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SB Weekend 2

Softball WIU Athletic Communications

Hilltopper Classic on Tap for Fighting Leatherneck Softball

Western plays four games from Feb. 18-19

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
WHEN AND WHERE:
Holiday Inn Hilltopper Classic
Saturday, Feb. 18 - Sunday, Feb. 19
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Nick Denes Field
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GAME 1
Western Illinois vs. Miami (Ohio)
Feb. 18, 10 a.m. CT

GAME 2
Belmont vs. Western Illinois
Feb. 18, 12:30 p.m. CT

GAME 3
Western Illinois at Western Kentucky
Feb. 19, 12:30 p.m. CT

GAME 4
TBD
3 or 5:30 p.m.

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WIU 2017 STATS: 
HERE
 
COVERAGE

LIVE STATS: 
Game One: HERE
Game Two: HERE
Game Three: HERE
Game Four: TBD
 
SOCIAL MEDIA

TWITTER:
@WIUSoftball
@WIUAthletics

FACEBOOK:
Western Illinois University Softball
Western Illinois Athletics

INSTAGRAM:
Western Illinois Athletics
 
PRESEASON INFORMATION

2017 Preseason Quick Facts (.PDF)
2017 Preseason Record Book (.PDF)
2017 Schedule Release
 

MACOMB, Ill. – The second weekend of the season for Western Illinois softball takes place at the Holiday Inn Hilltopper Classic on Feb. 18-19. The invitational is hosted by Western Kentucky in Bowling Green, Ky. at Nick Denes Field.
 
The Leathernecks open play with a game against Miami (Ohio) on Saturday at 10 a.m. followed by a matchup against Belmont at 12:30. On Sunday, Western takes on WKU at 12:30. The No. 1 seed of the tournament will then play the No. 4 seed at 3, while the No. 2 seed will play the No. 3 seed at 5:30.
 
LEATHERNECK LEADERS: As a team, the Leathernecks are hitting .304 with 42 hits, 22 runs, five doubles, a triple, three home runs and 20 RBI while slugging .420. Holly Hoelting leads the team and ranks first in The Summit League with a batting average of .500. Over the weekend, the senior garnered seven hits and raked in three RBI with a home run and four walks.
 
Nina Maggio is batting .429 with six hits, six RBI, two doubles and a triple. In the circle, Brooke Stulga is 2-1 with an ERA of 3.55 and eight strikeouts. Emily Ira leads the team with 10 strikeouts over 12 innings.
 
REACHING THE SUMMIT: As a team, the Leathernecks lead The Summit League in runs (22), hits (42), RBI (20), walks (20), batting average (.304) and on-base percentage (.399). Over the weekend, the Leatherneck pitching staff only allowed three walks.
 
Hoelting leads the league in batting average (.500), while Maggio is fourth with .429. Maggio is also second in RBI (6), while Stulga leads the league with two wins.
 
SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS:
  • The Redhawks are 3-2 overall after posting wins over IUPUI, Eastern Illinois and Green Bay at the Total Control Sports Invitational.
  • Rylee Whispel leads the team with a .412 batting average, five RBI, seven hits and three runs. She is also 2-2 in stolen bases.
  • Kelsey Fredericks has posted a 1-1 record on the season with an ERA of 4.40. She's struck out seven, walked nine and has given up 16 hits in 14 ½ innings.
  • Western holds a slight 8-6 edge in the all-time series over the Redhawks. Last season, the Leathernecks split a pair of games at Miami, dropping the first contest 8-0 and bouncing back to take game two, 2-1.
 SCOUTING THE BRUINS:
  • Belmont is a perfect 4-0 after sweeping UMBC and Kansas City at its home tournament to open the season.
  • As a team, the Bruins are hitting .444 with an on-base percentage of .492, and two home runs and 52 hits.
  • Bailey Sims leads the Bruins with a .571 batting average and has garnered eight hits and three RBI this season.
  • In the circle, Brooklin Lee has a 3-0 record with a 1.91 ERA. She has struck out 19 batters over 14.1 innings and only four earned runs.
  • The all-time series is tied 1-1 between the two squads. This will be the first time the teams have met since the 2013 season, when Western won 10-2.
 SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS:
  • Western Kentucky is 3-2 so far on the season with wins over Stephen F. Austin (twice) and Mississippi State.
  • As a team, the Hilltoppers are batting .149 with 34 hits and 13 RBI.
  • Taylor Childress leads the team with a .222 batting average.
  • Western is 0-4 all time against WKU. The two teams have not met since the 2005 season.
NEXT TIME UP: The Purple and Gold travel to Conway, Ark. for the Central Arkansas Invitational, where they'll face Houston Baptist, Central Arkansas, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Louisiana-Monroe from Feb. 24-26.

