Fighting Illini Prepare for Purple and Gold Challenge

Illinois (3-6) Travels for Purple and Gold Challenge
When & Where	March 1-3 // Baton Rouge, La. // Tiger Park
Friday, March 1	Louisiana Tech // 11 a.m. CT #4/5 LSU // 4 p.m.
Saturday, March 2	Louisiana Tech // 9:30 a.m. CT McNeese // 12 p.m. CT
Sunday, March 3	San Diego State // 10 a.m. CT
Series History	LA Tech // 0-1 LSU // 3-4 McNeese // 3-0 SDSU // 0-2
Television	SEC Network+
Stats	Live Stats
Notes	Illinois // LA Tech // LSU // McNeese // SDSU
Social Media	@IlliniSB  | @IlliniSB  | Facebook | YouTube

FIGHTING ILLINI PREPARE FOR PURPLE AND GOLD CHALLENGE

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois softball hits the road for the Purple and Gold Challenge from March 1-3. The Fighting Illini squad will face off against Louisiana Tech, McNeese, San Diego State and tournament host  #4/5 LSU during the three-day affair. The contest against the ranked Tigers will be broadcast on SEC Network+.

SCOUTING LOUISIANA TECH

Louisiana Tech heads to Baton Rouge with a 9-2 overall mark, including a 2-0 record at neutral sites. 

The team is hitting .331, while the Bulldog pitchers boast a 2.03 ERA. Allie Floyd paces the pitching staff with a 0.88 ERA, appearing in seven games and making three starts while striking out 27 batters. Offensively, Alexis Gilio's .545 hitting clip is a team high as the junior owns 18 hits, including a pair of doubles. 

The programs have met just once before, with LA Tech taking the 3-2 contest in 2015.

LOOKING AHEAD TO LSU

#4/5 LSU enters the weekend undefeated with a perfect 13-0 mark this year. Of the team's 13 victories this season, 10 have come at Tiger Park.

This season, the Tigers are hitting .374 while holding a 2.44 ERA. Sydney Berzon and Kelley Lynch have seen the bulk of the load in the circle, making six appearances each. Berzon paces the squad fanning 36 batters, so far, this season. Taylor Pleasants leads the way offensively, as the 2021 NFCA All-American boasts 16 hits, four home runs and 27 RBI. 

Illinois trails LSU, 3-4, in the all-time series. However, the Orange and Blue won the last meeting between the programs, taking down then-ranked #14 LSU, 5-2, in an eight-inning affair on Feb. 13, 2022.

CHECKING IN WITH MCNEESE

McNeese checks in at 10-4 overall this season. The team is riding a five-game winning streak, but has not played away from home during this young season.

While the team is batting .309 this year, Corine Poncho paces the Cowgirls by hitting .412 during her sophomore campaign. Poncho's seven homers this year rank sixth nationally. In the circle, the McNeese pitchers own a 2.41 ERA. Ryann Schexnayder holds a team-best 1.58 ERA, while Shaelyn Sanders leads the way with 31 strikeouts.

Illinois is undefeated against the Cowgirls, posting a 3-0 record all-time. The last meeting between the squads took place in 2011, with the Orange and Blue downing McNeese in five innings, 11-2.

REVIEWING SAN DIEGO STATE

San Diego State comes into the tournament at 8-6 on the year, and they are receiving votes in both the NFCA and USA Softball polls. Last weekend, the Aztecs went 3-1 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, topping #11/13 Missouri and Nebraska, 3-2, before shutting out Bethune Cookman, 9-0, in five innings. The team's lone loss was to #1 Oklahoma.

SDSU is batting .242 on the year, with Lala Macario pacing the squad with a .343 batting average. The Aztec pitchers own a 2.11 ERA, while Allie Light boasts a team-best 1.28 ERA with 23 punchouts. 

Illinois is searching for its first win over San Diego State, having lost both meetings between the programs. The teams met last in 2011, when SDSU topped the Orange and Blue, 5-3.

LAST TIME OUT

Illinois went 2-2 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic last weekend. The team fell to #21 California, 11-9, and  #19 UCLA, 10-2 in five innings, but went 2-0 against the Big West, taking down Cal Poly, 16-1, and Hawaii, 6-2. 

The win over Hawaii was the program's first-ever victory over the Rainbow Wahine. Lauren Wiles got the win, pitching 5.0 innings while allowing one run on three hits, allowing no walks and striking out four.

Abby Ryniec held the hot bat for the Orange and Blue, tallying eight RBI during the team's four games. The mark put the senior fifth among all competitors at the elite tournament.

COMING HOME

The Purple and Gold Challenge will serve as a homecoming for Fighting Illini head softball coach Tyra Perry. A 1997 and 1998 graduate of LSU, Perry earned a bachelor's degree in kinesiology in 1997 and added a master's degree in sports administration in 1998. The Illini's leader became a two-year letterwinner for the Tigers (1997-98), helping the program post a combined 102-28 record over her career, including a 58-14 mark in Southeastern Conference play. She also helped the Tigers pick up a pair of SEC West Division titles and make the program's first-ever NCAA Regional Tournament appearance, in which LSU finished second.

In her first season at LSU, Perry led the Tigers with a .345 batting average, 11 home runs, 40 runs scored, .416 on-base percentage and .612 slugging percentage. Those numbers helped her earn recognition on the National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-South Region Second Team, as well as First-Team All-Louisiana honors and a spot on the SEC's All-Tournament Team. Perry led the team with five homers in 1998 while posting a .324 average with 29 runs scored and 38 RBI. Off the field, she was twice named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll.

