MACOMB, Ill. - The Leathernecks are back in action for the first time since February 8 after weather forced Western to remove themselves from the Central Arkansas Tournament. Western Illinois travels to the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic in Bay Lake, Florida. The tournament will be held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on the edge of Walt Disney World. 

The Leathernecks will face Columbia, Miami (Ohio), Alabama-Birmingham, Northern Iowa, St. Francis, and Lehigh beginning on Friday (Feb. 27). 

SCOUTING THE LIONS: Columbia opened the season 1-3 Madeira Beach Spring Invitational... The Lions' lone victory came over Siena (14-6)... Liz Caggiano leads the team with a .308 average heading into the second week of play for Columbia... Tonia Wu has driven in four runs to lead the way, but is one of seven Lions to record an RBI after four games... Columbia has hit three home runs and five doubles early in the 2015 season... Wu also has performed in the circle for the Lions, compiling a 1-1 record through three appearances and a pair of starts... Wu has 12 strikeouts through 11.2 innings of work, allowing six earned during that time... Kayla Maloney and Tessa Kroll have identical 0-1 marks... The two have combined for 11 walks, 14 earned runs, and 10 strikeouts through 15 innings... Jennifer Teague is in her first year at Columbia, becoming just the third coach in the program's history.

SERIES HISTORY: Friday marks the first meeting between the two programs.

SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS: Miami (Ohio) has won three straight contests heading into the Diamond 9 Citrus Classic, outscoring its competition 41-27 through seven games... The Redhawks have three batters hitting over .400, led by Tiyona Marshall (.500)... Marshall is also a perfect 6-6 in stolen bases on the year... Taylor Shuey and Bree Lipscomb lead the team with seven RBIs... Miami (Ohio) has hit six home runs, but have allowed five... Redhawk pitching has struck out 48 batters this season, led by Amber Logemann (23) and Remy Edwards (20)... Logemann is 3-1, allowing eight earned through 20.2 innings... Edwards meanwhile is 2-1 with one shutout and the only complete game attributed to the pitching staff... Clarisa Crowell is in her third year at Miami (Ohio).

SERIES HISTORY: Western holds a 6-3 record against Miami (Ohio)... Western won the first meeting in 1991 and the first four meetings overall... Following a nine-year gap, the Redhawks won meetings in 2003, 2009, and 2012.

SCOUTING THE BLAZERS: UAB is coming off of a 5-4 victory over Mississippi State on Tuesday... The Blazers are led the Caitlin Attfield, who leads the team in three offensive categories... Attfield is batting .481 with double doubles and three stolen bases... SaraBeth Williamson is one of five Blazers with double-digit RBI numbers... Williamson leads the way with 16... Cara Goodwin leads the Blazers in the circle with a 3.19 ERA and a perfect 3-0 mark... Through 26.1 innings, Goodwin has allowed 12 earned while striking out 27... Megan Smith has a 5-4 record and a 4.77 ERA through 47 innings... Smith has struck out 41 batters but has allowed 32 earned runs in 2015... Marla Townsend was named the program's first head coach in 1998 and has recorded 462 victories during her tenure.

SERIES HISTORY: The Leathernecks are 1-0 against the Blazers... On March 5, 2000, Holly Killion led Western to a 4-3 victory.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS: UNI has lost three of its past five contests...  Rikki Alcaraz is batting .370, with four extra-base hits and five RBIs... Kristin Lock has supplied the power, hitting three of the Panthers eight home runs and recording seven RBIs... UNI is 14-16 in stolen bases... Samantha Olsen is 4-6 on the basepaths while Michaela Martin in 3-3... UNI pitching has recorded a 5.56 ERA... Chelsea Ross is 3-3 on the year with a 4.54 ERA... Ross has 40 strikeouts with 13 walks through 37 innings... Alyssa Buchannon is 2-2 with a 5.75 ERA, six strikeouts, and six walks... Ryan Jacobs is entering his eighth season at Northern Iowa.

SERIES HISTORY: Saturday marks the 50th meeting between WIU and UNI... The Leathernecks are 21-28 all-time against the Panthers... The teams first met in 1983... In 2012, the Panthers came away with an 8-0 win in Macomb.

SCOUTING THE RED FLASH: St. Francis enters with a 5-0 record and four batters hitting over .400... Taylor Parsons is hitting .471 with two doubles, one triple and seven RBIs... Madison Cabell leads the team with eight RBIs on the year and also has two home runs... Alexis Bower is 2-0 and has not allowed an earned run through 11 innings... Blaire Lauthers is also 2-0, allowing only two earned through 11 innings... Jennifer Patrick-Swift is in her fourth season in charge.

SERIES HISTORY: Western is 5-2 all-time against St. Francis but the two teams have not met since 1987.

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAIN HAWKS: Lehigh will open the season in Orlando after having its first tournament cancelled... The Mountain Hawks return Morgan Decker who finished 2014 with a .412 average and 39 RBIs... Decker also hit nine home runs to lead the team... Lehigh only attempted 28 stolen bases last season and were successful on 19 of those attempts... Emily Bausher is back for her senior season following a 13-7 junior season... Bausher struck out 105 batters and ended the year with a 2.14 ERA... Christine Campbell finished 2014 with a 2.66 ERA and a 10-7 record... The Mountain Hawks finished 2014 with a 30-20 mark... Fran Troyan begins his 20th season at Lehigh this weekend. 

SERIES HISTORY: This weekend will be the first meeting between Western Illinois and Lehigh.

WEEKEND UPDATE - ROSEMONT: Western kicked off the 2015 season by splitting the Total Control Sports Invitational... The Leathernecks were led by Sammy Marshall and Kelsey Marlow on Opening Day... Marshall scored five runs in an 8-4 win over Butler, meanwhile Marlow drove in four... Kacyee Hart earned the win in a 1-0 victory over Central Michigan... Tierney Bottino collected four RBI over the weekend and led the team with a .455 average... Lia Romeo hit two triples.

WINNING THE CLOSE ONES: Western Illinois' 1-0 victory over Central Michigan on Feb. 7 was the first 1-0 win since 2010 when the Leathernecks defeated Fort Wayne twice by a 1-0 scoreline... Not only did the Leathernecks win by 1-0 on Feb. 7, Western came away with the win despite not recording an RBI... This is the fourth time since 2003 Western has won a game without an RBI... Most recently, Western defeated Northern Iowa 4-1 in 2012... Western has also defeated Drake in 2007 (2-1) and Connecticut in 2003 (2-1) without recording an RBI.

RBI WATCH: In Western's win over Butler, Western recorded seven RBIs, four from freshman Kelsey Marlow... In 2014, Western tallied seven or more RBIs in a single game on 13 occasions... In 2011, Western Illinois recorded seven or more RBIs in 14 games, including 17 in one game (3/26 vs. IUPUI)... The single game record (since 1983) is 18 (4/2/92 vs. Drake).