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Rachel Beatty FP
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Rachel Beatty celebrates after scoring WIU's game-winning run in game one of the doubleheader
0
NDSU NDSU 18-26
1
Winner Western Illinois WIU 19-24
NDSU NDSU
18-26
0
Final
1
Western Illinois WIU
19-24
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
NDSU NDSU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Western Illinois WIU 0 0 0 0 0 1 X 1 2 2

W: Ira, Emily (10-11) L: Jacquelyn Sertic (12-19)

11
Winner NDSU NDSU 19-26
3
Western Illinois WIU 19-25
Winner
NDSU NDSU
19-26
11
Final
3
Western Illinois WIU
19-25
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 R H E
NDSU NDSU 3 0 3 3 2 11 13 0
Western Illinois WIU 1 0 0 0 2 3 6 0

W: KK Leddy (7-7) L: Stulga, Brooke (6-9)

Game Recap: Softball | | WIU Athletic Communications

WIU Softball Remains in First Place after Splitting Summit League Doubleheader with NDSU

Western Illinois topped North Dakota State 1-0 behind Emily Ira’s complete game shutout before falling to NDSU in game two, 11-3

PHOTOS

MACOMB, Ill. – The first-place Western Illinois softball team beat North Dakota State in the opening game of Saturday's (April 22) Summit League doubleheader 1-0 behind another dominate pitching performance from sophomore Emily Ira. The Leathernecks then fell to the Bison in game two, 11-3.
 
WIU moves to 19-25 overall and 10-4 in league action, while NDSU is 19-26 overall and 6-5 in league play after the doubleheader split.

Saturday's doubleheader also featured a #TeamReid Super Hero Event featuring Reid Brewer, a local 6-year-old boy battling Neuroblastoma for the second time. Reid was WIU softball's celebrity for the day. Photos of the event and the doubleheader can be found at the link at the top of this recap.
 
GAME ONE: WIU 1, NDSU 0
 
Emily Ira was nearly perfect in Western's 1-0 victory over the Bison as she opened the contest by striking out the first nine batters she faced and totaled 15 in the game. The Iowa City native only gave up one hit and didn't walk anyone on her way to her third complete-game shutout of the season.
 
NDSU's Jacquelyn Sertic was also effective in the pitchers duel. She only allowed two hits and one run while striking out six and walking one.
 
The Leathernecks were the first to get a runner on base in game one when Holly Hoelting walked in the bottom of the second. She then advanced to second when Hailey Duwa laid down a sacrifice bunt to third.
 
With only one out Aly Compton singled up the middle, moving Hoelting to third, and Compton advanced to second on the throw to put two Leathernecks in scoring position. Both of those runners ended up stranded, though, as Ira grounded out to third and Taylor Messer struck out swinging to end WIU's threat in the second.
 
In the top of the fourth, Stephanie Soriano recorded NDSU's lone single with one out before advancing to second on a passed ball. Ira regrouped quickly and struck out consecutive batters to end the half inning and keep the game at 0-0.
 
It took until the bottom of the sixth for either team to record another hit when WIU's Rachel Beatty ripped a triple to right center field with only one out. Nina Maggio then hit a sacrifice fly to center sending Beatty in for what proved to be the game-winning run.
 
Ira then sat down all three batters in the top of the seventh to seal the 1-0 shutout.
 
Beatty and Compton tallied Western's lone hits in the game, and Maggio had WIU's lone RBI.
 
GAME TWO: NDSU 11, WIU 3
 
Game two was all North Dakota State as the Bison jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the top of the first inning thanks to a 2-run double and a sacrifice fly.
 
Western then led off the bottom of the first with a solo home run from Rachel Beatty, her third of the season, to cut the Leathernecks' deficit to two, 3-1. WIU then loaded the bases, but Duwa hit into a 5-2-3 double play and Compton grounded out to second to end the first inning.
 
North Dakota State then scored eight runs over the next three innings to extend its lead to 11-1. The Bison used a 3-run home run in the third, scored three more in the fourth courtesy of an RBI double and a 2-run single, and tacked on two more in the firth courtesy of an RBI groundout and an RBI single.
 
Beatty walked to begin the bottom of the fifth for WIU. Maggio then singled down the left field line and advanced to second on the throw to put two runners in scoring position with no outs for the Leathernecks.
 
After Kelsey Marlow flew out to center field, Hoelting hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Beatty and move Maggio to third. Duwa then hit an RBI single sending Maggio in to score to make it 11-3, but NDSU pitcher KK Leddy forced Compton to fly out to right field for our number three, ending the game after five innings due to the NCAA's 8-run rule.
 
Leddy pitched a complete game and picked up the win for the Bison. She totaled five strikeouts and gave up three runs on six total hits.
 
Brooke Stulga suffered the loss for Western, pitching a total of 1.2 innings. She started the contest, was relieved by Payton Abbot after just 0.1 innings, and re-entered in the fourth with two outs. Stulga gave up six runs on eight hits. Abbott gave up five runs on five hits.
 
Marlow led WIU at the plate going 2-for-3. Four other Leathernecks recorded a hit, and Beatty, Duwa and Heolting each picked up an RBI.
 
The series will be decided Sunday at 11 a.m. when the Leathernecks and Bison face-off in game three of the series.
 
Prior to the game Western Illinois will recognize its 2017 seniors: Holly Hoelting, Nina Maggio, Amanda Manton, Taylor Messer and Erin Rossetto.
 
 
   
 
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