FIGHTING ILLINI FACESÂ ILLINOIS STATEÂ FOR MIDWEEK TILT
Illinois softball continues its homestand with a game against Illinois State on Tuesday night. First pitch on B1G+ is slated for 5 p.m. from Eichelberger Stadium.
SCOUTING THE REDBIRDS
Illinois State comes into the week at 24-17 overall and 14-3 against Missouri Valley Conference opponents.The team posts an 11-7 record on the road and holds an 8-2 mark in their last 10 games. Emme Olsen leads the team with a .351 batting average. In the circle, Hannah Ross owns a 1.99 ERA with 87 strikeouts for her 116.1 innings pitched.
LAST TIME OUT
Illinois dropped a series with Ohio State at Eichelberger Field last weekend. During the team's 13-9 victory on Saturday, Addy Jarvis picked up the victory out of the bullpen for Illinois. The right-hander went 2.1 innings, giving up one run on three hits, allowing one walk and striking out one. Sydney Sickels earned her first save of the season and the 18th of her career in the Orange and Blue.Â
Sydney Malott went 2-for-4 with a home run in addition to her four RBI for the Fighting Illini. Stevie Meade compiled a noteworthy day at the dish as well, going 2-for-5 with a double and three RBI.  Megan Ward put together three hits in three trips to the plate while adding a walk and an RBI
ILLINI IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Avrey Steiner is currently tied for 44th among active Division I players with 217 games played over the course of her career. The second baseman is also 18th with 662 career at bats. .
Sydney Sickels ranks among the best in the nation, placing 10th in Division I with 103 games started. The right-hander is also ninth with 151 appearances in the circle and 12th with 662.3 innings pitched. The program's all-time leader in strikeouts, Sickels owns 690 for her career, ranking 14th in the country. Although the fifth year has recorded just one save this season, the Indianola, Iowa, native ranks second in the nation with 18 saves during her career.
LOVING THE LONG BALLÂ
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 10th 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 13-3 when scoring in the first inning and 2-11Â when letting the opposition score in the opening frame. The Orange and Blue are also 20-6 when scoring first and 4-14Â when surrendering first run of the game. When leading after four innings, the Fighting Illini are an impressive 19-2.
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 EARNSÂ STRIKEOUTÂ 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 690 strikeouts for her career, making the pitcher Illinois all-time strikeouts leader.
STEINER RECORDSÂ 200TH HIT
Avrey Steiner recorded her 200th career hit during the Illini's visit to Tampa. The second baseman holds 219 career hits heading into the week. The Fowler, Ohio, native owns 340 hits and a .284 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.Â
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.Â
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.
