LMU Tournament
Game 17: UC Santa Barbara (6-18)	Friday, March 15, 2019 | 12:15 p.m. CT | Smith Field | Los Angeles, Calif. Live Stats | Video
Game 18: Cal Poly (4-18)	Friday, March 15, 2019 | 2:30 p.m. CT | Smith Field | Los Angeles, Calif. Live Stats | Video
Game 19: #2/2/3 Oklahoma (21-2)	Saturday, March 16, 2019 | 11 a.m. CT | Smith Field | Los Angeles, Calif. Live Stats | Video
Game 20: Loyola Marymount (14-9)	Saturday, March 16, 2019 | 1:30 p.m. CT | Smith Field | Los Angeles, Calif. Live Stats | Video
Game 21: Cal Poly	Sunday, March 17, 2019 | 12:30 p.m. CT | Smith Field | Los Angeles, Calif. Live Stats | Video
Tournament Notes	Illinois | Oklahoma | Cal Poly
2019 Statistics	Illinois | UCSB | Cal Poly | Oklahoma | Loyola Marymount
Series History	UCSB: Illinois leads, 1-0 // Last: W, 3-0; 2/22/2002; Santa Barbara, Calif. // Streak: Won 1 Cal Poly: Illinois leads, 3-1 // Last: W, 5-3; 3/17/2018; Fresno, Calif. // Streak: Won 1 Oklahoma: Illinois trails, 0-4-1 // Last: L, 1-3; 2/16/2008; Las Vegas, Nev. // Lost 3 Loyola Marymount: Illinois leads, 1-0 // Last: W, 8-0; 2/13/2010; Las Vegas, Nev. // Won 1
Social Media	@IlliniSB  | #Illini  | Facebook  | @IlliniSB  | YouTube

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - After a 12-day break, the Illinois softball team returns to action this weekend as the Illini travel to Los Angeles, Calif., for their final nonconference tournament of the season at the LMU Tournament, hosted by Loyola Marymount on March 15-17 at Smith Field.

The Illini open the tournament on Friday, taking on UC Santa Barbara at 12:15 p.m. CT and Cal Poly at 2:30 p.m. CT. On Saturday, UI faces off against No. 2/2/3 Oklahoma at 11 a.m. CT, before host Loyola Marymount at 1:30 p.m. CT. The Illini then finish up the weekend with a second meeting against CPU on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. CT. 

ILLINI NOTES

• The 2019 season marks the 20th season for the Illinois softball program, with the Illini owning a 58.5 winning percentage as a program and earned their landmark 600th win in the first game of the 2019 season - a 7-4 win over No. 22 Oklahoma State - and own a 611-433-2 overall record, as well as a 195-170 mark in Big Ten Conference action.
• The Illini posted a 2-1 record at a cold OSU/Tulsa Invitational on March 1-2 as weather forced the final two games of the weekend to be cancelled. UI opened the tournament with a pair of victories on Friday, posting a 10-9 come-from-behind, eight-inning, walk-off win over Northern Iowa, before defeating host Tulsa, 6-4, in the day's second game. The Illini then dropped a 5-2 contest to Seattle on Saturday to conclude play on the weekend. 

OSU/TULSA STAT SHOUTOUTS

• Sophomore Bella Loya posted a team-high .667 batting average with six hits – including one double – three runs, two RBI and two walks, while adding a .778 slugging percentage and a .727 on-base percentage. The sophomore opened the tournament with a 4-for-4 performance with a double, two runs and an RBI against Northern Iowa, before notching a 2-for-3 effort with an RBI and a run against the host Hurricanes.
• Senior Taylor Edwards appeared in all three games for the Illini, registering a 1.00 ERA in 7.0 innings after allowing just one earned run on 13 hits and two walks and striking out one. In the tournament-opening win over UNI, Edwards threw two solid innings of relief, giving up just one unearned run on two hits. She then earned her first save of the season in a two-hit, two-thirds inning outing in a win over Tulsa.

THOMAS BREAKS CAREER DOUBLES RECORD

• With three doubles in a win over UNI on March 1, redshirt-senior Carly Thomas became the career doubles leader at Illinois after passing Erin Montgomery's (2011-14) total of 52 two-baggers and currently owns 54 in her Illini career. 
• Thomas owns 10 doubles on the season to pace the Big Ten Conference and rank fifth in the NCAA. She entered the 2019 season with 44 career doubles to rank fourth in the program.

STREAKS

• Sophomore Bella Loya owns a team-best 12 game reached base streak and has reached base in all but one contest this season and has knocked at least one hit in 13 of 16 games. 
• Redshirt-senior Carly Thomas owned the longest hitting streaks of the season for the Illini after she recorded at least one hit in the first 14 games of the season. 
• Senior Kiana Sherlund has registered at least one hit in the first 11 games of the season and owns just two contests without a hit. 

ILLINI AT THE PLATE

• As a team, the Illini pace the Big Ten Conference in batting average (.334), slugging percentage (.567) and on-base percentage (.417), while also ranking second in home runs (25) and fifth in doubles (33).
• Nationally, the Illini rank in the top 20 in the NCAA in doubles per game (4th, 2.06), home runs per game (6th, 1.56), scoring (9th, 7.13), slugging percentage (13th), batting average (16th) and on-base percentage (18th).
• Sophomore Bella Loya has been dominate at the plate and ranks in the top 15 in the Big Ten, including pacing the league in slugging percentage (.982) and home runs (8) and sitting second in batting average (.455), fourth in on-base percentage (.508), ninth in hits (25) and RBI (23), 10th in total bases (54) and 11th in doubles (6).  
• Loya also ranks fifth in RBI per game (1.44) and sixth in home runs per game (0.50) in the nation.
• Redshirt-senior Carly Thomas leads the Illini and the Big Ten and sits fifth nationally with 10 doubles on the season, while also ranking second in doubles per game (0.63) nationally.

SHERLUND NAMED TO TOP 50 WATCH LIST FOR 2019 USA SOFTBALL COLLEGIATE POY 

• Senior Kiana Sherlund was named to the Top 50 Watch List for the 2019 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, the organization announced on January 30. 
• A National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Midwest Region First-Team and unanimous All-Big Ten First Team selection a season ago, Sherlund paced the Illini in multiple offensive categories, including batting average (.397), runs (52), hits (81), triples (8), RBI (47) and total bases (122), while also ranking second in stolen bases (15). The outfielder also led the Big Ten Conference in hits, triples and total bases, while also ranking fourth in batting average and runs and seventh in RBIs.
• An Illinois Dike Eddleman Female Athlete of the Year Finalist in 2018, Sherlund also ranked third in the NCAA in triples and eighth in hits, with her eight three-baggers and 81 knocks setting new season records for the program in both categories. The Fairfax, Virginia native owned a team-high 36 multiple-hit games, while also totaling 12 multiple-RBI contests, with four of her six home runs she registered last season going as grand slams.