University of Illinois
Florida Gulf Coast
USF Tournament Up Next for Fighting Illini Softball
March 9, 2023 | Softball
Preview
| Illinois (12-6, 0-0 B1G) Heads to USF Tournament | |
|---|---|
| When & Where | March 10-12 // Tampa, Fla. // USF Softball Stadium |
| Friday, March 10 |
North Carolina A&T // 8 a.m. CT |
| Saturday, March 11 |
Marist // 1 p.m. CT |
| Sunday, March 12 |
Saint Francis // 9 a.m. CT |
| Series History | Florida Gulf Coast // 2-0 USF // 4-8 Marist // First Meeting Saint Francis // First Meeting |
| Television | ESPN+ |
| Stats | Live Stats |
| Notes | Illinois // FGCU// USF // Marist // Saint Francis |
| Social Media | @IlliniSB  | #Illini | @IlliniSB  | Facebook  | YouTube  |
FIGHTING ILLINI GET SET FOR TAMPA TRIP
Another road trip awaits Illinois softball as the Fighting Illini head to Tampa, Fla., for the USF Tournament from March 10-12. The Orange and Blue take on Florida Gulf Coast, Marist, Saint Francis and tournament host South Florida in the three-day event at the USF Softball Stadium.
WEEKEND PREVIEW
Florida Gulf Coast heads to Tampa, Fla., with a 13-9 mark on the year. The team has won six-straight contests and most recently topped Stonehill in a doubleheader where the team outscored the opposition 16-1. Nikki Gibson posts a squad-best .322 batting average with 19 hits on the year. Kayleigh Roper owns a team-high .618 slugging percentage, logging four home runs and five doubles so far this season. In the circle, Baylee Haggard owns a 2.79 ERA with 13 strikeouts and one complete game during her 37.2 innings of work.
South Florida enters the tournament at 12-10 this season with a 12-6 mark at home. The team has won three-straight, topping Army 2-0 while also taking down Penn in a pair of extra inning games. Emilee Hanlon paces the squad with a .400 batting average.The senior is also 7-for-10 in stolen bases. Jaden Martinez holds a 1.25 ERA to lead the team while Payton Dixon owns a squad-best 54 strikeouts.
Marist holds a 7-9 record this year, going 3-2 last weekend at the Maroon and Gold Challenge. Reigning MAAC Player and Rookie of the Week Haley Ahr leads the team with a .400 average with 20 hits and 16 RBI this year. Calistsa Phippen enters the weekend with a 1.67 ERA in her seven appearances. The Kinderhook, N.Y., native has tossed six complete games, and holds 40 strikeouts so far this season.
Saint Francis comes to the Sunshine State at 6-10 for the year.The team has lost three-straight games, falling to Virginia in the Palmer Park Clash finale. Jordan Pietrzykoski is batting a team-best .255 during her 16 starts this year. In the circle, Grace Vesco owns a 2.33 ERA during her 54.0 innings pitched. The senior has tossed one shutout this season and has fanned 68 batters.
LAST TIME OUT
The Illini went 3-1 at the Gamecock Invitational last weekend, topping North Carolina A&T, UNCW and Columbia while falling to host South Carolina during the three-day affair. Illinois closed out its weekend with a 4-0 triumph over Columbia on Sunday. Lauren Wiles tossed a complete game shutout, fanning five batters during the victory. Danielle Davis and Kelly Ryono each tallied a two-run homer during the tournament finale.
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.
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 629 strikeouts for her career, making the pitcher Illinois all-time strikeouts leader.
STEINER NEARS 200TH HIT
Avrey Steiner eyes her 200th career hit during the Illini's visit to Tampa. The second baseman holds 199 hits heading into the weekend. The Fowler, Ohio, native leads the Orange and Blue with 20 hits and a .339 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-8 in pinch hitting situations. Against Columbia, Davis went long, logging a two-run homer, extending the Illini lead, 4-0.
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.
LOOKING BACK AT 2022
Illinois saw a successful 2022 campaign, boasting a 34-22 record overall and a 15-8 mark in Big Ten action. The team placed third in the conference during league action and earned multiple wins over ranked opponents.For the eighth time in program history and the fourth under head coach Tyra Perry, the Illinois softball team earned a berth into the 2022 NCAA Tournament and was selected as one of the 32 at-large bids.
As a conference, the Big Ten earned a total of seven bids with Northwestern reaching the Women's College World Series. Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, and Wisconsin also joined the Illini in the field.
SIX ALL-BIG TEN HONOREES RETURN FOR 2023
Avrey Steiner was named First Team All-Big Ten, while Sydney Sickels and Kailee Powell were named Second Team All-Big Ten. Paige Berkmeyer, Lauren Wiles, and Stevie Meade all earned a spot on the All-Freshman team.
Steiner earned her second career All-Big Ten honor after being named Second Team All-Big Ten last season. The Fowler, Ohio native led the Big Ten in hits this season with 73, and also ranked seventh in the conference with a team-leading .390 batting average.
Sickels earned her first career All-Big Ten honor after setting a new career-high in strikeouts (181), good for sixth in the conference, and recording a sub-2.00 ERA for the first time in her career (1.98). Sickels also ranked third in the conference in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.32) and strikeouts-per-seven innings (9.4), while ranking second in the conference in saves with four on the season.
Powell earned her second career All-Big Ten honor after being named First Team All-Big Ten last season. The Canyon Country, Calif. native was fifth in the conference in doubles (15) and sixth in doubles per game (0.28) this season.
Meade, Berkmeyer, and Wiles all earned spots on the All-Freshman team as a result of their stellar performances on the field as first-year players. Meade led all freshman this season in hits (45), RBI (28), and total bases (69), while also being tied for the lead in doubles (ten). Berkmeyer ranked tied for fourth among freshmen in batting average (.310) this season, while garnering 18 RBI and five doubles. Wiles led all freshman pitchers in the Big Ten in ERA (2.64) among players who pitched over 100 innings this season, while ranking second in strikeouts (87) and third in batting average against (.228).
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