MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois softball (16-10-1, 2-1) continues Summit League play on Saturday (March 29) and Sunday (March 30) when South Dakota State (5-17, 0-3) travels to Macomb. The three-game series, originally scheduled to begin Friday (March 28), now starts Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. The series concludes with a single game on Sunday, with the first pitch scheduled for 12 p.m.

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A LOOK AT THE JACKRABBITS: South Dakota State enters the second weekend of conference play on a nine-game losing streak, with losses to Fort Wayne, Kansas, Evansville and Murray State... The Jackrabbits are led offensively by Devan Larsen, who leads the team with two home runs and 13 runs batted in... Elyse Eitel is batting .357 with eight RBIs and 10 walks but opened up conference play 0-5 against Fort Wayne... Samantha Terry is second on the team with a .326 average... Jennifer Sutton leads the SDSU pitching staff, earning nine starts... Sutton (2-6) enters the weekend with a 6.37 ERA, allowing 47 earned runs over 51.2 innings while conceding seven home runs... Ashlyn Bender (3-6) has a 5.79 ERA in 48.1 innings, allowing 40 earned runs on 74 hits... SDSU is coached by interim head coach Alex Hupp.

SERIES HISTORY: The Leathernecks lead the all-time series 14-2 and have not lost to the Jackrabbits since 2011... South Dakota State won the first ever meeting between the two schools in 2008... Western Illinois has won the past six ballgames, allowing no more than three runs in each of the victories... Western Illinois has lost only one contest at home against South Dakota State.

SERIES RECAP (MOREHEAD STATE): Western Illinois opened its home schedule with a 10-3 victory over Morehead State on March 26... Led by an eight strikeout performance by Kacyee Hart and a grand slam off the bat of Sammy Marshall, the Leathernecks overcame a 2-0 deficit after the first half inning and pulled away midway through the contest... Game Two of the doubleheader was called in the sixth inning due to darkness, with the game tied at three... Marshall finished the doubleheader five-for-nine with five RBIs, a triple and a grand slam... Briana Williams finished with a pair of doubles and Teagan Walsh also hit a double in each game.

COLLECTING HONORS: Sammy Marshall was named NFCA Co-National Player of the Week and The Summit League Player of the Week on March 24 for her performance against the Jaguars... The second league award on the year and the sixth of her career, Marshall hit 1.000 in three games and finished with a 1.455 slugging percentage... Marshall previously earned Co-Player of the Week on March 10... Marshall earned her fifth Player of the Week Award of her career and first of 2014 after hitting .500 against tough competition in Norman, Okla... The junior collected a pair of hits against both No. 21/20 Tulsa and No. 13/19 Oklahoma... The junior also scored a pair of runs and hit two triples in Norman.

VAN VLYMEN WINS 200: With Western Illinois' 5-3 defeat over IUPUI on March 22, head coach Holly Van Vlymen earned her 200th career victory... She becomes just the fourth coach in league history to reach the milestone.

TERRIFIC TRIO: Sammy Marshall (39 runs, 20 RBIs) and Teagan Walsh (30 RBIs, 24 runs) have both accounted for 54 runs or more (either scored or driven in) in 2014... Briana Williams (16 runs and 12 RBIs) has added 28 runs of her own.

WEEKEND RECAP (IUPUI): Western Illinois opened Summit League play with a series victory over the Jaguars... The Leathernecks swept the day on Saturday, defeating IUPUI 9-1 in five innings and 5-3 to take the series victory... On Sunday, Western Illinois led late, but were unable to hold back the Jaguars, falling 14-13... Sammy Marshall was a perfect 11-for-11 from the plate, scoring seven runs and driving in four more on a pair of doubles and her fifth home run of the season... The junior also added seven stolen bases... Megg Kelly homered twice, driving in seven runs... Tierney Bottino hit her first career home run on Sunday...The Leathernecks as a team hit .407 to open conference play.

WEEKEND RECAP (KANSAS CITY): Spring Break 2014 was cut one day short due to inclement weather in Kansas City on Sunday (March 16)... The Leathernecks split on Saturday (March 15)... Western began the day defeating Northern Colorado 8-0 in five innings but fell in the second game 8-0 in six innings to hosts Kansas City... Lia Romeo went three-for-five from the plate driving in two runs while Megg Kelly added a pair of RBIs as well on Saturday... Teagan Walsh was two-for-six but drove in two and also scored two runs as well... Sammy Marshall saw her hitting streak end at 21 games, but did draw a walk against Kansas City, and has reached base safely in every game Western has played... Marshall also hit her team-leading fourth home run of the year against Northern Colorado... Hailey Bickford bounced back after a tough week (facing Oklahoma, Tulsa and Wichita State) with a two-hit shutout victory over Northern Colorado.

