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Leatherneck Softball Opens Spring Break at Memphis Tournament

Western opens 10-day road swing in Memphis Friday

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION

WHEN AND WHERE:
Memphis Softball Tournament
Friday, March 10 - Sunday, March 12
Memphis, Tenn.
Tigers Softball Stadium
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GAME 1
Lipscomb vs. Western Illinois
March 10, 9 a.m.

GAME 2
Western Illinois vs. Indiana
March 10, 11:15 a.m.

GAME 3
Oakland vs. Western Illinois
March 11, 11:15 a.m.

GAME 4
Western Illinois vs. Buffalo
March 11, 8:15 p.m.

GAME 4
Memphis vs. Western Illinois
March 12, 1:30 p.m.
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WIU 2017 STATS: 
HERE
 
COVERAGE

LIVE STATS: 

GAME ONE: HERE
GAME TWO: HERE
GAME THREE: HERE
GAME FOUR: HERE
GAME FIVE: HERE

WATCH:
at Memphis : 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 Fighting Leatherneck softball team opens spring break at the Memphis Softball Tournament from March 10-12. Action begins Friday morning at 9 a.m. against Lipscomb, immediately followed by a game against Indiana. On Saturday, the Leathernecks take on Oakland at 11:15 a.m. before playing Buffalo at 8:15 p.m. Tournament play concludes Sunday afternoon with a contest against the hosts, Memphis, at 1:30 p.m.
 
 A LOOK AT YOUR LEATHERNECKS: Western Illinois is 6-11 overall and is coming off of a 2-2 weekend at the Coach B Classic (March 4-5). Seven Leathernecks are batting over .300.
 
As a team, the Leathernecks rank fourth in The Summit League with 70 runs, 66 RBIs and 129 hits. They also rank second in doubles (25), triples (4). As a team, they are batting .281 and slugging .405.
 
LEATHERNECK LEADERS: Nationally, Nina Maggio ranks first in sacrifice hits with nine and in sacrifice hits per game (0.53). Both Holly Hoelting and Rachel Beatty rank 48th in the NCAA with 13 walks.
 
Hoelting leads the team with a batting average of .348 and has raked in 13 RBIs with three home runs, two doubles and 16 hits. Western Illinois also has two pitchers that rank in the top five in strikeouts in the league in Emily Ira (3rd, 47) and Payton Abbott (5th, 31).
 
SCOUTING THE BISON: Lipscomb sits at 15-5 overall and is currently on a six game winning streak after going 4-0 at the Purple/Gold Challenge last weekend... As a team, the Bison are hitting .276 with 145 hits, 88 RBIs, 13 home runs and 22 doubles... Caitlin Plocheck leads the team with a .403 batting average and is slugging .701... She's garnered 27 hits, 14 RBIs and ranks 11th in the nation with eight doubles... Mandy Jordan is 9-2 in the circle with an ERA of 1.25 and limits her opponents to a .209 batting average... She ranks 17th in the nation with 81 strikeouts over 73 innings with only 13 earned runs... This will be the first ever meeting between the two teams... Western is 5-5 all-time against teams from the Atlantic Sun Conference. 

SCOUTING THE HOOSIERS: Indiana is 6-13 overall and are on a five game losing streak... The Hoosiers most recently lost all five games at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif... The Hoosiers are batting .235 with 110 hits, 23 doubles and 50 RBIs... Both Rebecca Blitz and CaraMia Tsirigos are batting .255 and have 13 hits apiece... Taylor Uden leads the team with 11 RBIs... In the circle, Tara Trainer ranks 23rd in the nation with 70 strikeouts in 57 innings pitched... This will be the second straight season the two teams have faced off... Last season, Western scored eight runs in the first inning but the Hoosier staged a comeback to win 11-8... Indiana holds a 21-7 all-time advantage over the Leathernecks. 

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES: Oakland sits at 6-3 on the season and most recently went 2-3 at the Citrus Classic with wins over Morgan State and Ball State... As a team, Oakland is hitting .205 with 47 hits, 27 runs and 24 RBIs... Mikayela Marciniak leads the team with a .370 batting average and five RBIs... She has garnered 10 hits, including one triple... Erin Kownacki leads the Golden Grizzlies in the circle and is the most recent Horizon League 'Pitcher of the Week'... She has posted a 3-1 overall record with a 0.93 ERA... She's struck out 13 batters over 29 innings and has only allowed three earned runs... Western leads the all-time series 37-12 and has taken the last 14 meetings... This is the first time the teams have played since the 2013 season, where Western won both games of a doubleheader.

SCOUTING THE BULLS: The Bulls are 2-13 overall and are currently on a six-game skid... As a team, the Bulls are batting .251 and have five players hitting over .300... They've collected 97 hits, 13 doubles and 31 RBIs... Leandra Jew leads the team with a .404 batting average and a team-leading 19 hits... In the circle, Ally Power leads the team with a 3.64 ERA... She has pitched 32 2/3 innings, striking out 32 with 17 earned runs... Western leads the all-time series 1-0... The two teams faced off on Feb. 18, 2012 where the Leathernecks took an 8-3 decision.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS: Memphis is 9-7 overall and is riding a five game win streak... The Tigers recently went 5-0 at the Blues City Classic with wins over Belmont, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Louisiana Tech, Wright State and Tennessee State... Lindsay Crowdus leads the team and ranks 19th in the nation with a batting average of .500... She's garnered 25 hits with a nation-leading five triples... She is also a perfect 11-11 in stolen bases... As a team, the Tigers rank 73rd in the nation with an ERA of 2.72... They also rank 17th with 2.25 stolen bases per game... Katie Brignac is 3-0 in the circle with an ERA of 0.98... She has only given up three earned runs in 21 innings with 13 strikeouts. 

UP AHEAD: WIU is currently on its longest road swing of the season, as they play in 11 games over 10 days over spring break. Following the Memphis tournament, the Leathernecks play a midweek doubleheader at Murray State on March 15 before taking on UT Martin and Samford at the Skyhawk Hampton Inn Classic on March 17-19.
 
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