MACOMB, Ill. – A seven-run sixth inning propelled the Leathernecks to an 8-5 come from behind victory over Fort Wayne on Sunday (April 6). Western Illinois moves to 18-14-1 overall and 4-5 in Summit League play.

“It was awesome,” said head coach Holly Van Vlymen. “I could tell Kayla was on in the bullpen before the game and she had a great mindset. The team was up and they had learned from yesterday so I could tell today was going to be a good day. We had that one rough inning but we knew we were better than that. I was really proud of them. They should a lot of fight and never gave up. I was very happy with their performance.”

The Fighting Leathernecks were off and running early against the Mastodons, taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning. After starting pitcher Kayla Kirkpatrick recorded three ground ball outs in the top half, Sammy Marshall singled, stole second and came around to score on a Teagan Walsh single. Marshall's stolen base was the 103rd of her career, setting a new Summit League stolen base record.

IPFW scored five times in the third inning to take a 5-1 lead into the bottom half of the third. Two of the runs in the third were unearned.

The Leathernecks had only two baserunners reach from the second to the fifth inning, before the bats came alive in the sixth.

Consecutive singles off the bats of Karissa Kouchis, Tierney Bottino and Taylor Messer loaded the bases for Western with one out in the sixth. Western began cutting into the lead when Lia Romeo walked to score Kouchis. With two outs in the inning, Monica Rondón drew a five-pitch walk, cutting the lead to 5-3 and forcing IPFW to make a pitching change.

With the bases still loaded, Marshall doubled to right, plating two runs, tying the ballgame at five. Briana Williams followed with an RBI single to give the Leathernecks the 6-5 lead and put runners at the corners for Walsh. After Williams swiped second, Walsh doubled, driving in her second and third RBIs of the game and increasing the lead to 8-5.

“They all feed off each other,” Van Vlymen said. “Once one person comes through it gives the next person confidence. Once they had that one base hit, everyone else calmed down.  Sometimes it's just the little things that lead to big things and that's what happens today.  We got a win over a great team.”

Kirkpatrick returned to the circle in the seventh, working a perfect inning forcing three ground ball outs off the bats of the top of the Mastodon lineup. The junior right-hander earned her sixth victory of the 2014 season.

Marshall and Walsh both picked up two hits in the contest. Marshall drove in two runs while Walsh drove in three.

“I can see the relief in their faces,” Van Vlymen added. “It's definitely a turning point for us because we've had this in us all along. And this proves that even if we do have a bad inning, it doesn't mean we can't come back. And it was a total team effort. We had players coming off the bench that came up and drew two big walks and then we had pinch runners that came on and scored. It just proves that when we work together and trust each other great things can happen.”

The Leathernecks look to build on their momentum with a Wednesday doubleheader against nationally-ranked Missouri in Columbia, Mo. First pitch for Game One of the doubleheader is scheduled for 3 p.m. on April 9.