MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois baseball opens the home portion of its schedule this weekend as the Leathernecks play host to Butler at Lenz Field in Jacksonville, Ill. The Leathernecks and Bulldogs are unable to play at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium due to recent inclement weather and unplayable field conditions. 

LAST TIME OUT: Western was in Normal, Ill. last Saturday (Mar. 15) for a doubleheader against the Illinois State Redbirds. ISU came away with a pair of victories, winning game one 11-2 and the second game 5-3. In the opener, WIU led twice but a seven-run seventh inning for the Redbirds gave ISU a lead they would not relinquish. Aaron Michel threw five innings for WIU with a pair of strikeouts and  surrendered three runs in the loss. Brent Turner and Zack Burling each crossed the plate for WIU, while Neil DeCook notched an RBI. The second game saw the Redbirds jump out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom half of the first inning. Western had an answer though in the third inning, plating three runs to take their first lead of the game. ISU tied the contest up in the sixth and pushed two more across in the seventh to take the lead for good. DeCook finished the game with a season-high three hits and one run scored, while Jameson Henning notched a season-best two RBIs. Tyler Willman threw 6.0 innings in the no-decision with two strikeouts and three runs allowed.

A LOOK AT BUTLER: Butler enters the weekend with a 7-12 overall mark through 19 games this season. The Bulldogs most recently fell to Purdue Wednesday (3/19) in Indianapolis, 6-1. Marcos Calderon is the only Bulldog who has appeared in all 19 games and leads the team in hits (23) and runs (15). On the mound Kyle Allen has made nine appearances with one start and owns a 2-2 record. The head coach of the Bulldogs is Steve Farley who is in his 23rd season at the helm.

LOCATION CHANGE: Due to recent inclement weather and poor field conditions at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium in Macomb, the Leathernecks and Bulldogs will meet in Jacksonville, Ill. at Lenz Field. The all-turf facility is located at 1600 W. Walnut in Jacksonville and all games will be free to the public. 

SERIES HISTORY: This weekend will be the first ever meetings between the two teams in baseball.

BY THE NUMBERS: Jake Moore leads the team in batting average with a .250 mark through 14 games. Zack Burling leads the team with five runs scored. Three separate Leathernecks are tied with 11 hits. Six members of the team have four RBIs at this point in the season. Zack Burling and Neil DeCook each have six stolen bases. On the mound Tyler Owings has a 1.59 ERA to lead the team, while Tyler Willman has a 2.52 ERA through 25.0 innings of work. Aaron Michel and Tom Constand are tied for the team lead in strikeouts with 13.

IN THE LEAGUE: Tyler Owings is second in the league in ERA (1.59), while Tyler Willman is fourth with a 2.52 ERA (minimum 0.8 IP per game). Zack Burling and Neil DeCook are tied for second in the league in stolen bases (6).

WILLMAN RECOGNITION: Junior pitcher Tyler Willman was recently recognized by Baseball America as an under the radar draft prospect. The righty has a 1-1 mark in 2014 with a 2.52 ERA in 25.0 innings of work.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: According to boydsworld.com, WIU's strength of schedule is 12th nationally. Warrennolan.com has the Leathernecks at 43rd out of 302 D1 baseball teams. Out of the five Summit League teams Western is the only team with a SOS under 210 on both websites. 

ON THE BASEPATHS: Western is 23/29 (79%) through the first 14 games this season in stolen base attempts. In comparison, the Leathernecks were 9/19 (47%) through the first 14 games of 2013. Neil DeCook (6/6) and Zack Burling (6/7) lead the team in steals. The Leathernecks as a team are 41st nationally in stolen bases per game with a 1.64 average.

UP NEXT?: The Leathernecks will play host to the Chicago State Cougars Tuesday (3/25) at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium in Macomb. Following the midweek match the Leathernecks open conference play against South Dakota State (Mar. 28) and North Dakota State (Mar. 30) at home next weekend.

RETURNERS: The Leathernecks return 23 players from the 2013 team. Of the 23 returners, 12 are position players and 11 are pitchers. Tanner Glore (.320), Zack Burling (.306) and Neil DeCook (.300) all hit .300 or better during 2013 and all return for their senior seasons. Brent Turner is the only Leatherneck who played in all 57 games last season and he returns for his junior campaign. On the mound Aaron Michel, Tyler Willman, Tom Constand and John White combined to start 42 games in 2013 and will all start the 2014 season in the weekend rotation. Nick Smith (15), Mason Pingel (14), Tyler Owings (12) and Riley Perry (11) all made 10 or more appearances last season and return to the bullpen in 2014. 

FRESH FACES: Western welcomes 12 new players in 2014: seven high school, four JUCO and one redshirt. Of the 12 newcomers, seven are position players and five will be in the bullpen. JJ Reimer was a third team JUCO All-American at Ellsworth CC last season and is expected to start for WIU behind the plate. Chris Tschida earned IHSA Class 3A State Player of the Year honors in 2013 and will start at first base on opening weekend. Madison College transfer Nathan Pollock (.355 BA/32 RBI in 2013) is projected to start in the outfield for the Leathernecks.

PRESEASON RECOGNITION: Six members of the 2014 squad earned preseason recognition from College Sports Madness. Jameson Henning, Aaron Michel and Zack Burling were tabbed preseason First Team All-League, while Neil DeCook, Tanner Glore and Tom Constand earned preseason Second Team All-Conference nods.

PRESEASON POLL: WIU received one first-place vote and eight overall points in the preseason poll and were picked to finish in fourth place. 2013 regular season champion Omaha was picked to finish first after receiving three first-place votes and 15 total points. 2013 tournament champion South Dakota State finished second in the voting, picking up one first-place vote and 12 points. North Dakota State was third with 10 points, while Fort Wayne rounded out the voting in fifth place with five points.

THE SCHEDULE: The 2014 schedule consists of 52 games for the Leathernecks with 21 home games at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium. Western will travel a total of 7,758 miles round-trip during the course of the season with trips to Louisiana, Indiana, Kentucky, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota and North Dakota.

ON AIR: For the fifth straight year every Western Illinois baseball game will be broadcast live on the Internet (Rocky Vision) for free. Fans can log onto www.GoLeathernecks.com and click on the icon to Listen Live.

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