FIGHTING ILLINI HOST MARYLAND FOR FINAL BIG TEN SERIES
Illinois softball prepares for its final Big Ten series as the team hosts Maryland from May 5-7 at Eichelberger Field. Friday's series opener is slated for 4:30 p.m. and will air on Big Ten Network. Saturday's contest is slated for 1 p.m. while Sunday's finale will take place at noon on B1G+.
SCOUTING MARYLAND
Maryland enters the final weekend of the regular season with a 33-16 record, owning an 8-11 mark in league play. Jaeda McFarland paces the Terrapins with a .376 batting average, logging 12 doubles, six triples and three dingers this year. Courtney Wyche has seen most of the action in the circle, pitching 154.0Â innings while owning a 2.59Â ERA and 166 strikeouts. Keira Bucher has recorded all 11 saves for the Terps, appearing in 25 contests during her freshman campaign.
LAST TIME OUT
Illinois went 0-2 in an abbreviated series at Penn State last weekend. During the 2-6 loss in the second game of a doubleheader, Delaney Rummell went 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Kailee Powell and Megan Ward added 2-for-4 performances at the plate with both players posting a double.
SUPERÂ SENIOR SATURDAY
Along with the Illini's annual World's Largest Softball Tailgate promotion, Saturday will serve as the Fighting Illini's Senior Day. Danielle Davis, Miranda Gallardo, Brianna Nykaza, Gabi Robles, Delaney Rummell, Morgan Scivally, Kailee Powell, Sydney Sickels and Avrey Steiner will be honored in a special ceremony.
A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
The series between Michigan State and Illinois marked the first time two Black female head softball coaches faced off during Big Ten play and was 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 46th among active Division I players with 224 games played over the course of her career. The second baseman is also 21st with 678 career at bats.
Sydney Sickels ranks among the best in the nation, placing 12th in Division I with 105 games started. The right-hander is also 10th with 156 appearances in the circle and 12th with 676.7 innings pitched. The program's all-time leader in strikeouts, Sickels owns 707 for her career, ranking 15th in the country. Although the fifth year has recorded just two a save this season, the Indianola, Iowa, native is second  in the nation with 19 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 17-4Â when scoring in the first inning and 2-14Â when letting the opposition score in the opening frame. The Orange and Blue are also 24-7Â when scoring first and 4-16Â when surrendering first run of the game. When leading after four innings, the Fighting Illini are an impressive 22-3.
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 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 707 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 225 hits heading into the week. The Fowler, Ohio, native owns 46 hits and a .293 batting average during her 2023 campaign. She is currently fifth in the record books with 225 career hits.
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.
