Leathernecks sweep Jaguars in conference-opening series

INDIANAPOLIS - The Fighting Leathernecks over powered IUPUI, out scoring the Jaguars 20-2 in the three-game series Monday afternoon to complete the conference-opening sweep.

Western (12-5, 3-0 Summit League) used a balanced offense that had 10 players score a run and register a hit in the series to take all three games with the Jaguars (3-8, 0-3 Summit League). Nine different players also collected an RBI in the series.

“Our girls are great hitters,” said Western Illinois head coach Holly Van Vlymen. “They all look to contribute in any way they can. I am very proud of them because they made adjustments on four different pitchers this afternoon and that was huge.”

Leatherneck pitchers Kamren Ferguson (6-3) and Lori Pankratz (4-2) combined to not allow an earned run while Ferguson tossed two shutouts.

“I think they (Ferguson and Pankratz) are a great mix because they are two different pitchers,” said Van Vlymen. “It is great that we have Kamren and Lori because of their variation of speeds and types of pitches.”

“It was great to get the two wins in today (from the circle), but it was especially great to get the sweep of IUPUI to open conference play,” said Ferguson.

Game 1: Western Illinois 7, IUPUI 0
The first contest picked up in the top of the second inning after being postponed for two days due to the heavy amount of rain in the Indianapolis area.

To recap the first inning that was played on Saturday, Jamie Goss gave the Leathernecks an early spark as she recorded an RBI single up the middle to score Julie DePolo and give Western an early 1-0 lead over IUPUI. The Leathernecks would strike again in the top of the third on an Ashley Campbell RBI single and in the top of the fourth on a Colleen Biebel RBI single, pushing Western's lead to three.

The Leathernecks scored four more insurance runs in the top of the sixth to take a 7-0 lead over the Jaguars. A Beth Golitko RBI double scored the first run of the inning before Lori Pankratz hit a three-run shot over the center field fence.

Ferguson picked up the win in the circle, throwing nine strikeouts while only allowing three hits and walks in the shutout performance.

Western out hit IUPUI by 10 in the contest (13-3), but left five more runners on base (11-6).

Game 2: Western Illinois 5, IUPUI 0
The Leathernecks were held scoreless through the first three innings before Erin Schlotfeldt hit her first home run of the year with two outs in the inning, driving home Lauren Furgala and giving Western the 2-0 advantage.

Three more Leatherneck runs trotted across home plate in the top of the fifth on a two-RBI double by Goss and an RBI double by Furgala, pushing the lead to five.

Ferguson picked up her second win and shutout of the day, striking out six batters and only allowing three walks.

The Leathernecks out hit the Jaguars by five (10-5) and committed one less error (1-2) in the contest.

Game 3: Western Illinois 8, IUPUI 2
The Leathernecks took an early 4-0 lead in the first inning, scoring runs on RBI singles by Furgala and Golitko and a two-RBI single down the left-field line by Pankratz. In the top of the second, a Julie DePolo solo home run pushed Western's lead to five.

With two outs in the top of the third, Nikki Marinec hit an RBI single to left field to make the score 6-0 in favor of the Leathernecks. IUPUI got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth on a Leah Prewitt two-RBI double to center field to cut their deficit to four.

Western scored two more runs in the contest on a sacrifice fly by Goss in the sixth and a solo home run by Beth Golitko in the seventh to make the score 8-2.

Pankratz got the win from the circle, striking out five batters while only allowing three hits and no earned runs.

The Leathernecks out hit the Jaguars by six (9-3), but committed one more error (4-3) in the contest. Western left five runners on base to IUPUI's six.

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Players Mentioned

#22 Kamren Ferguson: P; 5' 8"; Senior; R/R

#8 Lauren Furgala: IF; 5' 3"; Senior; S/R

#15 Lori Pankratz: P/IF; 5' 8"; Senior; R/R

#6 Erin Schlotfeldt: C/DP; 5' 9"; Junior; R/R

#25 Julie DePolo: IF; 5' 4"; Senior; R/R

#12 Nikki Marinec: C; 5' 8"; Junior; R/R

#9 Colleen Biebel: OF; 5' 2"; Junior; L/R

#7 Beth Golitko: OF; 5' 7"; Junior; L/L

#33 Jamie Goss: IF; 5' 4"; Sophomore; R/R

#24 Ashley Campbell: OF/P; 5' 6"; Sophomore; R/R

Players Mentioned

#22 Kamren Ferguson
: 5' 8"; Senior; R/R
: P

#8 Lauren Furgala
: 5' 3"; Senior; S/R
: IF

#15 Lori Pankratz
: 5' 8"; Senior; R/R
: P/IF

#6 Erin Schlotfeldt
: 5' 9"; Junior; R/R
: C/DP

#25 Julie DePolo
: 5' 4"; Senior; R/R
: IF

#12 Nikki Marinec
: 5' 8"; Junior; R/R
: C

#9 Colleen Biebel
: 5' 2"; Junior; L/R
: OF

#7 Beth Golitko
: 5' 7"; Junior; L/L
: OF

#33 Jamie Goss
: 5' 4"; Sophomore; R/R
: IF

#24 Ashley Campbell
: 5' 6"; Sophomore; R/R
: OF/P