SERIES RECAP (WICHITA STATE): Lia Romeo and Karissa Kouchis both drove in four runs as Western Illinois split a doubleheader with the Shockers on Wednesday (March 12)... Western Illinois lost to Wichita State 10-6, before defeating the hosts 8-5... Nina Maggio picked up her first career double and multi-RBI game in the loss... Teagan Walsh collected three more RBIs over the two games... Every Leatherneck reached base in both games... Briana Williams moved into sole possession of third place all-time after stealing one base... Williams has 66 career stolen bases.

SERIES RECAP (TULSA): Western Illinois continued its spring break road trip with a pair of games against nationally-ranked Tulsa... After falling short against the Golden Hurricane in Norman, the Leathernecks lost an 8-0 game on Monday (March 10), stranding seven runners on the basepaths in the loss... On Tuesday (March 11), Western Illinois held a 6-3 lead in the fifth, but Tulsa came from behind, defeating Western on a walk-off single in the seventh... The six runs scored on Tuesday were the most scored against Tulsa pitching this season... Briana Williams swiped one base, tying her with Julie DePolo for third all-time in Western Illinois history (65).

#SophomoreSmackdown: The trio of Karissa Kouchis, Tierney Bottino and Kacyee Hart came through in the clutch at the UCA Invitational... Kouchis hit .500 with a double, triple and five RBIs... Bottino came through in the clutch with a pair of game-winning hits on Sunday... She finished the weekend a .500 average, a double, six RBIs and a key outfield assist... Hart recorded her first career hit, RBIs and struck out a then career-high six batters in Saturday's win over Alabama State... In 2014, Kouchis (.338) and Bottino (.302) are both hitting over .300 while Hart (6-2) is leading the team in wins and leads the team with 35 strikeouts.

EARLY LEADS: Part of the early success for Western Illinois is due the early leads the Leathernecks have been able to take in games this season... Western Illinois has scored 38 runs in the first and 24 runs in the second... Additionally, in 11 of the 27 games, Western has led after the first and has led after two innings in 15 games... When scoring first, the Leathernecks are 13-2 and are 13-3-1 when scoring in the first inning... The Leathernecks are outscoring opponents 62-39 during the first two innings.

TOUGH LOSSES: Of Western Illinois' ten losses, five have come against ranked opposition (Auburn, Tulsa and Oklahoma)... Including a 7-6 loss to the Golden Hurricane, five losses have come in the sixth inning or later.

REMAINING NEUTRAL: After going 6-5 in games played at neutral locations in 2013, Western Illinois is 12-3 at neutral locations in 2014... The program record for most wins at a neutral venue is 16, set in 1979.

NATIONAL RANKS: As of March 25, the Leathernecks as a team rank second in batting average (.352), 22nd in scoring (6.32 runs/game), 43rd in slugging percentage (.478), 15th in stolen bases per game (1.96), 36th in triples per game (.28) and 79th in winning percentage (.600)... Individually, Sammy Marshall is 1st in the nation is batting average (.547), 6th in on base percentage (.594), 2nd in runs per game (1.44), 6th in stolen bases per game (.88) and 31st in triples (.12)... Teagan Walsh ranks 86th in batting average (.407), 7th in doubles per game (.46), 23rd in RBIs per game (1.21), 29th in saves (2) and 102nd in runs per game (.88)... Briana Williams is 41st in stolen bases per game (.56).

WEEKEND RECAP (OKLAHOMA): The Leathernecks squared off against nationally-ranked Oklahoma and Tulsa as well as a Liberty team coached by Hall of Famer Dot Richardson... Western went 1-2,with losses to Tulsa and Oklahoma... Teagan Walsh and Sammy Marshall both hit above .500 while Tierney Bottino hit .444... Walsh drove in four runs in three games... Briana Williams returned home and stole three bases against Liberty, bringing her career total to 64, surpassing Venus Taylor for fourth all-time... The senior now trails Julie DePolo by one stolen base... Kaycee Hart recorded her first career shutout in the lone win for Western... Hart struck out five Liberty batters en route to her third complete game of the year and her fourth win of 2014, equaling her total from last year.

WEEKEND RECAP (CENTRAL ARKANSAS): The Leathernecks used a pair of late-inning victories to take all four in Conway, Ark... Tierney Bottino provided the offense late on Sunday to send Western Illinois home with four victories... Karissa Kouchis went 5-for-10 from the plate with five RBIs... Sammy Marshall stole five bases and Briana Williams moved within two stolen bases of Venus Taylor for fourth on the all-time stolen base list... Williams has swiped a total of 61 bases... Megg Kelly moved into second place in walks, after reaching via the walk five times in Conway... Kelly has now walked 80 times while at Western.

WEEKEND RECAP (AUBURN): Briana Williams bounced back, hitting .563 and recorded a pair of RBI as Western went 2-3 in the Tiger Invitational... Sammy Marshall hit .588 with a triple and a home run as the speedy duo combined to go 8-10 in stolen bases... Williams moved into fifth all-time in Western Illinois history in stolen bases... Lia Romeo added a home run and six RBI for the Leathernecks.

