Eastern Illinois University announced on April 29 that its softball team will host Tennessee State for Senior Weekend at Williams Field in Charleston. The Panthers, with a record of 30-20 overall and 20-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference, are set to play three games from May 1 to May 2.
The upcoming series is significant as Eastern Illinois needs one win to secure at least a share of the OVC regular season title and two wins to claim the championship outright. If successful, this would mark the program’s third consecutive OVC title and fifth overall. Tennessee State enters the weekend with a record of 2-35 and will not qualify for the conference tournament.
Lizzie Stiverson was named Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week after hitting .667 across four games last week, while Bryanna French earned Pitcher of the Week honors by pitching over ten scoreless innings in relief. Alisha Frederick extended her on-base streak to 26 games, which ranks seventh among active streaks nationally. The Panthers lead their conference with 31 home runs this season, with contributions from eleven different players.
The program will honor six seniors—Emily Konkel, Lexie Griffin, Marybeth Dyson, Lizzie Stiverson, Karlie McKenzie, and Bryanna French—following Saturday’s doubleheader against Tennessee State. Head coaches Kristi Paulson and Dan Paulson are leading their second season together at Eastern Illinois after previous success at Parkland College.
With recent victories over UIC and Southern Indiana pushing their win total past thirty for a fourth straight year—and securing twenty or more OVC wins for three consecutive seasons—the Panthers have continued to reach new milestones. The team looks ahead to competing in next week’s Ohio Valley Conference Tournament in Peoria.
