MACOMB, Ill. - After winning the final conference series of the 2015 regular season, Western Illinois softball claimed the No. 4 seed in the 2015 Summit League Softball Championships. The Fighting Leathernecks begin their quest for their fifth tournament title since 1993 on Wednesday (May 6) against South Dakota State. First pitch is schedule for 3 p.m. in Fargo, North Dakota.

Western Illinois makes its 20th tournament appearance since 1993 and just its second as the No. 4 seed. The last time the Leathernecks earned the fourth seed was in 2008. That year, Western won all three contests, winning its fourth tournament title. 

The Leathernecks and Jackrabbits will play in a single-elimination game to begin the tournament. The winner will play top-seeded North Dakota State and begin the double-elimination format.

WESTERN AS A FOUR-SEED: Only one other time in program history has Western entered the tournament with the No. 4 seed... In 2008, Western Illinois finished with an overall record of 15-33 and 9-10 in league play... WIU defeated top-seeded Centenary 9-7 in the opening round and then hosts Southern Utah 7-2... In the championship game, Western claimed its fourth tournament championship with a 17-2 victory over Fort Wayne... Current Leatherneck assistant coach Beth Golitko was a member of the team.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Western is aiming for its first Summit League Tournament title since 2008 and its fifth since the creation of the Mid-Con in 1993... The Leathernecks have appeared in a postseason tournament only once before as a four-seed... Since 1993, WIU is 37-32 in the League Championships.

CINDERELLA STORY: Western first made an appearance as a No. 3 or No. 4 seed in 1994... Since then, the Leathernecks have entered the tournament as the third-, fourth-, or fifth-seeded team on six more occasions... The Purple and Gold are 11-10 when entering the tournament as the No. 3 seed or lower. 

WEEKEND UPDATE - OMAHA: Western used a pair of dominant performances from Kayla Kirkpatrick to take a pair of games from Omaha to end the regular season... Sammy Marshall hit .500 and scored three runs... Lia Romeo hit two home runs and drove in four... Tierney Bottino also recorded four RBIs.