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Western Illinois University Athletics

Hart 2015 Hawaii
Pete Kouchis
3
Winner Western Illinois WIU 6-5
2
Hawaii UH 17-10
Winner
Western Illinois WIU
6-5
3
Final
2
Hawaii UH
17-10
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Western Illinois WIU 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 3 8 2
Hawaii UH 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 4 0

W: Hart, Kacyee (3-2) L: Aina Cabrale (8-7)

Game Recap: Softball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Kacyee Hart's Seven Strikeouts Leads Western to Win Over Hawaii

Western Illinois defeated Hawaii 3-2 on Wednesday (March 11).

HONOLULU, Hi. – Kacyee Hart threw seven strikeouts through 21 outs, none more important than the final strikeout of the evening, securing a 3-2 victory for Western (6-5) over the hosts Hawaii (17-10) on Wednesday (March 11).

"I was very excited with how the team played today," said head coach Holly Van Vlymen. "It was thrilling that's for sure, but we really came together as a team. Kacyee (Hart) had a great game on the mound. She really kept them off balance with her offspeed pitches and worked ahead a lot of the time, which was awesome. She just had so much confidence out there today. Our hitters came through when they needed to. They strung hits together and we were aggressive on the bases. I'm really excited with how this team can get it done in multiple ways."

Hart (3-2) retired the first seven batters before the Rainbow Wahine collected their first hit in the third. Western Illinois was able to get base hits from Kelsey Marlow and Tierney Bottino, and a leadoff walk by Sammy Marshall in the first three innings, but could not score the first run of the game until the fourth.

In the top of the fourth, Tierney Bottino recorded her second double of the ballgame to lead off the inning. After Holly Hoelting was hit by a pitch, Alexis Ensminger came on to run for the left fielder. Nina Maggio followed with a fly ball to centerfield, which would result in Bottino scoring from second base.

In the next inning, Marshall singled with one out and went to third on a single from Teagan Walsh. On the very next pitch, Marlow recorded her tenth RBI of the season, singling in Marshall from third to give Western a 2-0 lead.

The Leathernecks tacked on what turned out to the winning run in the sixth. Hoelting drew a four pitch walk and moved to second on a groundball off the bat from Rachel Beatty. With two outs, Karissa Kouchis singled back up the middle, scoring Hoelting and pushing the lead to 3-0.

The Rainbow Wahine closed the gap, using an error to score in the bottom of the sixth. In the final frame, Hawaii scored its second unearned run of the game and had the winning run at first when Hart fanned her seventh batter of the game, finalizing the victory for Western.

The Leathernecks continue play in the 2015 Rainbow Wahine Classic on Thursday (March 12) against St. Bonaventure. First pitch is scheduled for 8:30 central time. 
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