GAME ONE: WESTERN ILLINOIS 10, MARSHALL 2 (6 INNINGS)

Western Illinois fell behind 1-0 in the bottom of the first, but jumped in front thanks  to five run second inning.

“They took advantage of every situation they possibly could,” said head coach Holly Van Vlymen. “They had a great demeanor at the plate. Haily did a good job on the mound and Taylor did a good job behind the plate. I thought everyone was working together really well and I was really happy with the outcome.”

Megg Kelly led off with a walk and was moved over by a Briana Williams single. A wild pitch put runners at second and third before Emma Jarrell singled scoring Kelly and Taylor Messer drove in Williams. With two on and two out, Sammy Marshall broke the game open with a three-run bomb to center for her second home run of the season.
“That was awesome, I don't think their centerfielder moved,” Van Vlymen said. “It was really exciting. We've been working on her hitting a lot and it was a huge spark for our team.”

The Purple and Gold tacked on another run in the third, on a Jarrell sac fly scoring Williams to make it 6-1.

 The Leathernecks scored three unearned runs in the top of the sixth to extend the lead to 10-1.  Marshall's Shaelynn Braxton hit a home run in the bottom of the sixth but Hailey Bickford would finish off her second complete game of the year and earn her second win of 2014.

“We talk about being aggressive,” Van Vlymen added. “We take advantage of what we see. Whatever we can get, we do that. We're an athletic team and we have a quicker team than we've had in a long time which helps as well. It's all about being heads up.”

Williams finished the game 2-for-3 with three runs scored and Emma Jarrell drove in a pair.

Bickford (2-0) went the distance, striking out four.

GAME TWO: WESTERN ILLINOIS 7, LOYOLA-CHICAGO 9

The Leathernecks jumped in front 1-0 after Marshall reached on an infield single and stole second; she advanced to third and scored on a pair of wild pitches.

The Purple and Gold brought the lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the second, thanks to a pair of singles off the bats of Teagan Walsh and Lia Romeo.

Loyola cut the deficit in half when Tarran Shaffer hit a two-run home run.  Western Illinois would grab one run back in the bottom of the fifth, when Monica Rondón singled home Alexis Ensminger, who was running for Kelly.

With the score at 5-2, Brie Pasquale hit a home run, again cutting the Leatherneck lead to two. But Western Illinois again responded. Nina Maggio led the inning off with a single and was eventually brought in by Marshall, who eventually scored on an error after swiping second and third.

The Leathernecks took a 7-3 lead into the top of the seventh but were unable to hang on. The first four Ramblers reached, three of which eventually scored. With two outs, Loyola scored three more runs, taking a 9-6 lead into the bottom half of the seventh.

The Leathernecks did not go quietly, as Kelly doubled to center to lead off the inning. Rondón reached with one out to put runners at first and second but Western could not complete its only rally, falling 9-7.

Marshall scored a pair of runs against Loyola, while Teagan Walsh continued her hot start, driving in another pair of runs. Kayla Kirkpatrick (1-1) suffered the loss.

“They did well we just ran out of steam,” Van Vlymen said. “Being outside for the first time and in the dirt they were pretty jacked up, I just think we hit a wall. We didn't give up I just think we needed keep our energy. We play our best when we have fun and stay loose and that went away and Loyola took advantage. “   

The Leathernecks look to bounce back on day two of the Tiger Invitational, taking on Auburn (5:30 p.m.) and Winthrop (7:30 p.m.) on Sat. (Feb. 15).

“We talked about it after the game and they need to think about where we need to go from here but dwelling on a win or a loss isn't good. It's in the past so we need to learn from it and move on. We need to take the game play by play and pitch by pitch,” Van Vlymen added.