Game 42-43
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois softball returns to Eichelberger Field for a pair of midweek games. On Tuesday, the Illini battle DePaul, beginnings at 4 p.m. Wednesday's game against Northern Illinois is slated for 5 p.m. Both games will air on B1G+.
Go, Go, Power Rangers!
Four Illinois freshmen have logged home runs this season. Ella Cushing was the first of the foursome, tallying a pinch hit grand slam against Central Michigan for her first dinger. The following day, Ava Moore sent a ball out of the park against Northern Colorado. Ellie Haggard's first homer was a big one as she notched it against Big Ten foe #8 Oregon. Keirys Click also added a home run against a conference opponent, hitting her first bomb at Northwestern.
As a team, nine Illini players have logged a homer this year.
Hit Me Baby One More Time
Fighting Illini outfield Yazzy Avila has been hit by a pitch 10 times, so far, this season. the mark is tied for seventh in the program's record book for a single season.
CLICK, CLICK, BOOM!
Fighting Illini softball's Keirys Click was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week following an impactful weekend on the diamond that helped Illinois to a series win over Michigan State, the league office announced April 14. Click's big weekend helped her become the first Illini to earn a Big Ten softball weekly award since 2022.
The Hobart, Indiana, native went 3-for-8 across the series, including two home runs, three hits, three RBI, and three runs scored. She also drew two walks and a hit by pitch across the weekend. Click's home runs marked her second and third of the season.
Click was a critical piece of the Illini's comeback win in the series finale, connecting for a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh on Sunday to tie the game at 4-4. Her two-hit performance on Sunday was her fifth multi-hit game of the season and fourth multi-RBI game. The freshman's current five-game reached base streak is the third-best on the team and a career best.
In the field, Click started all three games at a different position, playing shortstop, catcher, and second base. She tallied six putouts and three assists.
The last Fighting Illini named Big Ten Freshman of the Week was Stevie Meade on March 8, 2022.
Super Stevie
Stevie Meade has been a mainstay in the Illinois lineup since she first joined the Orange and Blue. Meade owns the single-season record for most sacrifice hits with 13 in 2022. The senior is one sac bunt away from becoming the program's outright all-time leader in the category as she currently owns 30.
Three's Company
The Fighting Illini have five different players who have recorded a triple this season. Stevie Meade, Ava Moore, Zoie Howard, Alaina Miller and Yazzy Avila all posted a three bagger this year. Moore, Howard and Miller own a squad-best two triples.Â
With eight triples this season, the Fighting Illini squad is already tied for 11th most all-time in program history, this taking place just 19 games into the campaign.Â
In Paige We Trust
Paige Berkmeyer has been solid behind the dish during her time with the Illini. The catcher has 40 runners caught stealing during her time at Illinois, with the mark ranking third in the program record book.
Going Wiles
Lauren Wiles has made a name for herself in the circle during her four-year career donning the orange and blue. The senior ranked sixth in the Fighting Illini softball record book with 111 appearances and eighth with 65 starts.
Last Time Out
The Fighting Illini softball team fell to Purdue, 7-3, in the Big Ten series finale at Bittinger Stadium on Saturday. Keirys Click posted a 2-for-3 day at the plate with a pair of doubles. Ella Cushing also went 2-for-3 with three RBI and a home run in the fifth inning, her fifth dinger of the season.
OPPONENT SCOUT
DePaul is heading to Champaign with a 14-27 overall record and a 1-17 mark in conference play. The Blue Demons are looking to bounce back after being swept by UConn in a weekend series.
Lydia Ettema has been a standout for DePaul this season, posting a .588 slugging percentage and a .306 batting average. She leads the team in both RBI (21) and home runs (6). Baylee Cosgrove has also made a significant impact, leading the team in batting average (.328), hits (42), doubles (10), and total bases (57).Â
Northern Illinois is heading to Champaign with a 17-23 overall record and an 11-9 mark in conference play. The Huskies recently saw their five-game win streak come to an end after dropping the final game of their weekend series against Kent State.
Jenna Turner leads the team with a .406 batting average and also paces the Huskies in runs scored (30), hits (56), stolen bases (7), and at-bats (138). Turner also owns a .486 slugging percentage, has totaled 67 bases, and has started all 40 games this season.
Danielle Stewart has also been a key contributor. A 2024 All-MAC First Team and NFCA Great Lakes All-Region Third Team honoree, Stewart made history last season by throwing NIU's first no-hitter since 2006 against Bowling Green.Â
Welcome to the FamILLy
The Fighting Illini added 13 newcomers in the offseason. The Orange and Blue signed 10 Freshmen and added three transfer student athletes. Notable additions include Lizzie Stiverson and Karley Yergler. The duo started their careers at Parkland College and are local to the Champaign-Urbana area, hailing from Monticello, Ill., and Mahomet, Ill., respectively.Â
YOUNG VOLCANOES
The Fighting Illini enter the season as the youngest team in the Big Ten with 17 underclassmen on the roster. The team is made up of 10 freshman, five sophomores, two redshirt sophomores, five juniors, one redshirt junior and four seniors.
