.m., with Senior Day festivities following the conclusion of the game.

PARKING ADVISORY FOR FRIDAY NIGHT: The grass parking lot off of Kirby Avenue will be closed on Friday night due to Illinois Baseball's Fireworks Show that will be firing off from the lot. Fans can park in the grass lot east of Atkins Tennis Center. The Kirby Avenue grass lot will be open on Saturday and Sunday.

PROMOTIONS

Friday | Hail to the Orange Weekend

Student-athletes are wearing orange jerseys and fans are encouraged to wear orange!
Hail to the Orange koozie giveaway
Illinois Softball drawstring bag giveaway
Free food for students with an I-card
Softball card set #3 giveaway- (Maddison Demers, Bella Loya, Shelby Stauffenberg, Serenity Stewart, Valerie Frank, Rhein Trochim)

Saturday | World's Largest Softball Tailgate & Senior Day

Tailgating starts at 11 am
DJ, Face painter, balloon maker, inflatables, and more
Hail to the Orange rally towel giveaway
Illinois Foam seat cushion giveaway
$6 Family Meal Deal - Hot Dog, Drink and Chips
Post-game autographs - same athletes as card set giveaway
Softball card set #3 giveaway - (Maddison Demers, Bella Loya, Shelby Stauffenberg, Serenity Stewart, Valerie Frank, Rhein Trochim)
Recognizing the 2018 senior class (Sam Acosta, Maddi Doane, Leigh Farina, Katie Gallagher, Kate Giddens, Rowan McGuire, Jill Nicklas, Erin Walker) following the game

Sunday | EichelBURGER Day

A day focused around burgers and Shorty Eichelberger.
Flag giveaway
$2 hot dogs
Kids can run the bases following the game - sign up at the marketing table

ILLINI NOTES

With just three games remaining on the schedule for the regular season, the Illini sit at 34-16 on the season and are in sixth place in the Big Ten Conference standings with a 11-7 record. The Illini own an impressive 13-1 mark at home in Eichelberger Field.
In the latest NCAA softball RPI that was released on Monday (April 30), the Illini came in at the No. 59 spot and rank as the seventh-highest team in the RPI rankings. No. 25 Minnesota leads the conference, with No. 30 Ohio State, No. 32 Michigan, No. 35 Northwestern, No. 36 Nebraska and No. 51 Wisconsin sitting ahead of the Illini.
The 2018 season marks the 19th season for the Illinois softball program, with the Illini just four wins from recording the program's 600th victory with a 596-427-2 (.582) overall record. In Big Ten conference action, the Illini also hold a 193-169 (.533) 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.

ILLINOIS HOMERS ITS WAY TO 7-2 WIN OVER IUPUI

The Illini homered three times in the first two innings en route to a 7-2 win over IUPUI on a sunny Tuesday (May 1) evening at Eichelberger Field, earning their ninth win in the last 10 games.
Redshirt-junior Carly Thomas paced the offense with a 2-for-3 performance with two home runs, four RBI and a pair of runs in the victory. Freshman Bella Loya knocked a pair of hits, an RBI and a run, while junior Stephanie Abello notched two runs, a hit and two walks on the day. Junior Kiana Sherlund added three walks and two runs for the Illini.
Junior Danielle Brochu (2-0) earned the win after giving up just one unearned run on one walk and striking out two in 2.0 innings of relief action. Classmate Taylor Edwards started the game and did not allow a base runner, while notching one strikeout in 3.0 frames. Junior Emily Oestreich finished off the win with 2.0 innings of work, allowing one earned run on two hits and striking out one.

SHERLUND SETS SEASON RECORD FOR TRIPLES

With a triple in a win over Eastern Illinois on April 25, junior Kiana Sherlund set a new season record with her eighth three-bagger of the season.
Sherlund bested Rachelle Coriddi's record of seven triples set during the 2005 season.

DINGERS FOR DAYS

The Illini have registered 47 home runs this season and have knocked 11 home runs in their last 10 games - including posting three multiple-home run games in the last five contests. 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 13 games in 2018, including knocking a season-high five dingers in game one against UIC on March 21 and notching six contests with three homers.
Senior Maddi Doane and freshman Bella Loya pace the Illini with nine home runs and ranks tied for 11th in the Big Ten.
With two homers in Tuesday's win, redshirt-junior Carly Thomas sits just behind the duo with eight homers, while junior Kiana Sherlund is fourth on the team with six dingers. Freshman Maddison Demers has also added four dingers this season.
Of Sherlund's six home runs on the season, four had gone a s 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 10 of the Big Ten with Sherlund sitting fifth with a .401 average and Thomas ranking 10th with a .373 clip, while also ranking in the top 10 in the conference in runs, hits, RBI and total bases.
Sherlund paces the conference with 75 hits, 51 runs, eight triples and 115 total bases, as well as sitting tied for fourth with 44 RBI, tied for eighth with 14 stolen bases and 15th with a .615 slugging percentage.
Thomas also leads the league with four sacrifice flies, while also ranking third with 17 doubles and 107 total bases, fourth with 62 hits, 46 runs and 44 RBI and 15th with 10 stolen bases and eight home runs.
Sherlund's eight three-baggers this season ranks second in the nation, with her 0.16 triples per game sitting third 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 fourth in the nation in hits, as well as 23rd in runs per game (1.02), 28th in total bases and 73rd in batting average, while Thomas ranks 11th in the country in doubles, as well as 26th in sacrifice flies, 31st in doubles per game (0.34), 42nd in total bases, 46th in runs per game (0.92) and 51st in hits.
Sherlund owns a team-high 25 multiple-hit games - including six three-hit contests and two four-hit game - while also totaling 11 multiple-RBI games this season, highlighted by two five-RBI efforts against Penn State on Saturday and Maryland on April 8 as well as four-RBI performances in wins over Murray State on March 3 and UIC on March 20.
Thomas also owns 11 multiple RBI games with two three RBI games and three four RBI games this season.

ILLINI AT THE PLATE

The Illini lead the Big Ten in seven offensive categories, including batting average (.321), runs scored (330), hits (457), RBI (294), doubles (79), triples (15) and total bases (707), while also sitting second in slugging percentage (.497) and home runs (47) and third in on-base percentage (.393) and HBPs (40).
In league action, the Illini lead with 36 doubles, while also ranking second in runs (137), hits (161), RBI (119) and total bases (247) and third in stolen bases (28).
The Illini owns one of the top-ranked offenses in the nation, ranking sixth in the country with 6.60 runs per game and 12th with a .321 batting average. The Illini also rank in the top 50 nationally in doubles per game (16th, 1.58), slugging percentage (18th, .497), triples per game (21st, 0.30), double plays per game (25th, 0.46), on-base percentage (30th, .391) and home runs per game (40th, 0.94).
Junior Kiana Sherlund currently owns a team-leading 10-game reached base streak, with Thomas owning the longest of the season for the Illini at 24 games, while freshman Bella Loya owns the longest hitting streak of the season at 15 games. Currently, junior Stephanie Abello leads the Illini with a seven-hame hitting streak.