@WIUSoftball Announces 2015 Schedule

The Fighting Leathernecks open the season on Feb. 7 in Rosemont, Illinois and open their home schedule on March 21.

MACOMB, Ill. - Softball head coach Holly Van Vlymen announced the 2015 spring schedule on Monday (Nov. 10). Western Illinois will play 50 games this season, 15 at Mary Ellen McKee Stadium, highlighted by the program's first trip to Hawai'i since 2001.

For the second consecutive season, Western will participate in the Total Control Sports Invitational (Feb. 7-8) in Rosemont, Illinois, and the Central Arkansas Invitational (Feb. 21-22). The Leathernecks meet Syracuse (Feb. 8) and Louisiana-Monroe (Feb. 21) during the first two tournaments of the season. Western then heads to SEC territory for the Woo Pig Classic hosted by University of Arkansas (Feb. 27-March 1). On Feb. 28, the Leathernecks face the first of eight NCAA Tournament participants from 2014 when Western and Alabama-Birmingham meet in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Southeast Games (March 7-8) are next on the schedule for the Leathernecks as the Purple and Gold travel to Southeast Missouri State. There, Western will face Green Bay, the Horizon League representative in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. The Phoenix went 0-2 in the Minneapolis Regional, the same regional North Dakota State was selected to.

The four-day Rainbow Wahine Classic begins on March 11 at University of Hawai'i-Manoa when the Leathernecks meet the hosts. Also on the schedule for Western is Virginia Tech, one of four ACC representatives in last year's tournament. The Hokies and Leathernecks are scheduled to play on March 13. The Rainbow Wahine Classic concludes on March 14 giving way to Summit League play.

The defending Summit League regular season and tournament champions North Dakota State visits Macomb on March 21 for the 2015 home opener and the beginning of conference play. Following a midweek contest against Miami (Ohio) on March 24 at home, Western travels to Fort Wayne, Indiana, to face the Mastodons (March 28-29). Fort Wayne finished second in the regular season and lost to NDSU in The Summit League Tournament Championship.

Three consecutive non-conference games greet Western. The Purple and Gold end March with a contest against Bradley (March 31). The Braves finished the 2014 season 27-32 overall and a Missouri Valley tournament title. April begins with a single-game against at Iowa on April 2 and a doubleheader against SIU-Edwardsville on April 7 in Macomb. The Cougars are coming off of a 30-23 record and an OVC Tournament title in 2014.

Summit League play continues as Western welcomes IUPUI to Macomb for a three-game series beginning on April 11. The Leathernecks then play host to the 15th seed from the 2014 NCAA Tournament, Missouri Tigers on April 15. Following a three-game series with the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in Brookings, South Dakota (April 18-19), Western closes out its home schedule against the South Dakota Coyotes. The conference series begins on April 25.

The 2015 regular season concludes with a doubleheader against the final NCAA Tournament selection, Wisconsin Badgers, in Madison, Wisconsin (April 28) and the final conference series against Omaha (May 2-3).

The Leathernecks are guaranteed a place in the 2015 Summit League Softball Championships as Omaha fulfills its transition process into Division I. The 2015 tournament begins May 5 in Fargo, North Dakota.

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