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Deion Thompson - Series preview

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Baseball Begins Summit League Second Half Schedule at Fort Wayne

Three-game series opens on Friday afternoon

GAMEDAY INFORMATION

Western Illinois (12-22 overall, 8-7 Summit League)
at Fort Wayne (6-28 overall, 1-14 Summit League)
FRIDAY, APRIL 21 - 2 p.m.
SATURDAY, APRIL 22 - 1 p.m.
SUNDAY, APRIL 23 - 12 p.m.
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Fort Wayne, Indiana
Mastodon Field
 
COVERAGE

LIVE STATS: 
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SOCIAL MEDIA

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Leatherneck Athletics
SEASON INFORMATION

2017 Record Book (.PDF)
2017 Schedule
2017 Roster
Updated Statistics
Summit League
 

SECOND HALF OF SUMMIT LEAGUE BEGINS: Western Illinois opens the second half of Summit League play this weekend against Fort Wayne on the road. The Leathernecks will close out the conference schedule at Fort Wayne, home versus Omaha, at South Dakota State and North Dakota State in consecutive weekends then close out the regular season at home against current leader Oral Roberts. The top four teams advance to the postseason tournament at ORU.
 
FIRST HALF RECAP: Western wrapped up the first half of Summit League play at 8-7, tied for third and just one game back of second place. WIU took 2-of-3 against Fort Wayne and South Dakota State at home, and at Omaha. The Leathernecks lost 2-of-3 at Oral Roberts and home versus North Dakota State, but both of those Sunday finales were a 1-0 decision.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST THE MASTODONS: Western Illinois held off Fort Wayne 6-5 in the opener, lost 5-1 in game two and won the finale 4-1… Roman Visintine went 5-for-12 at the plate with two doubles and a triple… Johnathan Fleek and Drue Galassi each went 4-for-10, including a 3-run homer by Galassi… Javin Drake and Ian Koch each picked up the win.
 
SCOUTING THE MASTODONS: Fort Wayne has lost 13 consecutive Summit League games after picking up the 5-1 victory in Macomb… The Mastodons are currently 6-28 on the year after dropping an 11-10 decision to IU-South Bend… Jake Weber leads the hitting attack at .359 followed by Jackson Boyce at .331 and Jacob Dickson (.304)… Damian Helm (2-1) leads the pitching staff in wins… Brandon Phelps (0-1, 3.09) and Weber (0-5, 3.97) lead the staff in ERA… In Summit League play, Fort Wayne is batting .251 with a 7.60 ERA and .970 fielding percentage.
 
HEAD COACH RYAN BROWNLEE: Head coach Ryan Brownlee is in his fifth year in charge of Leatherneck Baseball. Heading into this year, his 71 wins ranks him fourth all-time in Western Illinois history... Brownlee has coached 12 All-Summit League selections, seven All-Tournament picks and seen six of his WIU players move on to play professional baseball (3 MLB Draft picks, 3 Free Agent)... He made an immediate impact for the program during his collegiate head coaching debut series in 2013 when the Leathernecks knocked off preseason ranked #1 Arkansas.
 
SUMMIT LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL: Western was picked to finish fifth in the Summit League preseason poll... The Leathernecks started the 2016 conference season winning their first three series, but 10 Leathernecks who started early in the season suffered injuries that forced them to miss multiple games. Western ended up 11-19 and just missing on qualifying for the postseason tournament... Junior outfielder Roman Visintine was named one of six from the Summit League as a 'Player to Watch'.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Drue Galassi turned in a record-setting day in a 21-4 victory over SIU-Edwardsville. The redshirt-freshman hit the first two grand slams of his career and drove in a WIU-record 10 runs, going 5-for-5 at the plate with five runs scored. His two home runs tie for second-most in a game, the five runs scored tie a record and his two grand slams broke the WIU record. Adam McGinnis drove in a season-high four runs, three coming on a home run.
 
