Illinois (23-18, 2-9 B1G) Hosts Ohio State for Weekend Series
When & Where	April 14-16 // Urbana, Ill.  // Eichelberger Field
Date & Time	Friday // 5 p.m. Saturday // 1 p.m. Sunday // Noon
Series History	Ohio State // 12-24
Promotions	Friday // National Pecan Day Saturday // Pride Day Sunday // Pajama Day
Television	B1G+
Stats	Live Stats
Notes	Illinois // Ohio State
Social Media	@IlliniSB  | #Illini | @IlliniSB  | Facebook | YouTube

FIGHTING ILLINI WELCOME OHIO STATE FOR BIG TEN SERIES

Illinois softball battles Ohio State in a Big Ten series this weekend at Eichelberger Field. The Fighting Illini face the Buckeyes on Friday at 5 p.m. Saturday's game is set for 1 p.m. while Sunday's finale is slated for noon.

SCOUTING THE BUCKEYES

Ohio State enters the weekend at 25-13 overall and 6-5 against league opponents. The Buckeyes own the Big Ten's third-best overall batting average, checking in at .305 with six starters who are at .300 or higher. Melina Wilkinson holds a .398 batting average with a .758 slugging percentage. The sophomore has recorded 10 doubles, six triples and eight home runs during the 2023 campaign. In the circle, Allison Smith holds a 2.82 ERA and a 12-8 record. In 131.1 innings pitched, the Champion, Ohio, native has tallied 149 strikeouts.

LAST TIME OUT

Illinois fell 6-1 to No. 22 Northwestern on Wednesday afternoon. Megan Ward tallied an RBI single, plating the Fighting Illini's lone run of the contest. Stevie Meade went 1-for-2 with a single and a walk. In the circle, Lauren Wiles got the start, tossing 2.1 innings and allowing one run on three hits while fanning three Wildcat batters.

ILLINI IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS

Avrey Steiner is currently tied for 45th among active Division I players with 214 games played over the course of her career. The second baseman is also 18th with 654 career at bats.

Sydney Sickels ranks among the best in the nation, placing ninth in Division I with 102 games started. The right-hander is also 10th with 148 appearances in the circle and 11th with 656.7 innings pitched. The program's all-time leader in strikeouts, Sickels owns 685 for her career, ranking 14th in the country. Although the fifth year has not recorded a save this season, the Indianola, Iowa, native ranks second in the nation with 17 saves during her career.

LOVING THE LONG BALL 

Five home runs helped the Fighting Illini power past SIUE during a 13-4 victory over the Cougars. Danielle Davis, Sydney Malott and Stevie Meade chipped in with a home run each. Paige Berkmeyer recorded her first dinger this season during the five-inning affair. Kelly Ryono highlighted the day with her first career grand slam. The five long balls tied for second all-time in the Illini record books for home runs in a single game.

TRIPLE DOUBLE

Avrey Steiner and Stevie Meade have made hitting triples look easy this season. The duo has recorded three triples each this year, tying for 10^th all-time in the Illini record books for a single season.

STRIKE FIRST, STRIKE EARLY

Hot starts have proved to be critical for the Fighting Illini this season. The team is 12-3 when scoring in the first inning and 1-9 when letting the opposition score in the opening frame. The Orange and Blue are also 20-6 when scoring first and 3-12 when surrendering first run of the game. When leading after four innings, the Fighting Illini are an impressive 18-2.

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 685 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 215 hits heading into the week. The Fowler, Ohio, native owns 36 hits and a .275 batting average during her 2023 campaign.

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 broadcasted on BTN.