Missouri Doubleheader
When: Wednesday, May 5
3 p.m. (DH)
Location: Macomb, Ill.
Field: Mary Ellen McKee Stadium

Coverage
Radio ? WIUS (88.3 FM, Macomb) Flagship station
Julio Rausseo, play-by-play
Gary Davis, color analyst
Live WIUS radio broadcast (Free)

Television ? wiutv3 (channel 3, Macomb) Flagship station
John Kendall, play-by-play
Ian Pragovich, color analyst
Live via RockyVision (Subscription)

In-Game Updates via Twitter ? @WIUSoftball
Live Stats ? www.GoLeathernecks.com

Leatherneck Notes
Against Missouri: The series
The Tigers hold the overall series record, 23-5, dating back to the teams first meeting on April 10, 1982, a 1-0 win for Western.

Missouri has won the last three contests between the two squads and five of the last seven. Western's last victory over the Tigers was on March 17, 2007, a 9-8 victory for the Leathernecks in Columbia, Mo.

The Leathernecks welcome back the Tigers to Macomb first time since a doubleheader contest on April 7, 1983. Western has only played two home games against the Tigers as the other 26 meetings were in Columbia or at a neutral site.

Against Missouri: Last meeting
The Leathernecks faced Missouri in a doubleheader contest in Columbia on Wednesday, March 18, 2009. Western fell in the first game 2-1 before dropping the second contest, 13-1 in five innings.

Against ranked opponents
Western has won 10 games against ranked opponents with their last victory coming on May 15, 1993 against No. 13 Northern Illinois, 5-1 in Macomb. The Leathernecks are 5-5 in their last 10 contests against ranked opponents. The last time Western faced a team ranked 10th in the nation or higher was on March 25, 1993 when the Leathernecks played No. 10 Cal State-North Ridge.

Among the nation's best
Out of nearly 300 Division I teams ranked, the Western Illinois softball team ranks 48th in the nation in team batting average. The Leathernecks are batting .295 as a team and have five players who are hitting over .300.

Summit League champions, again
The Western Illinois softball team captured its second consecutive regular-season title with the series sweep of Oakland on April 30 - May 1. The Leathernecks have won three of the last four regular-season championships and have won a total of 10 conference titles.

Summit League success
The Leathernecks have dominated Summit League play over the last two seasons, currently posting a 37-4 record with a .902 winning percentage. Under the direction of Holly Van Vlymen since 2006, the Leathernecks are 69-25 in conference action with a .734 winning percentage. In only her fifth season at the helm of the program, the two-time Summit League Coach of the Year has won three regular-season title and one conference title.

Record watch: Julie DePolo
Julie DePolo only needs one more run to break the school record in career runs currently held by Western Illinois Hall of Famer Venus Taylor (1994-97). The New Lenox, Ill., native has scored 39 runs this season, the third most in the conference.

DePolo also surpassed Taylor in career stolen bases, now ranking second all-time and only 11 stolen bases shy of breaking Stef Ryan's record of 74 from 1991-94. The senior currently ranks seventh in career home runs (14), ninth in career RBI (86) and only three hits away from cracking the top-10 in career hits.

Record watch: Kamren Ferguson
Kamren Ferguson has set three school records from the circle this season as she currently ranks first in career appearances (139), complete games (101) and innings pitched (828.1). The senior is only three wins away from breaking the Western record for career wins. Ferguson also sits in second place all-time in career strikeouts with 728.

The Clinton, Ill., native also holds the career record for innings pitched in The Summit League while also ranking first in games started (117), second in complete games (101) and strikeouts (728) and third in shutouts (31).

Record watch: Lauren Furgala
Lauren Furgala currently sits in sixth place all-time in the Western Illinois record books in career doubles (43) and RBI (94). The Downers Grove, Ill., native currently ranks fourth in career stolen bases (58) and is right on the heels of teammate Julie DePolo to chase down the school record of 74 stolen bases set 16 years ago.

Record watch: Lori Pankratz
In the 8-0 win over Oakland on Friday, April 30, Lori Pankratz moved into ninth place in the Western Illinois career strikeouts category. The Bettendorf, Iowa, native has 277 career strikeouts and only needs nine more strikeouts to surpass Lindsay Tasker (2000-03) for eighth place.

Ferguson named Pitcher of the Week
Kamren Ferguson has been selected as The Summit League's Pitcher of the Week four times this season (2/22, 3/22, 4/12, 4/26). The senior has been honored with the award 10 times throughout her career has been selected as the conference's pitcher of the year on two occasions (2007 & 2009).

Summit League Players of the Week
Western Illinois has has two players in Beth Golitko and Jamie Goss earn Summit League's Player of the Week accolades. Goss was honored for the week of March 29 as she batted .667 with six hits, three runs and nine RBI in the series sweep of UMKC. The Indianapolis, Ind., native also added a double and two home runs throughout the series.

Golitko earned the award for the week of April 26,  batting .727 with eight hits, four RBI and a run in the series sweep of IPFW. The junior hit a walk-off RBI single to defeat IPFW, 3-2, in 10 innings on Saturday, April 24.

Both Golitko and Goss have earned the award twice in their career.