ROSEMONT, Ill. - Kayla Kirkpatrick and Kacyee Hart got the nod on day two of the Rosemont Rumble and did not disappoint. The pitchers combined for two complete game victories in Western Illinois' 9-3 win over Eastern Illinois and 3-1 win over Illinois-Chicago on Sun. (Feb 9). The 4-0 start is the best start since 1984.

"It's a great feeling," said head coach Holly Van Vlymen. "The girls worked really hard and worked really well together. It was a true team effort. We had timely hits, solid pitching, solid baserunning, solid defense. It's a great start but we need to continue to get better and polish our game from here."

WESTERN ILLINOIS 9, EASTERN ILLINOIS 3

The duo of Sammy Marshall and Teagan Walsh struck in the first inning against the Panthers (2-3), giving Western Illinois an early 1-0 advantage.

"Teagan is doing a great job in the two-spot and Sammy is doing a great job leading off," Van Vlymen said. "They just work together really well."

Western would tack on an insurance run in the fourth on an Emma Jarrell sac fly to score Alexis Ensminger and would break the game open one inning later.

In the fifth, Marshall reached on an infield single before Walsh doubled to right. With runners at second and third, Lia Romeo singled to left scoring Marshall and Megg Kelly doubled to score Walsh. Briana Williams then sacrificed to bring in Nina Maggio, who was running for Romeo to make it 5-0 after five.

Western scored four times in the sixth including Maggio's first career RBI. The Panthers kept the game alive by scoring twice against Kirkpatrick in the sixth to prevent the run rule from taking effect.

"I was really proud of our newcomers," Van Vlymen added. "Any time they had a chance to go in they made the most of it. They did what they needed to do."

Eastern would add one more in the bottom of the seventh, but Kirkpatrick finished off her first start of her career, allowing three runs on eight hits.

WESTERN ILLINOIS 3, ILLINOIS-CHICAGO 1

Marshall and Walsh combined to put Western Illinois in front of Illinois-Chicago (1-4) and Kacyee Hart took control from there. Striking out four Flames in seven innings, Hart limited the Flames offense to three hits and one run in her first career complete game.

"I have a lot more confidence than last year," Hart said. "I feel stronger this year and I have a lot of confidence in my defense knowing they'll back me up on every single play."

The score would remain 1-0 until the fourth, Western Illinois took advantage of a Flames miscue, allowing Ensminger to score from second on an errant throw trying to throw out Williams at first.

The Leathernecks would tack on their final tally in the seventh inning, when Teagan Walsh picked up her ninth RBI of the year, scoring Kouchis.

"The first game I was pretty anxious but after that I started seeing the pitchers better and started taking my own approach instead of letting the pitchers work the counts," Walsh said. "I'm finally starting to get into a groove.

UIC threatened in the seventh, but Hart forced the middle of the UIC lineup to fly out, hit a sac fly and strike out looking to end the game. Hart finished with four strikeouts.

The Leathernecks will be back in action on Friday (Feb. 14) when they begin the Tiger Invitational in Auburn, Ala.