SWINGING IN THE RAIN

Illinois softball has seen five games canceled due to weather, so far, this season. The Fighting Illini's Saturday slate against Auburn and Belmont at the Tiger Invitational was called off during opening weekend. After playing games against Liberty and Kansas at The Spring Games, the Orange and Blue's final three games of the weekend were canceled.

A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN

Illini softball head coach Tyra Perry is one of 19 Black female head coaches in all of Division-I softball for the 2024 season. Additionally, the Fighting Illini leader is one of just three at the helm for a program in a Power-5 conference, along with Marissa Young at Duke and Sharonda McDonald-Kelley at Michigan State. 

The 2023 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.

OUT[FIELD] OF THIS WORLD

Illini outfielders Kelly Ryono and Serena Starks earned preseason accolades, courtesy of D1Softball. The publication named the duo in its 2024 Preseason Power Rankings among outfielders.

Ryono came in at 34th, according to the publication. The 2023 All-Big Ten Second-Team member paced the Fighting Illini with a .352 batting average and a .619 slugging percentage in 2023. The Huntington Beach, Calif., native tallied 48 RBI, tying for ninth in the record books for a single season. She also garnered NFCA honors last year, being named to the Midwest All-Region second team. 

Starks placed 42nd on the power-ranking list, having joined the Fighting Illini for the 2024 slate after spending four seasons at Princeton. The outfielder earned a multitude of accolades following her career with the Tigers, including First-Team NFCA All-Mid-Atlantic Region in 2023, First-Team All-Ivy League in 2022 and 2023, Ivy League All-Tournament Team in 2023, and Honorable-Mention All-ECAC in 2022. During her time in New Jersey, she slashed .384/.412/.457, owning 135 hits and 69 runs with 18 doubles, a triple, and two home runs. In 2023 alone, she led the Ivy League with a .397 average and 69 hits, the most for a Princeton player since 1996.

WELCOME TO THE FAMILLY

The Illinois softball program added seven newcomers this off-season, including a pair of transfers. Reigning Ivy League Player of the Year Serena Starks joined the Illini following a stint at Princeton. Briana Bower returned to her home state following two years at Mississippi State. No stranger to the Illini program, Adisyn Caryl joined sister Zoe Caryl on the Orange and Blue squad.

NEW FACES IN NEW PLACES

The Fighting Illini saw changes in personnel during the offseason. Kirsten Verdun joined the Orange and Blue staff, serving as the Illini's new pitching coach. Verdun spent the last eight seasons at Big Ten foe Wisconsin as the Badgers associate head coach and recruiting coordinator.

An Illini great also joined head coach Tyra Perry's staff, as Sydney Sickels was named an assistant coach this past July. With the NCAA's coaching limit increase going into effect, Sickels was able to join the coaching staff following an impressive career on the field. The Indianola, Iowa, native rewrote the Illinois softball history book during her time in Champaign-Urbana. Sickels closed out her stint in 2023 as the program's leader in career strikeouts (714), strikeouts looking (204), and saves (19). She owns the single-game strikeout record, fanning 21 batters in an extra-inning thriller against Fordham this past season. The NFCA All-Region selection also tossed the 14th and 15th no-hitters in program history.

RYONO TAKES HOME HARDWARE

The 2023 season was one to remember for Kelly Ryono, as the outfielder received NFCA Midwest All-Region Second-Team honors and All-Big Ten Second-Team accolades following her most impressive season in the Orange and Blue. 

A standout at the plate last season, Ryono tallied a career-best six RBI in a tilt with conference foe Rutgers. Her 12 home runs in 2023 led the Orange and Blue and included her first collegiate grand slam during the Fighting Illini's 13-4 rout of SIUE. Coming into her final season, Ryono owned a .307 batting average with a .484 slugging percentage in 172 games played. 

MORE THAN A GAME

Prior to the Illini's opening weekend, the team traveled to Selma, Ala., to co-host the 2024 B1G Impact Youth Clinic. The B1G Impact is an initiative of the Big Ten Conference as a part of its commitment to positively impacting communities. 

LOOKING BACK AT 2023

The Illinois softball team closed out the season with a 29-27 record, including a 6-16 mark in Big Ten action. 

The season opener against Southern marked a special occasion for head coach Tyra Perry, as the matchup was against Perry's sister, Brittney Williams. Against Fordham on opening weekend, Sydney Sickels broke the career strikeouts record and the single-game record when she fanned 21 batters in the 6-4 victory over the Rams in extra innings.

The Fighting Illini hosted the Big Ten Tournament for the first time in program history and continued to etch their name in the Big Ten record books. The Orange and Blue became the first-ever 12-seed to take down a 5-seed at the event, topping Wisconsin, 8-4.

Kelly Ryono and Kailee Powell were named to the All-Big Ten Second Team, while Delaney Rummell was an All-Defensive Team selection. Miranda Gallardo was the team's Sportsmanship honoree.

THIS YEAR'S BIG TEN TOURNAMENT

The 2024 Big Ten Softball Tournament will be held in Iowa City, Iowa, at Bob Pearl Field. Of the 14 teams in the Big Ten, 12 qualify for the single-elimination tournament. This is the first time that Iowa has hosted the conference event since 2003.