MACOMB, Ill. – The Western Illinois softball team will travel to Rosemont, Illinois, for the Total Control Sports Invitational this weekend (Feb. 20-21). The Fighting Leathernecks will face Quinnipiac, Green Bay, Loyola-Chicago and UIC over the two-day tournament, co-hosted by UIC and Loyola inside The Dome at Rosemont. On Saturday, action kicks off against Quinnipiac at 9 a.m., followed by a game against Green Bay at 2. Sunday's contest against Loyola starts at 11:30 a.m., and the final game against UIC starts at 2.
SCOUTING THE BOBCATS: This will be Quinnipiac's opening weekend of play… They posted an 18-33 (8-12 MAAC) record in 2015… Quinnipiac returns 11 players from last year's squad and adds seven newcomers… The Bobcats return Casey Herzog and Miranda Magana, who were both named to the All-MAAC Rookie Team last season… Magana hit .279 in 2015 with 38 hits and 18 RBIs… Herzog posted a 3-8 record in the circle last season, recording four saves and 60 strikeouts… The Bobcats were picked to finish eighth in the MAAC preseason poll… Head coach Jill Karwoski will begin her third season at the helm of the program.
SERIES HISTORY: This will be the first time in program history that the two teams will meet. Western is 6-0 all-time against schools from the MAAC.
SCOUTING THE PHOENIX: Green Bay opened their season last weekend at the UNI-Dome Classic where they went 2-3… Allie Taylor and Alanna Beyer are each batting .500 to lead the team… Taylor also leads the team in hits (7), RBIs (5), and home runs (2)… Bailey Smaney and Tessa Mikkelson have each picked up one win in the circle.
SERIES HISTORY: The Leathernecks and Phoenix met last weekend for Western's season opener at the UNI-Dome Classic… WIU fell to the Phoenix 6-4… Western leads the all-time series 22-4… WIU has taken 11 of the past 14 meetings.
SCOUTING THE RAMBLERS: Loyola-Chicago posted a 2-1 record so far this season with wins over Murray State (9-1, 5 innings) and North Carolina Central (9-0, 5 innings)… Loyola returns seven of their 10 starters from the 2015 season… Brooke Wyderski returns after a record-setting rookie season, where she set freshman records in home runs (12) and RBIs (37)… So far this season, Wyderski is batting .625 with five hits, six RBIs, and two home runs… Alyssa Mannucci returns for the Ramblers after sitting out 2015 due to injury… She hit a three-run home run in her only at-bat this season… Ashley Rogers has posted a 1-0 record this season after allowing one hit, two walks and striking out seven batters in five innings… The Ramblers are led by head coach Jeff Tylka who is in his second season at the helm.
SERIES HISTORY: Saturday will mark the 12th meeting between the two teams, with Western holding a 7-4 advantage… The Leathernecks and Ramblers split a pair of games in 2014 with Western taking the first game 7-1 and dropping the second 9-7.
SCOUTING THE FLAMES: The Flames have complied a 2-3 record in 2016 with wins against Memphis and Middle Tennessee… UIC won it's 14th Horizon League regular season title last season and posted a 24-22 (14-6 HL) record… The Flames return the Horizon League 'Freshman of the Year' Tiana Mack-Miller, who ranks third on the team with a .353 batting average with six hits and eight RBIs… Also returning is the HL 'Pitcher of the Year' Elaine Heflin, who has posted a 4.30 ERA this season with a 1-2 record, giving up 13 hits, 10 runs, 11 walks and striking out eight batters… UIC was picked to finish in a tie for first with Oakland in the HL preseason poll… The Flames are led by eighth-year head coach Michelle Venturella.
SERIES HISTORY: Western leads the all-time series between the two squads 15-9… The Leathernecks have taken the last three meetings… The last meeting took place on February 9, 2014, when Western won 3-1.
