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Western Illinois University Athletics

Bottino v Morehead 2014
11
Winner Western Illinois WIU 12-13
8
Iowa IOWA 11-28
Winner
Western Illinois WIU
12-13
11
Final
8
Iowa IOWA
11-28
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Western Illinois WIU 0 0 0 1 10 0 0 11 12 3
Iowa IOWA 1 0 3 0 2 0 2 8 15 1

W: Kirkpatrick, Kayla (4-6) L: Yoways (2-11) S: Walsh, Teagan (1)

Game Recap: Softball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Leathernecks Score 10 in Fifth in Win Over Hawkeyes

Western Illinois defeated Iowa 11-8 on Thursday (April 2).

IOWA CITY, Iowa – A 10-run fifth inning propelled Western Illinois past Iowa on Thursday (April 2). The Leathernecks defeated the Hawkeyes 11-8, as Western improved to 12-13 overall in 2015.


"Last year we started off hot and then cooled off a bit so we wanted to hit our stride at the right time," said head coach Holly Van Vlymen. "We've been working on some little things that we've been getting better at every time we take the field. I'm really proud of our hitters and the adjustments they made. I'm really proud of our team today, it's a special win."

Iowa scored a run in the bottom of the first after Western stranded Tierney Bottino at first. Starting pitcher Kacyee Hart struck out the side with runners at first and second to end the Hawkeye threat in the first. Hart worked herself out of a bases loaded jam in the second, forcing a fielder's choice before Sammy Marshall caught a line drive and doubled off a Hawkeye at first.

Western would put runners at second and third in the second, but were unable to tie the ballgame. The Hawkeyes used two home runs in the third to move in front 4-0. Following the homers, Western Illinois went to Kayla Kirkpatrick in relief of Hart. Kirkpatrick got out of the third and worked a scoreless fourth as the Leathernecks made their move.

Kelsey Marlow hit a one-out double before moving to third base on a ground out. With two outs, Rachel Beatty recorded her first career RBI, singling to right field and cutting into the Hawkeye lead.

Trailing 4-1 heading into the fifth, Sammy Marshall led off the inning with a single, extending her hitting streak to 22 games. After Marshall stole second, Teagan Walsh reached on an error that scored Marshall and ultimately moved Walsh to third. Tierney Bottino singled, scoring Walsh, while Lia Romeo and Holly Hoelting followed with singles of their own to load the bases. Marlow hit her second double of the day, scoring two runs and putting Western in front 5-4 before Nina Maggio walked to load the bases once again. Alexis Ensminger got hit by a pitch to force in a run before Marshall collected a pair of RBIs on her second single of the inning, increasing the lead to 8-4. Walsh loaded the bases with a single and Bottino cleared the bases with a double, bringing the lead to 11-4.

The Hawkeyes though scored twice in the bottom of the fifth to cut the lead to 11-6 before Walsh came in to pitch for Western. The senior kept Iowa off the board in the sixth and limited the Hawkeyes to two in the seventh, forcing a ground out to end the game.

Kirkpatrick got the win, improving to 4-6 on the year. Hart finished the day with three walks and three strikeouts over 2.1 innings allowing four runs, while Kirkpatrick walked two over 1.2 innings, conceding one earned run. Walsh worked the final three innings, allowing two runs. Leatherneck pitching forced Iowa to leave 12 on base.

"I had faith in our team and we talked about not letting the hole get too big.," Van Vlymen said. "We made changes when we needed to. Kacyee is battling through a couple things right now but she did some really good things today. The Hawkeyes are a very good hitting team so we were always going to pitch by committee. Kayla did a nice job today as well."

Bottino drove in four RBIs for the second time this week. The junior went 3-for-5 from the plate. Marshall collected two hits, scored two runs, and drove in two. Marlow was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs.

The win was Western's first over Iowa since April 18, 2000 and the first win over a Big Ten Program since 2010 when Western defeated Minnesota twice.

The 10-run fifth was the third-most runs scored in an inning in program history since 1983 and the most since 2004.

The Leathernecks have off this weekend in conference play, and return to action on Tuesday (April 7) against SIU-Edwardsville at Mary Ellen McKee Stadium. The doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.
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