Eastern Illinois University announced on April 14 that its softball team will face Saint Louis University in a midweek game scheduled for April 15 at the Billiken Sports Center. The Panthers, currently holding a record of 22-20, are coming off their first Ohio Valley Conference series loss of the season after dropping two out of three games against Southeast Missouri.
The matchup is significant as both teams look to rebound from recent setbacks. Eastern Illinois managed to win the final game of their previous series with a score of 6-4, while Saint Louis enters the contest with an 18-22 record following an Atlantic-10 series loss at George Mason.
Several Eastern Illinois players have posted strong performances recently. Senior transfer Lizzie Stiverson has maintained a .545 batting average over the last weekend and leads the team with fifteen multi-hit games this season. Sophomore Mo Hance is on a six-game hitting streak and has recorded three multi-hit games in her last ten appearances, including four hits against UT Martin.
Abbi Hatton became only the second Panther this year to drive in five runs during a single game and leads Eastern Illinois with eight multi-RBI games and thirty RBIs overall, ranking fifth in the conference. Alisha Frederick extended her streak of reaching base to eighteen consecutive games—currently leading the OVC and ranking fourteenth nationally—while Marybeth Dyson has reached base in eight straight contests.
Sophia Olman continues to excel against conference opponents, leading all players in OVC-only RBIs with twenty-three so far this season. In pitching, Bryanna French appeared as relief in all three weekend games at Southeast Missouri, finishing with one win and one loss along with a weekend ERA of 2.74.
This meeting marks the first between Eastern Illinois and Saint Louis since their two run-rule victories during the Western Kentucky Invitational in 2024; Eastern Illinois holds an all-time lead of eighteen wins to thirteen over Saint Louis. Following this matchup, Eastern Illinois will host Tennessee Tech for another OVC series beginning April 18.
Co-head coaches Kristi Paulson and Dan Paulson are guiding their second season at Eastern Illinois after previously achieving national success at Parkland College.
