Southern Utah Series
When: May 7-8
Friday, May 7 at 3 p.m. (DH)
Saturday, May 8 at 12 p.m.
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)

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

Leatherneck Seniors Lauren Furgala (left) and Julie DePolo (right)



Leatherneck Notes
Against Southern Utah: The series
Western trails the Thunderbirds, 26-30, in the all-time series between the two teams. Western has won six of the last seven meetings, including the series sweep of Southern Utah on April 10-11 in Cedar City, Utah.

The teams first met on April 10, 1998 in Macomb, a 8-0 win for the Leathernecks. The two teams have played in a total of 10 extra inning contests in the last 12 years.

Against Southern Utah: The last meeting
The Leathernecks defeated the Thunderbirds, 5-3, in 10 innings on May 9, 2009 to advance to The Summit League Tournament Championship game.

Western swept the three-game series with the Thunderbirds in regular-season action on April 10-11, 2009 in Cedar City, Utah. The Leathernecks scored 37 runs throughout the series.

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 titles and one conference tournament title.

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.

Up Next
The Leathernecks close out the regular-season when they play host to Southern Utah on May 7-8. Western earned the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament hosted by North Dakota State in Fargo, N.D. on May 14-15.