MACOMB, Ill. – The Western Illinois baseball team returns to the Midwest for a weekend series at Iowa. The Fighting Leathernecks (5-12) will face the Hawkeyes (5-12) for a three-game series beginning Friday, March 26 at 6:30 p.m.

The Leathernecks are coming off a midweek series against Arkansas-Little Rock in which the two teams split two a two-game series. Western Illinois took the first game by a 14-6 score on Tuesday before dropping the finale 20-9 on Wednesday.

The Hawkeyes enter the weekend after dropping two of three to UTPA this past weekend. Iowa's 10-3 win over the Broncs was their first since a 5-3 victory at Kansas on March 5 and snapped a nine game losing streak. Friday's contest against Western marks the home-opener for Iowa.

Iowa picked up a 20-7 win over Western in the last meeting between the two schools on April 21, 2009. The two teams met four times last season with the Hawkeyes taking three of four games.

The Matchup
Who: Western Illinois (5-12) vs. Iowa (5-12)
When: Friday, March 26 (6:30 p.m.), Saturday, March 27 (1 p.m.) & Sunday, March 28 (1 p.m.)
Location: Iowa City, Iowa
Stadium: Duane Banks Field (Capacity: 3,000; Field Dimensions: 330-400-330)
Series History: Western Illinois trails 24-43-1
Last Meeting: Iowa won 20-7 (4/21/09) at Davenport, Iowa

Coverage

The Leatherneck Sports Network Broadcast
Streaming Audio • Rocky Vision
Ryan Bower, play by play

Iowa will provide live stats for all three games. They can be accessed by clicking HERE (free).

Scouting the Hawkeyes
Iowa enters the weekend with a 1-9 record in their last ten games. The Hawkeyes took one game in a three-game series against UTPA this past weekend, their first win since March 5. Iowa began the season 4-3 before hitting a nine game skid. The Hawkeyes have picked up victories over UTPA, Illinois State, Rutgers, Villanova and Kansas this season.

Iowa is led at the plate by junior Kurtis Muller, who enters the weekend with a .400 batting average and eight RBI in 16 games. He leads the team in batting average, hits (26), runs (15) and doubles (7). The Hawkeyes are also seeing solid production from sophomore Mike McQuillan, who has posted a .295 batting average and leads the team in home runs (2) and RBI (13).

On the mound, Iowa posts a 6.03 staff ERA and Hawkeye pitchers have recorded 104 strikeouts while issuing 84 walks in 140.1 innings this season. They are expected to send LHP Jared Hippen to the mound on Friday and RHP's Zach Kenyon and Phil Schreiber to the mound on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Hippen is 1-2 with a 3.06 ERA in five starts this season, he has recorded 21 strikeouts and issued nine walks in 32.1 innings this season. Kenyon is 1-1 with a 3.10 ERA in two starts and has recorded 16 strikeouts and eight walks in 20.1 innings while allowing nine runs on 19 hits. Schreiber is 1-2 with a 6.45 ERA in five starts, he has recorded 14 strikeouts and issued 18 walks in 22.1 innings and has allowed 21 runs on 21 hits.

Game Notes

Brough Shuts Down Trojans
Senior lefty Austin Brough picked up his first win of the season against Arkansas-Little Rock on March 23. Brough allowed just two earned runs on five hits in 4.1 innings against the Trojans and recorded five strikeouts while issuing just one walk. He has issued just nine walks in 19.2 innings this season while recording a team-high 18 strikeouts.

Jordan Stays Hot
Bryan Jordan has continued to stay hot at the plate as of late. Jordan has picked up at least two hits in three of the past five games to raise his batting average from .224 to .243 since March 17.

Hill Continues Dominance
David Hill has had an oustanding senior season on the mound. Hill leads the team with a 1.04 ERA and has allowed just two runs in 17.1 innings in relief this season. He is holding opponents to a .190 batting average and has recorded 13 strikeouts this season, including three appearances with three or more strikeouts.

Lilja Rakes in the Hits
Tom Lilja has continued his hot-hitting this season. The sophomore began the season on an 11-game hitting streak before an 0-for-3 performance at UAB on March 19. Since that game, Lilja is batting .571 (12-for-21) and has scored seven runs while picking up six RBI in his past five games including a four RBI output at Arkansas-Little Rock on March 24.

Summers Streaking into the Weekend
Jason Summers enters this weekend's series against Iowa in a five-game hitting streak. The senior catcher is batting .391 (9-for-23) with six RBI during the streak.