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Softball Travels to Central Arkansas Invitational

Leathernecks take on four teams over three days

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
WHEN AND WHERE:
Central Arkansas Invitational
Friday, Feb. 24 - Sunday, Feb. 26
Conway, Arkansas
Farris Field
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GAME 1
Western Illinois vs. Houston Baptist
Feb. 24, 11:30 a.m. CT

GAME 2
Western Illinois at Central Arkansas
Feb. 24, 4:30 p.m. CT

GAME 3
Western Illinois vs Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Feb. 25, 3 p.m. CT

GAME 4
Louisiana-Monroe vs. Western Illinois
Feb. 26, 9 a.m. CT

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WIU 2017 STATS: 
HERE
 
COVERAGE

LIVE STATS: 
ALL GAMES: HERE

WATCH:
at Central Arkansas: HERE
 
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 Western Illinois softball team preps for the Central Arkansas Invitational on Feb. 24-25. The Leathernecks kick off the two-day invitational with a matchup against Houston Baptist at 11:30 a.m. and UCA at 4:30 p.m. On Saturday, Western plays one game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 3 p.m. Invitational play wraps up with a 9 a.m. matchup against Louisiana-Monroe.
 
A LOOK AT YOUR LEATHERNECKS: Western Illinois is 2-7 overall with wins over Butler and Green Bay. Four of Western's eight losses have been decided by one run. As a team, the Leathernecks lead The Summit League with a .302 batting average, a .394 on-base percentage and are slugging .459. Their 73 hits on the season also leads the league, while their 38 runs and 34 RBIs ranks second.
 
LEATHERNECK LEADERS: Both Holly Hoelting and Nina Maggio lead the team and rank fourth in the league with identical .360 batting averages. Maggio has raked in a team-leading eight RBIs, which is currently the third-most in the league. Rachel Beatty leads the team with nine walks and seven runs scored while Payton Abbott has hit a team-leading two home runs.
 
Emily Ira has struck out 24 batters over 24 innings with 14 earned runs and just one walk. Abbott has struck out 14 over 18 innings with 11 earned runs.
 
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES:
  • Houston Baptist is 4-4 so far this season, with two wins over Alabama State and one over Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern.
  • As a team, the Huskies are hitting .297 with 62 hits and 37 runs scored.
  • Heidi Jaquez leads HBU in the batter's box with a batting overage of .407. She has garnered 11 hits, two doubles and five RBIs.
  • In the circle, Emily Mueller is 3-3 with an ERA of 3.13. She's struck out 11 batters in 31 1/3 innings with 14 earned runs.
  • This will be the first meeting for the two teams in program history. Western is 5-0 all-time against teams from the SWAC.
 SCOUTING THE BEARS:
  • Central Arkansas is 2-8 overall with wins over Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Georgia Southern.
  • The Bears are hitting .201 with 51 hits, 30 runs, seven doubles and 23 RBIs. They are also a perfect seven-for-seven in stolen bases.
  • Kate Myers in the team leader in batting average as she's hitting .321. Briana Whisenhunt is hitting .314 with 11 hits, two doubles and four RBIs.
  • Ellie Reaves is 1-2 with an ERA of 3.35. She has struck out five batters over 23 innings with 11 earned runs.
  • The Leathernecks lead the all-time series 2-0 with both victories coming in extra innings. Western topped the Bears 10-3 in 2013 and 7-6 in 2014.
 SCOUTING THE GOLDEN LIONS:
  • Arkansas-Pine Bluff is 2-8 on the young season with victories over Samford and Texas Wesleyan.
  • The Golden Lions are hitting .244 with eight doubles, 57 hits, four home runs and 23 RBIs.
  • Tonnay Hawki is the Golden Lions' leader in bating average (.556), on-base percentage (.586), runs scored (7) and hits (15).
  • UAPB's pitching staff has an ERA of 6.96 with 22 strikeouts, 37 walks and 54 earned runs.
  • This will only be the second meeting for the two programs. Western took a 6-4 decision on Feb. 22, 2014.
 SCOUTING THE WARHAWKS:
  • The Warhawks are 8-4 overall and are currently riding a three game win streak following two victories over Northern Kentucky and one over Northwestern State.
  • Sydney McKay leads the team with 14 hits, seven walks, and is batting .438 with five RBIs. Bailey Thibodeaux is also hitting above .400 with nine hits.
  • Melanie Coyne leads the way in the circle with a 5-2 record and an ERA of 1.15. She has struck out 33 batters over 47 innings and only six earned runs.
  • This will be the first meeting between the two teams since 1992 where Western fell 3-1. The first meeting took place on March 16, 1990 where WIU won 14-3.
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 adds 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

Payton Abbott

#34 Payton Abbott

P/IF
5' 9"
Sophomore
R/R
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
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

Payton Abbott

#34 Payton Abbott

5' 9"
Sophomore
R/R
P/IF
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
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