North Dakota State Series
When: April 16-17
Friday, April 16: 3 p.m. (DH)
Saturday, April 17: 12 p.m.
Location: Fargo, N.D.
Field: Ellig Sports Complex

Coverage
Radio • WIUS (88.3 FM, Macomb) Flagship station
Julio Rausseo, play-by-play
Greg Lautzenheiser, color analyst
Live WIUS radio broadcast (Free)

In-Game Updates via Twitter • @WIUSoftball
Live Stats • www.GoBison.com

Leatherneck Notes
Against North Dakota State: The Series
The Leathernecks trail North Dakota State in the overall series, 3-5. The two team's met for the first time in Fargo, N.D., on April 5, 2008 as the Bison handed Western a 4-1 loss.

All three of the Leathernecks' wins over North Dakota State came last season. Western took two of three against the Bison on April 17-18, 2009.

Against North Dakota State: The last meeting
After being upset in their first game of The Summit League Tournament in 2009, the Leathernecks won three straight contests before losing a heartbreaker in the championship game with the Bison, 3-2.

Julie DePolo was 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored while Lauren Furgala and Beth Golitko both added an RBI.
Kamren Ferguson took the loss in the circle, striking out one and allowing six hits.

Record watch: Julie DePolo
Senior Julie DePolo is only 10 runs away from being the school's record holder in career runs. The New Lenox, Ill., native also ranks 10th in career home runs (12) and RBI (80) in addition to only being 14 stolen bases away from setting the school record.

Record watch: Kamren Ferguson
Senior Kamren Ferguson ranks second in career wins (67), appearances (131), complete games (96) innings pitched (782) and strikeouts (677). The Clinton, Ill., native is only two complete games away from breaking the school record in that category as well as being only eight wins away from becoming Western's all-time leader in wins.

Record watch: Lauren Furgala
Senior Lauren Furgala has etched her name in the career record books as she currently ranks third in stolen bases (56), sixth in doubles (42) and seventh in RBI (90). The Downers Grove, Ill., native also ranks eighth in runs scored with 101.

Record watch: Lori Pankratz
Senior Lori Pankratz currently ranks 10th in career strikeouts (252) and looks to enter the top-10 in a few other categories in the upcoming weeks. The Bettendorf, Iowa, native is two complete games away from entering the top-10 in addition to being nine appearances away from the top-10.

Leading the Summit League: Pitching
The Leatherneck pitching staff has a league-best 2.11 ERA led by seniors Kamren Ferguson and Lori Pankratz who rank first and second in the conference in ERA. Pankratz boasts a 1.75 ERA while Ferguson has a 2.01 ERA. As a staff in conference games only, Western's three pitchers have a 0.69 ERA and is holding their opposing batters to a .155 batting average.

Leading the Summit League: Batting
The Leathernecks lead the conference in team batting average with a .296 BA, the 51st best average in the nation. Western is batting .344 as a team in league games only, paced by juniors Nikki Marinec (.476 BA) and Colleen Biebel (464 BA).

Outdoing the competition
Western has been dominate in conference play this season as far as statistics are concerned. The Leathernecks have 53 more hits than their opponents (86-33), have scored 38 more runs (51-13) and have 35 more RBI (44-9). Through nine contests, the Leatherneck pitching staff has thrown four shutouts and has collected 41 strikeouts.

Ferguson named Summit League Pitcher of the Week for third time
Senior pitcher Kamren Ferguson was named The Summit League's Pitcher of the Week for the third time this season for her performances in the Fighting Leathernecks four contests from April 5-11.

The pitcher shares the honors this week with IPFW's Courtney Cronin who posted a 2-0 record in conference play with 24 strikeouts.

Ferguson went 3-0 from the circle with a win over Bradley and two victories over Centenary. The senior posted a 1.00 ERA and threw 21 strikeouts while only allowing one walk and nine hits in 21 innings of work. She threw a one-hitter in Western's 6-0 victory over Centenary on April 9, the ninth one-hitter of her career.

Ferguson held her opponents to a .087 batting average throughout the week and moved her overall record to 13-7 on the year. During conference action, she has a 1.08 ERA with a 6-0 record while striking out 41 batters and only walking nine.

The senior has now earned pitcher of the week honors for the ninth time in her career.