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Western Illinois University Athletics

Hoelting 2015
WIU Visual Productions Center
11
Winner Western Illinois WIU 15-18, 5-7 Summit
3
South Dakota State SDSU 14-23, 4-8 Summit
Winner
Western Illinois WIU
15-18, 5-7 Summit
11
Final
3
South Dakota State SDSU
14-23, 4-8 Summit
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 R H E
Western Illinois WIU 6 1 0 3 1 11 10 2
South Dakota State SDSU 1 1 1 0 0 3 3 3

W: Hart, Kacyee (8-8) L: Bender (5-12)

Game Recap: Softball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Leathernecks Defeat Jackrabbits 11-3 to Take Series

Western Illinois defeated South Dakota State on Sunday (April 19) to win the series 2-1.

Brookings, S.D. – Western Illinois picked up an 11-3 victory over South Dakota State on Sunday (April 19). The Leathernecks scored 11 runs on 10 hits to move to 15-18 overall and 5-7 in Summit League play.

"This was a really big series for us," said head coach Holly Van Vlymen. "We wanted to start to get some momentum for the conference tournament and we talked about how every game matters and how we need to win every series from here on out so this was a big win today."

The Leathernecks didn't hesitate, as the first five batters reached safely. Sammy Marshall and Teagan Walsh recorded consecutive singles before Tierney Bottino loaded the bases after getting hit by a pitch. Lia Romeo singled to left, scoring Marshall and forcing SDSU to make a pitching change. Western didn't slow down though, taking advantage of a passed ball and a single from Holly Hoelting. Two more passed balls plated two more runs, sending Western into the bottom of the first with a 6-0 lead after ten batters came to the plate.

"We had a full team effort today and that's what we need," Van Vlymen said. "Now we just need to continue on this path and focus on having quality at bats and continue to get better."

Kacyee Hart allowed one run in the bottom of the first but a Bottino double and a Kelsey Marlow single pushed the Leatherneck lead to 7-1. SDSU got the lead to 7-3 with single runs in the second and third before Western's offense again came through in the fourth. Both Walsh and Bottino drew walks to lead off the fourth. A Romeo single scored Walsh, which was followed by a Hoelting double, pushing the lead to 10-3.

Following a scoreless fourth for the Leathernecks defensively, Marshall recorded her fourth career inside the park home run to give Western an 11-3 lead. Hart struck out two batters in the bottom of the fifth, sealing the 11-3 win for Western Illinois.

"These were some of the best performances from our pitchers all year," Van Vlymen said. "I was really proud of them. We have to be able to win ballgames when our pitchers only give up three runs. Kayla pitched five solid innings yesterday, Kacyee threw two great games and Brooke did great on relief. I was really happy with our pitching performances."

Hart struck out five in her eighth win of the year. Marshall, Romeo and Hoelting all finished the day with a pair of hits. Bottino scored three runs tying a career high. Hoelting drove in three runs in the victory.

The Leathernecks travel to Madison, Wisconsin for a doubleheader against the Wisconsin Badgers. First pitch for the first game is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.  
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