A League of Their Own
Illini softball head coach Tyra Perry is one of 21 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 conference, along with Marissa Young at Duke and Sharonda McDonald-Kelley at Michigan State.Â
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.
Homecoming Queens
The Orange and Blue's opening weekend features a game with Georgia, associate head coach Laura Trout's alma mater. Trout helped lead the Bulldogs to the 2010 Women's College World Series and a final rank of No. 3 in the nation while receiving the award of Best Defensive Player. The Bulldogs' starting shortstop, Trout had a breakout season as a senior, hitting .348 to help the Dawgs return to the Super Regionals.
The Illini's meeting DePaul sends Illini assistant coach Kirsten Verdun back to her alma mater. Verdun was a two-time All-American (2012 and 2014) and helped DePaul to two NCAA regional final appearances and the 2014 BIG EAST Conference regular-season and tournament titles. She was named the 2014 BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year in addition to being named the Most Outstanding Player of the BIG EAST Championship. The star-studded pitcher became the first pitcher in program history to accumulate 900 innings with more than 900 strikeouts and 100 or more wins. She currently holds the Blue Demons' school record for career starts, strikeouts looking and batters faced, while finishing second in the record books in wins, strikeouts, innings pitched, appearances and complete games.Â
The four-time all-conference and all-Great Lakes Region selection was a double threat in the circle and at the plate. Verdun, who held a .347 career batting average, knocked out 37 home runs and ranks second in DePaul's record books. She holds the record for most career walks with 156.
Watch[list] Party
The Fighting Illini saw five different players earn preseason recognition prior to the start of the 2025 campaign.Â
Ava Moore took home multiple preseason honors, being named to the D100 list, Softball America's Freshman Watchlist and the Big Ten Players to Watch list.Â
The freshman infielder was a three-year varsity letterwinner at Tecumseh High School. The Ohio native received the Allstate Insurance Good Hands award three times during her high school career. Moore was also named to the All-Central Buckeye Conference team in 2021-22 and 2024. During her senior campaign, when she was received First Team All Southwest District honors, Moore batted .548 with 11 home runs and 43 RBI. It was her third season batting above .500 as she did so during her freshman and sophomore seasons.
Ellie Haggard and London Park joined Moore on the Softball America list.Â
Haggard comes to Champaign-Urbana ranked 60th overall by Extra Innings Elite Class of 2024. She was a four year varsity letterwinner at Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School. The Illinois native took home 4A All-State honors form 2022-23. The infielder owns the state record for grand slams in an inning with two and ranks fifth all-time with eight RBI in an inning. She's also 15th all-time with 46 career homers during her high school career. Haggard continued to etch her name into record books during her four-year stint at Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School as she walked away with the school records for runs, hits, triples, home runs, RBI, slugging percentage, and OPS.
Park was originally part of the Class of 2025, reclassifying and joining the Orange and Blue squad this season. A three-year letterwinner at Spring High School, the pitcher logged a 3.10 ERA in 160.1 innings of work during that time. The Texas native recorded 186 strikeouts en route to a 20-10 high school record in the circle. Park was named all-district each of her three years.
Of the returners, Paige Berkmeyer and Adisyn Caryl received recognition on the Big Ten Players to Watch list.
Illinois catcher Berkmeyer was stellar behind the plate in 2024. The Ohio native caught 18 runners stealing last year, which led the league and ranked fourth nationally.Â
Berkmeyer also held a hot bat during her junior campaign. The catcher finished the year with a .500 slugging percentage. Against SIUE, Berkmeyer broke the program record for home runs and total bases in a single game, tallying three and 12, respectively.
Caryl earned Big Ten All-Freshman Team following the 2024 regular season. Caryl played in all 52 season games for the Fighting Illini, making 51 straight starts following the season opener when she came on in relief.Â
On the year, Caryl was third on the team in batting with a .335 average along with 25 RBI. The newcomer logged 12 multi-hit games during her first year, tallying three hits in four of those games.
The Illini third baseman posted a .306 batting average with 10 RBI and four extra-base hits during league play. The Kansas native's lone homer of the season came during the Orange and Blue's series finale at Maryland, helping the team to a 4-0 win.
Caryl was the first Illinois player to make the All-Freshmen Team since a trio of Illini garnered the recognition in 2022. Following that season, Lauren Wiles, Stevie Meade and Paige Berkmeyer each took home the award.
Looking Back at 2024
Illinois softball finished at 21-31 last season with a 7-15 record in Big Ten play, placing the Orange and Blue 12th in the league for a second-straight year.Â
The Illini won two Big Ten series in 2024, taking two-of-three from Michigan State and Maryland while on the road.
Key losses from the 2024 squad include Kelly Ryono and Tori McQueen. Ryono led the Illini with a .348 batting average and 10 home runs. McQueen tossed 178.2 innings during her senior campaign and owned a squad-best 3.45 ERA in the circle.