OTHER NOTES FROM THE SIUE GAME:
- The 21 runs scored and 21 RBI are the most since recording 21 in both categories at Fort Wayne in April 2014.
- The 20 hits are the most since 21 at South Dakota State on May 1, 2015.
- The last time a WIU player had five hits in a game was JJ Reimer at SDSU in that May 1, 2015 game. Galassi's five hits makes him the eighth player in program history to get five hits in a game.
- The previous single-game RBI record was nine by Blake Schultz versus Centenary in May 2004. Galassi entered the game with 13 RBI in his 29 games played.
- Galassi's 10 RBI was the most by a NCAA Division I player this year entering Tuesday… until later in the day when a player from Indiana State drove in 11 runs.
- The two grand slams gives Western three hit this year (Chris Tschida the other).
- Galassi's 12 total bases are third-most in a game, and first reaching double-digits since Andrew Hagins had 10 against SDSU in April 2009.
- Galassi's two home runs in a game joins Thompson, who hit two earlier this year against North Dakota State. The two occasions in a season are the most since Hagins and Jason Summers each hit two homers in a game during the 2010 season.
 
NUMBERS ON THE RISE: Since starting the year 0-11, Western is 12-11 following the recent win at home against SIU-Edwardsville… Western jumped its batting average up to .290 and fielding percentage to .965 while the ERA stands at 3.80... Steve McShane (.375), Adam McGinnis (.368), Ben Sellers (.368), Johnathan Fleek (.338), Mitch Ellis (.333), Drue Galassi (.309) and Austin Emanuel (.300) are all batting .300 or better, with Roman Visintine (.297) and Chris Tschida (.294) near the mark… Western owns a 133-97 scoring edge in that span… Preston Church (3-1, 2.92) and Ian Koch (3-1, 4.22) lead the pitching staff in victories with Javin Drake (2-2, 4.05) and Jimmy Perkins (2-2, 4.26) right behind... The defense has turned 19 double plays in 23 games.
 
WESTFAHL SAVES THE DAY: Senior Nate Westfahl picked up his second save of the year following the 5-2 win at Oral Roberts… His seven saves gives him sole possession of third place all-time (7)… He needs two more to tie Brian Loconsole for second place... His five season saves in 2016 tied him for third-most by a Leatherneck.
 
SUMMIT LEAGUE LEADERS: Adam McGinnis ranks second among The Summit League batting leaders at .358, just one point behind. His .474 on-base percentage leads the conference by 29 points… Johnathan Fleek is eighth with his .324 batting average… Roman Visintine leads the league with four triples and is tied for fourth with 10 doubles… WIU's 58 stolen bases by far lead the league (+18 ahead of second)… The offense jumped up to second in runs scored (167) and RBI (144).
 
DIAMOND STEALING: Western continues to lead The Summit League in stolen bases at 58-of-81 this year, including 18 steals in 15 conference games... Johnathan Fleek (7-11) and Deion Thompson (7-8) lead the team as 11 Leathernecks have at least three stolen bases... Cord Church is next at 6-for-6, followed by: Drue Galassi and Steve McShane both at 5-of-6 and Adam McGinnis at 5-of-9... Mitch Ellis (4-7), Roman Visintine (4-7), and Chris Tschida (4-5) are next.
 
NATIONAL RANKINGS: Western leads The Summit League and ranks 20th averaging 1.71 stolen bases per game… The 0.82 double plays per game puts WIU 90th nationally… With nine starts, Ian Koch ranks 31st in the country… Adam McGinnis stands 54th in on-base percentage (.474) and 31st in toughest to strikeout (1 per/13.6 at bats)… Roman Visintine is 24th in the country with four triples… Drue Galassi's 10 RBI are the second-most by a NCAA Division I player this year.
 
BACK-TO-BACK JACKS: Western Illinois accomplished a feat not done since March 2008 when in the first inning of game two at Southeast Missouri Adam McGinnis and Drue Galassi hit consecutive home runs… McGinnis launched a 2-run shot followed by Galassi's solo homer… Not to be outdone, another pair of Leatherneck teammates accomplished the same feat at home versus North Dakota State. Mitch Ellis and Deion Thompson both hit solo homers in game one of the series… It was the first time since Cooper Stewart (3-run) and Tyler Metcalf hit back-to-back jacks at Oklahoma.
 