WEEKEND RECAP (ROSEMONT): Junior Teagan Walsh got off to a hot start in 2014, hitting .563 with nine RBI and four doubles, leading the way as Western Illinois won all four games at the Rosemont Rumble... Megg Kelly added five RBI and a home run and Sammy Marshall hit her third career inside the park home run.

JET SETTING: With 23 stolen bases this season Sammy Marshall has stolen a total of 99 bases in her career... Senior Briana Williams stole one base in Indianapolis, bringing her career total to 67 stolen bases, seven behind Stef Ryan... The Leathernecks as a team stole 67 bases last season and have stolen 51 this season... Nine Leathernecks successfully stole a base last season... Of the nine, six return in 2014.

TALLYING TOSS OUTS: Sophomore right fielder Karissa Kouchis notched 12 outfield assists last season, leading the league... The Leatherneck outfielders are at it again combining for nine assists through 27 games... Briana Williams has five outfield assists and Tierney Bottino has two.... Monica Rondón and Karissa Kouchis both have one.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: As of the March 25 ESPN.com/USA Softball and NFCA.org polls, Western has four ranked opponents on its schedule... The Leathernecks will face Oklahoma (16/22), Missouri (19/16), Tulsa (17/18) and Auburn(21/21)... Western has not defeated a ranked opponent since May 15, 1993 (5-1 vs. No. 13 Northern Illinois) and has not defeated a top-five opponent since March 19, 1981 (2-1 vs. No. 2 Texas A&M)... The Leathernecks are 10-32 overall against ranked opponents including the five losses this season... 2014 also marks the third time in four years Western Illinois will face either the team that went on to win the national title or the defending national champion... The Leathernecks faced Arizona State in 2011, Alabama in 2013 and Oklahoma in 2014.

MAKING THEIR MARK: As the careers of five Leathernecks enter their final chapter, four enter the 2014 season in the top 10 or on the verge of entering the top 10 in the Western Illinois record books... Megg Kelly drew one walk in Indianapolis and now has reached via base on balls 83 times in her career and remains second all-time... Kelly is fifth in hit by pitch and just outside the top 10 in doubles and slugging percentage... Briana Williams is third place all-time in stolen bases and is seven away from tying Stef Ryan... Williams is also ninth in hit by pitch... Monica Rondón is just outside the top ten in home runs and Emma Jarrell could enter the top 10 in hit by pitch.

2013 SEASON RECAP: Western finished 14-23 in 2013 and 8-14 in The Summit League... Sammy Marshall led the team in batting average (.467), hits (47), runs (33), triples (5), total bases (66) and stolen bases (31)... The Leathernecks received production from Karissa Kouchis during her freshman season... Kouchis recorded a league-high 12 outfield assists, while hitting .289 with five doubles.

COMING BACK: Western Illinois finished sixth in The Summit League last season, but welcome back eight starters from 2013... The Leathernecks bring back the 2013 Summit League Player of the Year, Sammy Marshall and Second Team All-Summit League honoree Karissa Kouchis... Western also returns Hailey Bickford, who returns to the circle after being injured for the 2013 season. Also returning for her sophomore season, Kacyee Hart is one of just 14 returning pitchers in The Summit League to record a win last season.

NEWCOMERS: Head coach Holly Van Vlymen and Western Illinois welcome five freshmen and one transfer in 2014... Alex Ward (OF-Milan, Ill.), Alexis Ensminger (UT-Biggsville, Ill), Holly Hoelting (UT-Bettendorf, Iowa), Nina Maggio (IF-Plainfield, Ill.) and Taylor Messer (C-Plainfield, Ill.) all join the program as freshmen... Kayla Kirkpatrick (P-Bethalto, Ill.) is the lone transfer entering 2014... Kirkpatrick joins Western Illinois after two seasons at Lake Land College.

BLAST FROM THE PAST: With the additions of Taylor Messer and Nina Maggio (Plainfield East), the Leathernecks feature three pairs of high school teammates... Emma Jarrell and Karissa Kouchis both attended Carl Sandburg while Tierney Bottino and Lia Romeo both attended Lockport Township.

SUMMIT LEAGUE RULE CHANGE: Beginning this season, The Summit League Tournament will expand to six teams... Due to Omaha being ineligible for the tournament, all the remaining teams in The Summit League will be guaranteed a spot in this season's tournament... The Summit League Tournament will begin on Wed. May 7 in Fargo, N.D.

SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL: The Leathernecks enter the 2014 season as underdogs after being picked fourth in the league's preseason poll... North Dakota State and Omaha occupied the first two spots, followed by Fort Wayne... South Dakota and Western were tied for fourth while IUPUI and South Dakota State were selected sixth and seventh respectively.

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