Games #47-49
Lindenwood (25-21, 13-11 OVC)
at Eastern Illinois (35-15, 19-5 OVC)
Match Information:
Dates: Saturday, May 4 / Sunday, May 5
Location: Charleston, Ill.
Venue: Williams Field
Start Times: 4:00 p.m. CT (Sat.) / 1:00 p.m. & 3:30 p.m. CT (Sun.)
All-Time Series: 3-0
Last Meeting: W, 5-4
Live Stats: Link
Watch (Game 1): Link
Watch (Game 2): Link
Watch (Game 3): Link

On-Tap
Lindenwood softball travels to Eastern Illinois this weekend to cap off their 2024 regular season before heading to Peoria, Ill. for the Ohio Valley Conference Championships. The Lions are looking to end the season on a high note before heading to the conference tournament.

Before heading into the final weekend, the Lions currently sit it sixth place with a 13-11 OVC record. Eastern Illinois is guaranteed a top two seed in the OVC Tournament with a 19-5 conference record, tops in the league.

For Lindenwood's game on Saturday, fans will be able to park in the W Lot south of the softball field located off of 4th street due to graduations. The lots closest to the field and arena will be closed on Saturday.

Last Weekend Recap
Lindenwood closed out their home schedule last weekend when they hosted UT Martin at Lou Brock Sports Complex. The Lions went 1-2 against the Skyhawks with their lone winning coming in game one with a 2-0 shutout.

Amanda Weyh tossed a gem on Saturday during her final home game in a Lindenwood uniform. The right-hander went all seven inning allowing just three hits in a shutout, her sixth of the season. She also had eight punch-outs during her 15th win of the season.

Offense was hard to come by for the Lions as they tallied just four hits throughout the weekend. Irelynn West led the team with three hits while Tori Hatton added two and two RBI. As a team, the Lions were held to a .197 batting average over three games against UT Martin.

OVC Preseason Poll
Southeast Missouri State was selected to win the 2024 Ohio Valley Conference softball crown as voted on by the league's head coaches and communications directors last week. Lindenwood was picked to finish in seventh.

Eastern Illinois earned six first-place votes as they were selected to finish in second followed by UT Martin and Southern Indiana. The Lions finished last season with a 16-32 overall record including a 8-15 conference record. Lindenwood made the OVC Tournament during their first Division I season, losing a heart-breaker to Tennessee State in 10 innings.

Statistical Leaders
Batting Average: Ashley Gerber (.295)
Hits: Mya Bethany (38)
RBI: Irelynn West (18)
ERA: Amanda Weyh (1.85)
Strikeouts: Amanda Weyh (156)

Scouting Eastern Illinois
Eastern Illinois is led by fifth-year head coach Tara Archibald who led the Panthers last season to their first ever NCAA Regional appearance after winning the OVC Championship. Archibald has equaled or increased her wins every single season she has been at EIU.

The Panthers at the plate are led by Jadin Justman and Kendall Grover. Justman leads the team in batting average with a .372 and has 10 doubles and seven home runs with 30 RBI. Grover leads the team in hits (61), doubles (18), home runs (8) and RBI (41) while also hitting .355.

McKenzie Oslanzi has been the ace for the Panthers on the mound, leading the OVC in many pitching categories. She has a 1.65 ERA this season while posting a 20-4 record with 139 strikeouts. She has thrown 11 complete games with four solo shutouts.

Head Coach Erin Brown
Erin Brown is entering her third season as the head coach of the Lindenwood softball team in 2024. In 2023, the Lions went 16-32, including an 8-15 mark against OVC competition. Lindenwood finished with a winning record at home (12-10) and swept eventual conference champion Eastern Illinois late in the year at Lou Brock Sports Complex.

Under Brown's guidance, the Lindenwood softball team capped a historic 2022 season in the NCAA Midwest Regional and a 35-13 overall record. The Lions' trip to the regional tournament marked the first in program history, as the team claimed the No. 4 seed. Lindenwood earned a notable win over No. 2 UIndy in late April, the highest-ranked victory in program history.

Prior to Lindenwood, Brown was the head coach at Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo., where she accumulated a 348-302 record in 13 seasons at the helm of the program. Over her final seven seasons with the Bulldogs, Brown amassed 233 wins and a .643 winning percentage. Brown led TSU to five NCAA Regional Appearances, and coached three All-Americans, 12 first-team All-Conference selections, 10 second-team All-Conference honorees, and four conference major award winners in 13 campaigns. The Bulldogs made the GLVC Tournament in every season under Brown.

Up Next
Lindenwood will head to Peoria, Ill. next weekend starting on May 8th to start the OVC Championship. The full bracket will be finalized on Sunday after the weekend's action. For more information go to lindenwoodlions.com.