2016 SEASON RECAP: Western finished third overall in The Summit League regular season a year ago with a 9-8 record in conference play (16-32 overall). The Leathernecks won their final five games of the season and earned the No. 3 seed in the league championship before falling to IUPUI in the first round. As a team, the Leathernecks batted .263 with 160 runs scored off of 332 hits.
 
PRESEASON POLL: Following its best finish since 2010, the Western Illinois softball team was picked to finish third overall in the 2017 Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll. North Dakota State was projected as the preseason favorite with 36 points (six first-place votes), followed by Omaha with 27 (one first-place vote). The Leathernecks garnered 25 points, while South Dakota was picked to finish fourth with 23. South Dakota State (19), IUPUI (11) and Fort Wayne (5) rounded out the poll.
 
NEWCOMERS: Western Illinois added five freshmen to their 2017 roster in Meghan Henson (Munster, Ind. / Marian Catholic), Halle Hollatz (Lockpork, Ill. / Lockport), Sydney Hollings (Normal, Ill. / Normal Community West), Brittanee Knepper (Blackwell, Okla. / Blackwell) and Jasmine Lara (Bettendorf, Iowa / Pleasant Valley).
 
RETURNERS: The Leathernecks return 15 players from a year ago, including two Second-Team All-Summit League selections in senior Nina Maggio and sophomore Emily Ira. The latter was also tabbed to the preseason 'Players to Watch' list after compiling 136 strikeouts during her freshman campaign. She struck out a career-high 12 batters at South Dakota and recorded Western's first no-hitter since 2010 against Canisius. Kelsey Marlow returns as Western's leader in batting average (.320) from a season ago. The junior compiled 23 RBI, 47 hits, 10 doubles and led The Summit League with four triples. Rachel Beatty led the team with a .333 batting average during league play and led the team with six home runs.
 
 

 
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Players Mentioned

Rachel Beatty

#14 Rachel Beatty

OF
5' 5"
Junior
L/L
Holly Hoelting

#11 Holly Hoelting

UT
5' 6"
Senior
R/R
Emily Ira

#17 Emily Ira

P/OF
5' 7"
Sophomore
L/L
Nina Maggio

#18 Nina Maggio

IF
5' 3"
Senior
R/R
Kelsey Marlow

#10 Kelsey Marlow

IF
5' 8"
Junior
R/R
Brooke Stulga

#33 Brooke Stulga

P
5' 10"
Junior
R/R
Halle Hollatz

#7 Halle Hollatz

IF
5' 5"
Freshman
R/R
Sydney Hollings

#4 Sydney Hollings

C/IF
5' 4"
Freshman
R/R
Brittanee Knepper

#20 Brittanee Knepper

IF
5' 4"
Freshman
L/R
Jasmine Lara

#25 Jasmine Lara

OF
5' 3"
Freshman
L/L
Meghan Henson

#22 Meghan Henson

C
5' 6"
Freshman
R/R

Players Mentioned

Rachel Beatty

#14 Rachel Beatty

5' 5"
Junior
L/L
OF
Holly Hoelting

#11 Holly Hoelting

5' 6"
Senior
R/R
UT
Emily Ira

#17 Emily Ira

5' 7"
Sophomore
L/L
P/OF
Nina Maggio

#18 Nina Maggio

5' 3"
Senior
R/R
IF
Kelsey Marlow

#10 Kelsey Marlow

5' 8"
Junior
R/R
IF
Brooke Stulga

#33 Brooke Stulga

5' 10"
Junior
R/R
P
Halle Hollatz

#7 Halle Hollatz

5' 5"
Freshman
R/R
IF
Sydney Hollings

#4 Sydney Hollings

5' 4"
Freshman
R/R
C/IF
Brittanee Knepper

#20 Brittanee Knepper

5' 4"
Freshman
L/R
IF
Jasmine Lara

#25 Jasmine Lara

5' 3"
Freshman
L/L
OF
Meghan Henson

#22 Meghan Henson

5' 6"
Freshman
R/R
C