| Illinois(16-24)Gears Upfor In-State Rematch with Northwestern | |
|---|---|
| When & Where | April 16// Evanston, Ill. // Sharon J. Drysdale Field |
Tuesday, April 16 | Northwestern // 4 p.m. |
| Series History | Illinois trails, 16-35 |
| Television | Big Ten Network |
| Stats | Live Stats |
| Notes | Illinois// Northwestern |
| Social Media | @IlliniSB |@IlliniSB | Facebook  | YouTube  |
ILLINOISGEARS UP FOR REMATCH WITH NORTHWESTERN
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. –Illinois heads to Evanston, Ill., for a rematch with Northwestern on Tuesday. First pitch on Big Ten Network is slated for 4 p.m.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Northwestern enters theweek at 26-8 and isriding a seven-game winning streak. The Wildcats swept Maryland last weekend to improvetheir Big Ten record to 12-1.
Overall, Northwestern owns a .283 batting average and a 2.21 ERA. Ashley Miller paces the pitching staff with a 1.32 ERA and133 strikeouts. Kansas Robinson comes into the contest batting .455 with 10 homers, nine doubles and a triple.
Illinois trails the series, 16-35. Northwestern blanked the Illini,8-0,in six innings on April 9 in the first meeting between the teams this season.
LAST TIME OUT
Illinois won the series finale against Purdue, 4-1,on Sunday.Tori McQueenwent the distance, earning the win while allowing one run and striking out five.Sydney Malottled the way offensively, going 1-for-1 with a double and three RBI.
SUPER SLUGFEST
The Orange and Blue's 19-9triumph overSIUE proved to be a historic night for the Fighting Illini program.The Illini's 19 runs scored aretied for fifth in the record books, and the team's 20 hits tiedthe record for most hits in a game. With six doubles in the six-inning victory, Illinois also set a new program record. The squad's35 total bases ranked second in the record books.
Individually, Kelly Ryono's three doubles tiedthe most by a single player in a single game.The three homers byPaige Berkmeyerwere the most hit in a single game by a single player, and the junior's 12 total baseswere also a new program record. With seven RBI, the Ohio nativetiedthe program record for a single game.
LIGHTNING MCQUEEN
Tori McQueen has been stellar during her senior campaign. So far, the southpaw has toss 124.0 innings over the course of 27games. The Indiana native boasts 10complete games, two individualshutouts, one combined shutout and 118strikeouts during the 2024 slate. With a 5.13 strikeout-to-walk ratio,McQueen ranks second in the conference and 23rdnationally.
Over the course of her career, McQueen has tallied 328punchouts, putting the pitcher seventh all-time in the Illini record books and two strikeouts away from sixth place. 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.
BREAKOUT BERKMEYER
Paige Berkmeyer has had a breakout junior campaign, so far, in 2024. The Ohio native currently leads the Illini inRBI (31).
Against SIUE, Berkmeyer etched her name among the Illini greats in the softball record book. The junior fired off three home runs in the team's 19-9 victory over SIUE, marking a first for any Illinois player. Berkmeyer's12 total bases were also a new record, while her seven RBI tied for the most by a singleplayer. Sheis one of just 16players to tally three homers in a game this season.
The catcher has been also solid behind the plate this season for the FightingIllini defense. Berkmeyer has caught 14runners stealing this year, which leads the league and rankssecondnationally. The mark currently puts the catcher tied for sixth all-time in the Illini record books for a single season.
COMING HOME
The Purple and Gold Challenge served as a homecoming for Fighting Illinihead 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 leaderbecamea 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 whichLSU 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 eightgames canceled due to weather, so far, this season. The Fighting Illini's Saturday slate against Auburn and Belmont at the Tiger Invitational was called offduring 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. Inclement weather in the forecast for the Illini's doubleheader against Indiana State forced to team to cancel that twinbill.
A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
Illini softball head coachTyra Perryis 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 amongoutfielders.
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 RBIin 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 traveledto Selma, Ala., to co-hostthe 2024 B1G Impact Youth Clinic. The B1GImpact isan initiative of the Big Ten Conference as a part of its commitment to positively impacting communities.
Additionally, the team participated in a community service event prior to the Maryland series. While on the road, the team assisted with the Special Olympics Maryland, making time before the series opener with the Terps.
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 programhistory and continued to etch their name in the Big Ten record books.The Orange and Bluebecame 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.
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