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Western Illinois University Athletics

Tierney Bottino
1
Canisius CAN 3-12
2
Winner Western Illinois WIU 5-11
Canisius CAN
3-12
1
Final
2
Western Illinois WIU
5-11
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Canisius CAN 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 3 0
Western Illinois WIU 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 9 0

W: Stulga, Brooke (1-0) L: Castro, Lauren (0-2)

1
Miami MIAMI 7-7
2
Winner Western Illinois WIU 6-11
Miami MIAMI
7-7
1
Final
2
Western Illinois WIU
6-11
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Miami MIAMI 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0
Western Illinois WIU 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 6 0

W: Ira, Emily (3-6) L: MORTENSEN, Carly (1-2)

Game Recap: Softball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Leatherneck Softball Wins Two in Walk-Off Fashion

Tierney Bottino hits two-walk offs as Western tops Canisius, Miami of Ohio

OXFORD, Ohio – Tierney Bottino hit two walk-offs in as many games as the Western Illinois softball team topped Canisius and Miami of Ohio on Sunday (March 6) by identical scores of 2-1. With the victories, the Leathernecks move to 6-11 on the season. Sunday marked the final day of the Miami Invitational where Western posted a 3-1 record over the weekend.
 
"I was very happy with how they approached the games and their process throughout the games. They just kept hitting the ball and having great at bats and they fed off of each other so I was really happy about that. In the past I think they would have gotten down and upset if their hits weren't falling but they knew that they were having good at bats and they just went up there and kept pushing all the way to the end," said head coach Holly Van Vlymen. "I'm really happy with the wins and especially how the wins came about. They were at the end of the game and they fought hard all the way through and I was really proud of them."
 
Game One: Western Illinois 2, Canisius 1
 
Both sides were held scoreless until the top of the fourth inning when Canisius got on the board first after back-to-back walks and an RBI single gave them a 1-0 lead.
 
Western responded in the bottom of the fifth inning when Payton Abbot singled through the right side and worked her way to third off a sacrifice bunt from Taylor Messer. A batter later, Karissa Kouchis hit a run-scoring single to center field to plate Abbott and knot the game up at 1-1.
 
Brooke Stulga would come in for relief for freshman Megan Lotarski in the top of the fifth inning and shut down the Golden Griffin offense, limiting them to just two hits for the rest of the ballgame.
 
Messer got Western's seventh inning rally started with a leadoff single to left field, bringing on pinch runner Kacyee Hart. With two outs, senior Tierney Bottino stepped up to the plate and launched a double to center field that sent Hart home to score the run that sealed the 2-1 victory for the Leathernecks.
 
Lotarski made her first career start in the circle for Western, pitching four innings while giving up one hit, one earned run, and striking out four. Stulga allowed two hits, no runs or walks, and two strikeouts en route to her first win of the season. Bottino, Holly Hoelting, and Abbott led the squad with two base hits each.
 
Game Two: Western Illinois 2, Miami of Ohio 1
Game two started in the Redhawks' favor when Michaela Schlattman hit a leadoff homerun to right field, giving Miami an early 1-0 advantage at the end of the first inning. Starting pitcher Emily Ira and the Leatherneck defense were in full force after that as they retired 14 straight batters through the top of the sixth inning.
 
Western got on the board in the bottom of the third following a leadoff walk from Nina Maggio. Maggio was brought home when Bottino hit an RBI single up the middle to even things up at 1-1.
 
The Leathernecks found themselves in a similar position as the first game when they entered the bottom of the seventh inning tied up. Kelsey Marlow put herself in position to score the winning run when she smacked a double to center field. With two outs, Maggio tapped the ball along the third base line and worked her way to second base as the ball bobbled and stayed fair. Much like the first game, Bottino stepped up to the plate with two outs and smacked the ball to shortstop for an RBI single that scored Marlow and secured the Leatherneck's second walk-off win in as many games, 2-1.
 
"I was very proud and happy for Tierney. She's been working on a couple of things and the mental process and I think this weekend she realized that it was time to do what she knew she could do and go up there and have good at bats and good things will happen when she does that and they absolutely did," added Van Vlymen.
 
Ira pitched her sixth complete game of the season, compiling seven strikeouts with two hits, one earned run, and one walk in her third career win. Bottino led the team with two runs and two RBIs.
 
The Purple and Gold will look to continue their winning ways this coming weekend at the Jayhawk Invitational, held March 11-13. The Leathernecks will face Kansas, Northern Iowa, Missouri State, and Kansas City twice over the three-day tournament. The invitational will be the first stop on an 11-day spring break road trip for Western where they will play a total of 12 games throughout the week. 
 
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