Illinois (24-21, 3-11 B1G) Hosts Michigan State for Strikeout Cancer Weekend
When & Where	April 21-23 // Urbana, Ill.  // Eichelberger Field
Date & Time	Friday // 4 p.m. Saturday // 5 p.m. Sunday // Noon
Series History	Michigan State // 25-7
Promotions	Friday // Pink Game Saturday // All For Alex Teal Game Sunday // Strikeout Cancer
Television	B1G+, ESPNU
Stats	Live Stats
Notes	Illinois // Michigan State
Social Media	@IlliniSB  | #Illini | @IlliniSB  | Facebook | YouTube

FIGHTING ILLINI WELCOME MICHIGAN STATE FOR STRIKEOUT CANCER WEEKEND

Illinois softball battles Michigan State in a Big Ten series during a special Strikeout Cancer Weekend at Eichelberger Field. The Fighting Illini face the Spartans on Friday at 4 p.m. and Saturday at 5 p.m. Sunday's finale is slated for noon.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS

Michigan State enters the weekend at 12-25 overall and 2-12 in Big Ten play. The Spartans' two wins in league play came at home against Wisconsin (March 24) and Minnesota (April 15). Jessica Mabrey leads the team offensively, posting a .321 batting average. In the circle, Ashley Miller owns a 3.81 ERA and 107 strikeouts during her 93.2 innings pitched.

LAST TIME OUT

Illinois fell, 3-2 to Illinois State at Eichelberger Field on Tuesday night. Sydney Sickels got the ball to start for Illinois and took the loss. Lauren Wiles came out of the bullpen and tossed 2.2 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and fanning five batters. Offensively, the Fighting Illini were led by Megan Ward, who went 2-for-3 on the day with a home run and two RBI. Avrey Steiner went 1-for-3 with a double during the loss.

A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN

The series between Michigan State and Illinois will mark the first time two Black female head softball coaches will face off during Big Ten play and is believed to be the first meeting between two Black female head softball coaches at the Power 5 level. Tyra Perry is currently in her eighth season leading the Fighting Illini while Sharonda McDonald-Kelley is in her first year at the helm for the Spartans. Entering the 2023 season, there were just 17 Black female head coaches with three leading Power 5 programs. Duke's Marissa Young is the third Black female head coach at a Power 5

ILLINI IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS

Avrey Steiner is currently tied for 43th among active Division I players with 218 games played over the course of her career. The second baseman is also 18th with 665 career at bats.

Sydney Sickels ranks among the best in the nation, placing 10th in Division I with 104 games started. The right-hander is also 10th with 152 appearances in the circle and 11th with 666.7 innings pitched. The program's all-time leader in strikeouts, Sickels owns 693 for her career, ranking 14th in the country. Although the fifth year has recorded only one a save this season, the Indianola, Iowa, native ranks second in the nation with 18 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 13-3 when scoring in the first inning and 2-12 when letting the opposition score in the opening frame. The Orange and Blue are also 20-6 when scoring first and 4-15 when surrendering first run of the game. When leading after four innings, the Fighting Illini are an impressive 19-3.

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 693 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 220 hits heading into the week. The Fowler, Ohio, native owns 41 hits and a .285 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.