LAST TIME OUT: The Leathernecks opened their season the UNI-Dome Classic on Feb. 12-14… Western was unable to record a win over the five-game tournament, falling to Green Bay (6-4), Nebraska (3-2), Saint Louis (8-3), Drake (5-2) and Northern Iowa (8-0, five innings)… Karissa Kouchis led the team with a .444 batting average, eight hits, and currently has a five-game hitting streak… Rachel Beatty and Payton Abbott also contributed to the offense, compiling six and five hits, respectively, with an extra base hit apiece… Freshman Hailey Duwa led the team with three RBIs… Emily Ira made three starts, including two complete games, striking out 17 batters to currently lead The Summit League… Kacyee Hart pitched ten innings over two games, striking out seven batters and giving up eight hits.
NEXT UP: Western will travel to Auburn, Alabama, for the Tiger Invitational on Feb. 26-28 hosted by No. 3 Auburn… The Leathernecks will take on St. John's on Feb. 26 at 3 p.m… On Saturday, WIU will go head-to-head with nationally ranked Auburn at 3, and take on Indiana State at 5:30… Tournament action will conclude on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. against Boston College.
SEASON OUTLOOK: The Purple and Gold will open the first part of the 2016 season with six tournaments, with tournament play making up 26 of the team's 49 games… The Tiger Invitational hosted by nationally ranked Auburn highlights the early part of the season on Feb. 26-28… Tournament play continues with the Jayhawk Invitational hosted by Kansas on March 11-13... The final tournament of the year will take place at the 2016 Hoosier Classic, hosted by Indianna on March 18-20 where the Leathernecks will face four different squads... Western will also take on nationally ranked Missouri in a mid-week double header on March 16... Summit League play opens on March 25 with a series at South Dakota State… Western will play nine games in front of a home crowd at Mary Ellen McKee Stadium.
2015 SEASON RECAP: The Leathernecks posted an 18-23 record last season (8-10 SL) and finished fourth overall in The Summit League… Western's best month came in March when they posted an 8-10 record, batting .288 as a team… After qualifying for The Summit League tournament, the Leathernecks fell to South Dakota State 6-7 in the opening round… Tierney Bottino was named First Team All-Summit League.
RETURNERS: The Purple and Gold return five starters from a year ago… Despite losing Sammy Marshall who batted .459 last year, Western returns plenty of power hitters… Tierney Bottino returns after hitting .325 a season ago with 41 hits, 33 RBIs, and 24 runs scored… Senior Karissa Kouchis also returns after batting .225 her junior season with 20 hits… Kacyee Hart returns to the circle… In 2015 she posted an 8-10 record with 87 strikeouts.
NEWCOMERS: Western brings nine newcomers (seven freshman, two transfers) to the 2016 roster…Hailey Duwa (Pleasant Valley, Ill) finished her senior year with a .615 average, 17 home runs, 16 doubles, and 60 RBIs.… Emily Ira (Iowa City, Iowa) limited opponents to a .087 average while going 28-2 with a 0.53 ERA during her senior season... Maine transfer Sam Ralphs appeared in 51 games for the Black Bears where she tallied 31 hits, 17 runs, 10 RBIs, and held a career batting average with Maine of .282… Pitcher Payton Abbott (Stillman Valley, Ill.) struck out 189 batters in 21 games and only allowed 28 earned runs over 131 innings and batted .704 as a junior… Sidney Bottino (Lockport, Ill.) hit .440 with four home runs and 18 RBIs her senior year… Aly Compton (Noblesville, Ind.) raised her batting average from .231 her sophomore season to .350 her junior season with two home runs… Megan Lotarski (Bolingbrook, Ill.) set a school record 258 strikeouts.
SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL: The Leathernecks were picked to finish sixth in the 2016 preseason coaches' poll with 14 points… North Dakota State received five first-place votes and 35 points overall… IUPUI (29), South Dakota (27), Omaha (20), and South Dakota State (16) finished ahead of Western… Fort Wayne (6) rounded out the poll. |
