The University of Illinois Springfield softball team will play at home for the first time during the 2024 season as they host the Springfield Invitational this weekend. The Prairie Stars play doubleheaders on both Friday and Saturday against regional opponents. On Friday, UIS faces off against Parkside at 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. On Saturday, the Stars play Hillsdale at 12:00 and 2:00 p.m. 

UIS (9-3)

The Prairie Stars are off to a hot start in 2024, capped with a perfect 4-0 record at the Blue Bridge Battle last weekend. UIS scored 29 runs while only giving up 11 on their way to four wins. The Stars beat Davis & Elkins 4-2 on Friday, followed by an 8-3 victory over Cedarville. On Saturday UIS beat Ashland 10-2 in 5 innings, avenging their loss in extra innings to the Eagles the weekend before. The Prairie Stars earned their fourth win of the weekend 7-4 against Findlay in an intense battle. Alexis Carroll earned the wins in the first game of both days to move to 4-1 on the year. Taylor Zawacki earned the wins in the second game of both days to pick up her first wins of the year for a 2-2 record. Isabella Wilson earned her first career GLVC Player of the Week going 7-for-12 (.583) with a .643 on-base percentage. She drove in 7 runs and scored 5 runs of her own.

Isabella Wilson            17-for-37 (.459) | 13 RBI | 9 runs

Malia Bender               16-for-36 (.444) | 10 RBI | 17 runs

Taylor Zawacki            13-for-29 (.448) | 10 RBI | 7 runs

                3 starts | 1 CG | 2-2 | 24.1 IP | 11 ER | 3.16 ERA | 22 SO

Rosie Bartletti            10-for-29 (.345) | 6 RBI | 9 runs

                3 starts | 3-0 | 16.1 IP | 6 ER | 2.57 ERA | 17 SO

Alexis Carroll            4 starts | 3 CG | 4-1 | 28.2 IP | 6 ER | 1.47 ERA | 28 SO

Parkside (4-7)

The Rangers competed at the Rosemont Dome Tournament last weekend, where they went 2-4. Parkside played two games on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday, with four of their six opponents being GLVC members. Parkside's two wins were both tightly contested, a 9-8 win against Truman State and a 5-4 win against Upper Iowa. The Rangers  lost three tight games as well, 2-3 to Minnesota State Moorhead, 5-6 (9 inn.) to Minnesota Duluth, and 3-4 to William Jewell. Sunday's last game against Lewis was the only non-competitive game of the weekend, as the Flyers won 7-0. Parkside is 3-3 against GLVC opponents this season. 

Cassie Rutledge           18-for-38 (.474) | 4 RBI | 9 runs

Haley Remington          15-for-32 (,469) | 9 RBI | 6 runs

Olivia Masnica              3 starts | 2 CG | 2-0 | 26.0 IP | 9 ER | 2.42 ERA | 10 SO

Hillsdale (3-5)

The Chargers also featured at the Rosemont Dome Tournament this past weekend, going 1-4. All five of their games were relatively low-scoring, however Hillsdale found themselves on the wrong side of the scoreline. Hillsdale's lone win of the weekend came against Upper Iowa, 4-0, with all four of the runs coming in the bottom of the sixth. The Chargers dropped contests to Purdue Northwest, 2-0, Minnesota Duluth, 4-0, Lewis, 2-0, and Truman State, 6-2. The Chargers have scored 17 runs in their eight games so far. 

Hannah Hoverman       6-for-23 (.261) | 4 RBI | 2 runs

Maggie Olaveson         9-for-23 (.391) | 2 RBI | 3 runs | 3 2B | HR

Emma Vis                     7-for-20 (.350) | 2 RBI | 4 runs | 2 2B | HR

Erin Kapteyn                3 starts | 2 CG | 2-1 | 20.0 IP | 8 ER | 2.80 ERA | 7 SO

Joni Russell                 3 starts | 2 CG | 1-2 | 19.2 IP | 4 ER | 1.42 ERA | 27 SO

Quincy (3-5)

The Hawks competed at the Blue Bridge Battle last weekend, going 2-2. On Friday, QU faced off against Tiffin and Ohio Dominican. The Hawks would be beaten handily in both games, 1-9 and 0-7. On Saturday the Hawks would see their fortunes change with two wins against Cedarville and Walsh. The Hawks were down the majority of the game against Cedarville, but a six-run sixth inning gave QU a lead they desperately needed. Quincy was able to hold on for a 7-6 win. QU used a five-run fourth inning to take control against Walsh. The Hawks were able to win their last game of the weekend 6-3. The Hawks have scored 21 runs this year.

Lindsey Fischer          5-for-14 (.357) | 3 RBI | 2 runs

Jessie Martin              6-for-20 (.300) | 2 RBI 

Ryleigh Jones            4-for-10 (.400) | 1 RBI | 3 runs

Abbey Hultz               4 starts | 1-3 | 15.0 IP | 13 ER | 6.07 ERA | 9 SO

KJ Weller                   4 starts | 3 CG | 1-2 | 17.1 IP | 17 ER | 6.87 ERA | 15 SO    

Eileen McGinnis        1-0 | 15.0 IP | 13 ER | 6.07 ERA | 5 SO 

Tournament Information

Every UIS game will be live streamed on GLVCSN and have stats available on the UIS Softball website. More information is available on the Tournament Homepage.