Midweek Contest Against Bradley Up Next for Fighting Illini Softball

Illinois (17-9, 0-0 B1G) Takes on Bradley on Wednesday
When & Where	March 22 // Urbana, Ill. // Eichelberger Field
Wednesday, March 22	Bradley // 5 p.m. CT
Series History	Bradley // 12-3
Television	B1G+
Stats	Live Stats
Notes	Illinois // Bradley
Social Media	@Illini SB \| #Illini \| @Illini S B \| Facebook \| YouTube

FIGHTING ILLINI HOST BRADLEY ON WEDNESDAY

Illinois softball prepares for a midweek clash with Bradley at Eichelberger Field on Wednesday. First pitch is slated for 5 p.m. CT.

SCOUTING THE BRAVES

Bradley comes into the week at 10-17 on the year with.a 4-8 record on the road. The Braves are 2-1 in league play, taking 2-of-3 from Missouri Valley Conference foe Evansville last weekend. Grace French leads the team with a .401 batting average. Last season, French was named a Second-Team NFCA All-Mideast Region honoree and a SecondTteam All-MVC pick. In the circle, Camryn Schaller paces the squad with a 2.76 ERA and 44 strikeouts this year.

LAST TIME OUT

The Illini took down Valparaiso, 9-0, in an abbreviated home opener last week.Danielle Davis led the way offensively for the Fighting Illini, going 2-for-2 in the ballgame with a home run and two RBI. Stevie Meade provided a noteworthy performance at the plate as well, going 3-for-3 with a triple. Lauren Wiles, Tori McQueen and Juliana Hooker tossed a combined shutout with Wiles earning the win to move to 4-3 for her sophomore campaign.

NO SUBS, NO PROBLEM

During the Illini's 3-0 shutout of Saint Francis (Pa.), on March 13, neither team made a change to their lineup card. The game marked the only known matchup this season where both squads stuck to their original 10 players and did not make any adjustments to their lineup.

SICKELS EARNS STRIKEOUT RECORDS

Sydney Sickels continues to etch her name in the Illinois softball record books. During the Fighting Illini's 6-4 extra innings victory over Fordham, Sickels fanned 21 batters, besting her career record. The mark currently stands as the most strikeouts in a single game for an Illini player. The Indianola, Iowa, native owns 649 strikeouts for her career, making the pitcher Illinois all-time strikeouts leader.

STEINER RECORDS 200TH HIT

Avrey Steiner recorded her 200th career hit during the Illini's visit to Tampa. The second baseman holds 206 hits heading into the week. The Fowler, Ohio, native owns 27 hits and a .314 batting average during her 2023 campaign.

DAVIS DOMINATION

Danielle Davis has played an important role for the Illini this season. The redshirt senior is 4-for-9 in pinch hitting situations. Against Columbia, Davis went long, logging a two-run homer, extending the Illini lead, 4-0.

SISTER, SISTER

The Fighting Illini's season opener served as a family reunion as head coach Tyra Perry faced off against younger sister Brittney Williams in a battle of the head coaches. Williams is in her second season at the helm for Southern.

The Illini's 14-2 triumph over the Jaguars marked first meeting between the two teams and the two head coaches. Williams played under Perry at WKU in Perry's first four years leading the program. With the Hilltoppers, Williams played in 168 games, making 104 starts. She logged 45 hits, 53 runs and 21 stolen bases during her four-year career.

FEELING VANNTASTIC

Illini softball head coach Tyra Perry has announced the addition of softball veteran Vann Stuedeman as Illinois' next pitching coach. The former Mississippi State head coach spent nearly two decades in the SEC, also serving as an assistant coach at Alabama prior to her arrival in Champaign.

Stuedeman led the Mississippi State program for the 2012-19 campaigns compiling an overall record of 275-190 across those eight seasons. Under her leadership, the Bulldogs appeared in seven NCAA Tournaments and won 33 or more games in seven of Stuedeman's eight seasons in Starkville.

Prior to her arrival in Starkville, Stuedeman helped Alabama claim three SEC regular-season titles en route to reaching the Women's College World Series six times.

STAFFING UPDATES

Miranda Rodriguez and Rachel Houck joined the Illini staff during this past offseason. Rodriguez serves as the team's volunteer assistant coach and Houck took over as the director of operations.

Rodriguez comes to Champaign-Urbana after a stint at Memphis where she served under the same role. She began her collegiate softball career at Cosumnes River College in 2017, leading the Hawks with 67 hits including 14 extra-base knocks. She owned a .424 batting average and drove in 37 RBI.

From there, she transferred to the Big 12. Across her four seasons at Kansas (2018-21), the Elk Grove, California, native appeared in 90 games for the Jayhawks. Rodriguez primarily played middle infield at Kansas.

Houck joins the Orange and Blue after two seasons as an assistant coach at Eastern Illinois, which followed two years as a graduate assistant with the Panthers.

Prior to her time at Eastern Illinois, Houck was a volunteer coach at Ball State in 2017 and helped the team to a 37-19 record and MAC West division title.

The Greenfield, Ind., native began her collegiate career at Louisville during the 2014 campaign. Houck went on to graduate from Ball State after playing the 2015-17 seasons with the Cardinals and plastered her name all over the single-season and career lists in the record book. She earned second team NFCA All-Region as a senior along with MAC Distinguished Scholar Athlete honors. Additionally, Houck was a three-time Academic All-MAC honoree.

During the 2015 campaign at Ball State, Houck and Perry overlapped and helped the Cardinals to a 34-25 record including a MAC Tournament championship.

EICHELBERGER FIELD: HOME OF THE BIG TEN TOURNAMENT

The Big Ten Tournament runs through Urbana, Ill., as Eichelberger Field serves as the host site for the 2023 conference tournament. This will be the first time Illinois softball as hosted the event.The tournament is set to take place from May 10-13 with every game broadcast on BTN.

Schedule