HIT FOR THE CYCLE, SORT OF: Drue Galassi enjoyed a productive day at the plate on Saturday in a doubleheader against #14 Texas Tech and Mississippi State... He earned the start in game one batting seventh. After starting 0-for-2, Galassi lined a RBI triple in the seventh inning. During the ninth inning with two outs, Galassi turned on a 3-2 pitch and launched it well over the right field fence... In the nightcap against the Bulldogs, Galassi batted fourth. He doubled and scored in the fourth inning then singled and stole a base in the sixth.
 
D1BASEBALL.COM PLAYERS TO WATCH: According to the Preseason Summit League preview by D1Baseball.com, seniors Adam McGinnis (C) and Preston Church (LHP) were two of the top 10 prospects in the 2017 MLB Draft Class... Sophomore Deion Thompson was ranked fourth of the five prospects for the 2018 Draft... Freshman right-handed pitcher Javin Drake was one of five Impact Freshman chosen by the website.
 
TSCHIDA REWRITING CAREER RECORDS: Senior Chris Tschida overtook fifth place on the career 'Top 10' list following the SIU-Edwardsville game, now at 185 and just one away from fourth place.... With 184 career games played he now owns sole possession of fifth place with teammate Adam McGinnis in 10th place.
CAREER HITS
1.              232         Ryan Schmidgall  2003-06
2.              224         Dan Dispensa       2010-13
3.              203         Jeff Wellwood     1999-02
4.              186         Jim Morsovillo   1993-96
5.              185         Chris Tschida     2014-Pr                 
 
CAREER GAMES PLAYED
1.              229         Ryan Schmidgall  2003-06
2.              202         Jeff Wellwood     1999-02
3.              201         Dan Dispensa       2010-13
4.              199         Nick Simmons     2003-06
5.              184         Chris Tschida     2014-Pr                 
6.              183         Brent Turner         2012-15
                  183         Tom Lilja                2009-12
8.              176         Troy Shelby        2000-03
9.             173         Cooper Stewart    2006-09
10.           169         Adam McGinnis    2014-Pr
 
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Players Mentioned

Cord Church

#17 Cord Church

OF
6' 2"
Senior
R/R
Preston Church

#24 Preston Church

LHP
6' 3"
Senior
L/L
Drue Galassi

#13 Drue Galassi

INF
6' 2"
Redshirt Freshman
L/R
Ian Koch

#23 Ian Koch

P
6' 4"
Sophomore
R/R
Adam McGinnis

#12 Adam McGinnis

C
5' 10"
Senior
R/R
Steve McShane

#39 Steve McShane

OF
5' 8"
Sophomore
R/R
Jimmy Perkins

#20 Jimmy Perkins

OF/P
5' 10"
Sophomore
R/R
Ben Sellers

#36 Ben Sellers

INF/P
6' 2"
Redshirt Freshman
L/L
Deion Thompson

#33 Deion Thompson

INF
6' 1"
Sophomore
R/R
Chris Tschida

#6 Chris Tschida

INF
6' 2"
Senior
R/R
Roman Visintine

#9 Roman Visintine

OF
6' 0"
Junior
L/R
Nate Westfahl

#19 Nate Westfahl

P
6' 2"
Senior
L/L

Players Mentioned

Cord Church

#17 Cord Church

6' 2"
Senior
R/R
OF
Preston Church

#24 Preston Church

6' 3"
Senior
L/L
LHP
Drue Galassi

#13 Drue Galassi

6' 2"
Redshirt Freshman
L/R
INF
Ian Koch

#23 Ian Koch

6' 4"
Sophomore
R/R
P
Adam McGinnis

#12 Adam McGinnis

5' 10"
Senior
R/R
C
Steve McShane

#39 Steve McShane

5' 8"
Sophomore
R/R
OF
Jimmy Perkins

#20 Jimmy Perkins

5' 10"
Sophomore
R/R
OF/P
Ben Sellers

#36 Ben Sellers

6' 2"
Redshirt Freshman
L/L
INF/P
Deion Thompson

#33 Deion Thompson

6' 1"
Sophomore
R/R
INF
Chris Tschida

#6 Chris Tschida

6' 2"
Senior
R/R
INF
Roman Visintine

#9 Roman Visintine

6' 0"
Junior
L/R
OF
Nate Westfahl

#19 Nate Westfahl

6' 2"
Senior
L/L
P