EAST PEORIA, Ill. – The Bearcat softball team will kick off its postseason run in the GLVC tournament starting on Thursday, May 4th at the Eastside Centre in East Peoria, Illinois. After posting an overall record of 29-14 (15-9 GLVC), the Bearcats earned the 3 seed in head coach Heather Tarter's 2nd season at the helm of the program.
For full GLVC tournament coverage and to purchase tickets, click here.
Matchup Preview
McKendree seeking its first GLVC title, opens up the tournament against the 6 seeded Lewis University Flyers at 5:30 p.m. During the regular season, the Bearcats swept the Flyers by the score of 13-1 (5 inn.) and 5-0.
The Bearcats and Flyers are no strangers to meeting in the postseason. Back in the 2021 GLVC tournament, McK defeated the Flyers by the score of 1-0 behind Ellie Quaethem's one-hit gem in 6.1 IP, striking out 8.
Tournament History
This will be the fifth overall appearance for the Bearcats in the GLVC tournament and first time since the 2021 season. In tournament play, they have an overall record of 6-8, including one finals appearance during the 2021 tournament. They have been the 2 seed twice, the 5th seed in 2017 (semifinal appearance) and the 7th seed in 2016.
The Frosh is the Boss
The Bearcat offense has been led by freshman infielder Lauren Harris. Starting in all 43 games, she paced the league in batting average (.453), on-base percentage (.516), slugging percentage (.774) and on-base plus slugging percentage (1.290).
Of her 62 hits, she was able to reach extra bases 25 times, including 14 doubles and 8 home runs. The Woodlawn, Illinois native only struck out a mere five times, putting her as the 35th toughest to strike out in the country.
Extra Bases
The offense as a whole loves extra bases as they ranked 2nd in home runs in the league (36), 5th in doubles (61) and 2nd in triples (16). Individually, Olivia Stansbury led the GLVC in home runs with 14.
Pitching Support
The ace of the pitching Ellie Quaethem paces the league in numerous stats for the season. She struck out 220 batters, with 60 of those batters just looking around.
In 142 innings pitched, she has a 1.33 ERA and a 19-3 record in 24 appearances. She was able to hold opposing hitters to a miniscule average of .180.
