| Games 37-39 |
at Michigan State (East Lansing, Mich. | Secchia Stadium) |
| Schedule (CT) |
- Friday, April 3: 2 p.m. CT
- Friday, April 3: 30 minutes after Game One
- Sunday, April 5: Noon CT
|
| Television: |
B1G+ |
| Live Stats: |
StatBroadcast |
| Social Media: |
Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube |
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois softball (9-27, 1-8 Big Ten) heads to Michigan State for a three-game series, April 3-5. Friday will now be a doubleheader, with game one at 2 p.m. CT and game two approximately 30 minutes following. No games will be played on Saturday and the noon CT game on Sunday remains unchanged. All three games can be streamed on B1G+ or followed on StatBroadcast.
LAST TIME OUT
Illinois fell to Illinois State, 8-4, in a midweek matchup on Tuesday, March 31, at Eichelberger Field. Ellie Haggard notched her eighth home run of the season in the loss, and Danika Frazier earned her second start of the year in the circle, falling to 1-1. Keirys Click was two-for-three at the plate, her sixth multi-hit outing of the year.
BRENNAN BULLETIN
A junior college transfer, Skylar Brennan has immediately made her presence felt for Illinois, having started all 36 games in the outfield. She leads the team in batting average (.349), hits (38), and doubles (8). She has a current reached base streak of seven games, dating back to March 21 against Northwestern, and ten multi-hit games, tied with Adisyn Caryl for most on the squad.
DONAHUE DINGERS
Eileen Donahue was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate in Illinois' victory over Minnesota on Saturday, its first victory of conference play. Donahue's outing was the first four-hit game by an Illini player this season and just the second with five or more RBI. Donahue has had three multi-hit games and four home runs through three conference series.
IN THE CIRCLE
Sophomore right-hander Danika Frazier earned her first start and first win of the season on March 28 over Minnesota, 14-6, in five innings. Frazier conceded five earned runs, tallied two strikeouts and walked just one batter in the victory. Senior Karley Yergler owns a staff-best 4.38 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 86.1 innings pitched.
OPPONENT SCOUT
Michigan State is 13-20 on the season, picking up an early ranked win over No. 13 Clemson in February, and most recently falling in a three-game series to conference opponent Ohio State on the road. The Spartans were shutout by the Buckeyes in all three games.
Leading the way for the Spartans at the plate is Zoie Bernard, with a .339 batting average, 38 hits, and 21 runs. Nearly the entire pitching staff has seen meaningful time in the circle, with Jacey Schuler owning a 5.78 ERA through 15 starts, while Autumn Behlke has the lowest ERA on staff at 4.61, through 41 innings pitched.
SERIES HISTORY
The Fighting Illini are 32-9 all-time against Michigan State, including taking two of three games at home in 2025. In 2025, Eileen Donahue tallied three home runs in the series, while Keirys Click notched two of her own. The first-ever meeting between the sides was a 4-1 victory for the Fighting Illini at home, on March 31, 2001.
MILESTONE MARKS
Head coach Tyra Perry achieved her 700th career win as a head coach, over Providence on Saturday, February 21, in Raleigh, N.C. Perry is also just five wins away from 300 victories at the helm of Illinois, which she could achieve as early as April 10 against UCLA.
UP NEXT
Illinois softball returns to Eichelberger Field for a five-game home stand, beginning Tuesday, April 7, when it hosts Western Illinois for Wii Sports Night at 5 p.m. CT.
