MACOMB, Ill.- The Fighting Leatherneck softball team opens conference play at IUPUI on March 13-14.
Against IUPUI
When: March 13-14
Location: Indianapolis
Field: IUPUI Softball Complex
Directions
Schedule
March 13 vs IUPUI at 12 p.m. (DH)
March 14 vs IUPUI at 12 p.m.
Coverage
Live Stats • www.iupuijags.com
In-Game Updates via Twitter • @WIUSoftball
The Opponent
IUPUI
2010 record: 3-5
Series: Western leads 36-8
Last: 4/29/09, WIU won 7-0 in Macomb
Head Coach: Maggie Calcaterra
Alma Mater, Year: Southern Illinois, 1997
School record: 44-151 (4th season)
Career record: 109-232-1 (7th season)
Game Notes
Coach B Classic in review
The Leathernecks went 2-2 last weekend at the Coach B Classic on March 6-7 with wins over host Southern Illinois and UIC. After scoring 33 runs at the Phyllis Rafter Memorial in Kennesaw, Ga., on Feb. 19-21, Western only mustered six runs in Carbondale, Ill. However, the Leathernecks still lead the conference in team batting average (.304) and have two of the top three batters in the conference in Lauren Furgala (.455) and Beth Golitko (.417).
Sophomores head to hometown
Sophomores Ashley Campbell and Jamie Goss will play in their hometown of Indianapolis for the first time in their Leatherneck career when they face IUPUI on March 13-14. Campbell played her high school career at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory where she earned third team all-state honors twice. She also holds five of her school's pitching career records and three career batting records. Goss played her high school career at Scecina Memorial where she earned first-team all-state honors and conference player of the year honors in 2008. She also helped her team win an Indiana 2A state championship in 2007 and set the state record for most walks (46) in a season.
Sibling rivalry: Marinec sisters face each other for first time
Sophomore Nikki Marinec will play against her sister Jessica when the Leathernecks square off against Valparaiso in doubleheader action on March 17. In only her freshman season with the Crusaders (13-5), Jessica is batting .375 and has scored 10 runs and driven in five RBI while her older sister has four RBI and six hits while anchoring a team defense and guiding a pitching staff that both rank first in The Summit League.
Michelini hot from the circle in freshman season
In only her first season with the Leathernecks, freshman Kelsey Michelini has went 2-0 from the circle with wins over Alabama State and UIC. The southpaw has only allowed one run while striking out eight batters in 12 innings of work. The freshman also has a team-low 0.58 ERA and tossed a shutout in her first career start against Alabama State.
Outdoing the competition
The Leathernecks are off to a 9-5 start and have a balanced attack from both the circle and the plate. As a team, Western is batting .304 compared to their opponents .223 batting average as well as collecting 29 more runs (55-26), 36 more hits (111-75) and 30 more RBI (51-22). The pitching staff is taking care of business too, posting a staff ERA of 1.70 compared to their opponents 3.53 ERA. Western's pitchers also have 21 more strikeouts (70-49).