FIGHTING ILLINI OPENS BIG TEN TOURNAMENT WITH BATTLE AGAINST [5] WISCONSIN
Illinois begins its run at the 2023 Big Ten Softball Tournament with clash against the fifth-seeded Wisconsin Badgers on Wednesday night. First pitch from Eichelberger Field is slated for 7 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
SCOUTING WISCONSIN
Wisconsin enters the tournament at 27-19 this year with a 12-10 mark in league play. The Badgers have won three-straight, sweeping Iowa to close out the regular season. Katie Keller paces the team, batting .381 on the year with 22 extra-base hits including 15 doubles. In the circle, Maddie Schwartz owns a 1.66 ERA with 72 strikeouts during 135.0 innings pitched.Â
The Badgers took the series, 2-1, when the teams met in Madison, Wis., earlier this season. Tessa Magnanimo earned the start in all three games while Ellie Hubbard tallied a pair of homers during the series.Â
LAST TIME OUT
Maryland swept the series at Illinois last weekend with the Illini getting outscored 20-4 in the three-game series. During the series finale against the Terrapins, Sydney Sickels earned the start and took the loss, tossing 6.1 innings while allowing six runs on 10 hits while fanning seven Terrapin batters. Lauren Wiles went 0.2 innings in relief. Offensively, the Fighting Illini were paced by Avrey Steiner, who went 1-for-2 on the day with a walk and an RBI.  Kailee Powell compiled a standout performance at the plate as well, going 1-for-3 with a double.
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 224Â games played over the course of her career. The second baseman is also 22nd with 685 career at bats.
Sydney Sickels ranks among the best in the nation, placing 10th in Division I with 106 games started. The right-hander is also ninth with 158 appearances in the circle and 12th with 684.7 innings pitched. The program's all-time leader in strikeouts, Sickels owns 714 for her career, ranking 15th in the country. Although the fifth year has recorded just two saves this season, the Indianola, Iowa, native is second  in the nation with 19 saves during her career.
SUPERÂ SENIOR SATURDAY
Along with the Illini's annual World's Largest Softball Tailgate promotion, last Saturday served 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 were all honored in a special ceremony following the game against Maryland.
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 4-19Â 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 714 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 228 hits heading into the week. The Fowler, Ohio, native owns 49 hits and a .299 batting average during her 2023 campaign. She is currently fifth in the record books with 228 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.
