Fighting Illini Face Off Against Northern Iowa, SIUE

Illinois (12-15) Hosts Northern Iowa, SIUE
When & Where	March 26-27 // Urbana, Ill. // Eichelberger Field
Midweek Contests	UNI // Tuesday at 4 p.m. // Pride Night SIUE // Wednesday at 5 p.m. // Community Outreach Night
Series History	Northern Iowa // 2-0 SIUE // 5-0
Television	B1G+
Stats	Live Stats
Notes	Illinois // Northern Iowa // SIUE
Social Media	@IlliniSB  | @IlliniSB  | Facebook | YouTube

ILLINOIS HOSTS NORTHERN IOWA, SIUE

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois softball returns to Eichelberger Field for a pair of midweek games. The Fighting Illini battle Northern Iowa at 4 p.m. on Tuesday before taking on SIUE at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. Both games can be viewed on B1G+.

PANTHERS ON THE PROWL

Northern Iowa enters Tuesday's game at 13-10 on the season with a 2-1 Missouri Valley Conference record. The Panthers saw their most recent conference series against Indiana State canceled due to inclement weather in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

As a team, Northern Iowa is batting .225 on the year, with Alexis Pupillo pacing the squad with a .292 average and nine home runs this season. In the circle, the UNI staff holds a 3.51 ERA. Samantha Heyer leads the team with a 2.03 ERA and 77 strikeouts this season.

Illinois lead the series with UNI, 2-0. The last meeting was an eight-inning affair in Tulsa, Okla., where the Illinois squad triumphed, 10-9.

SCOUTING SIUE

SIUE owns a 10-20 record this season, including a 2-7 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play. The team went 1-2 in its last series at UT Martin.

This season, the Cougars are batting .266, with Paige Rocha leading the way with a .421 average. The junior has 26 extra-base hits, including 13 doubles. In the circle, the Cougars own a 3.65 ERA, with Kelsey Ray recording a 2.90 mark in her 67.2 innings pitched.

Illinois holds the 5-0 all-time record against the Cougars. Last season, Illinois topped SIUE, 13-5, in five innings. Kelly Ryono tallied her first grand slam during the outing.

LAST TIME OUT

Illinois fell in a pair of games at Nebraska over the weekend, with the series finale being called off due to inclement weather. The first contest went to extra innings, with the Illini falling in eight innings, 6-5. Kelly Ryono and Paige Berkmeyer recorded homers in the loss. The second game of the series was a five-inning loss, 16-6. Abby Ryniec went 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles and a walk in addition to her four RBI for the Fighting Illini. 

LIGHTNING MCQUEEN

Tori McQueen has been stellar during her senior campaign. So far, the southpaw has toss 81.2 innings over the course of 17 games. The Indiana native boasts eight complete games, two shutouts and 85 strikeouts during the 2024 slate. With a 6.07 strikeout-to-walk ratio, McQueen ranks first in the conference and 16th nationally. 

Over the course of her career, McQueen has tallied 295 punchouts, putting the pitcher seventh all-time in the Illini record books. During her senior campaign, McQueen has tallied double-digit strikeouts on three separate occasions. When the southpaw fanned 14 batters against St. Thomas, McQueen etched her name in the history books, yet again, for the fourth-most strikeouts in a single contest.

GOTTA CATCH 'EM ALL

Paige Berkmeyer has been solid behind the plate this season for the Illini defense. The catcher has caught eight runners stealing this year, which ranks second in the league and 26th nationally. 

COMING HOME

The Purple and Gold Challenge served 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 six 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. The team's first Big Ten series finale at Nebraska was also called off due to rain.

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.