LEATHERNECKS ON BACKEND OF ROADTRIP: Western Illinois is on the backend of an eight-game roadtrip, playing three at Omaha… Western will travel to Iowa next Tuesday then return to Alfred D. Boyer Stadium the following weekend.
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LAST YEAR: Western Illinois took 2-of-3 from the Mavericks in Omaha the opening weekend in April, losing the opener but taking the final two games… In May, Western took the opener at home but lost the final two games to split the season series 3-3.
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SCOUTING THE MAVERICKS: Omaha is currently tied with Western Illinois at 4-5 in the Summit League, starting off with a three-game sweep at the hands of South Dakota State, lost 2-of-3 to NDSU and swept Fort Wayne on the road… The Mavs are hitting .227 as a team, fielding .955 and a 6.17 team ERA… Grant Supponchick (.278) is one of three hitters batting .270 or higher, followed by Cole Thibodeau (.277) and Marcus Ethen (.273)… Corey Binger (3-4, 3.35 ERA) leads the team with 43 innings pitched and has fanned 32 batters to only seven walks allowed… Sam Murphy owns a 1-4 record and 5.18 ERA but fanned a team-leading 37 batters in 33 innings… James Smith (0-2, 5.24) has the team's lone save in his 11 appearances.
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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.
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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'.
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LAST TIME OUT: Johnathan Fleek matched a season-high of three hits but Western Illinois dropped a 9-3 decision at SIU-Edwardsville on Tuesday… Fleek drove in a run in the ninth inning, Austin Emanuel hit a RBI single in the ninth, Roman Visintine lined a double in the first, and Chris Tschida lined a single for the team's offense… Western's pitchers gave up eight hits but walked 10 batters.
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NUMBERS ON THE RISE: Since starting the year 0-11, Western is 7-8 following the recent loss at SIUE… Western is batting .249 in that span with a 3.03 ERA and .965 fielding percentage… The nine runs allowed were a high in that span, as Western had just given up 43 runs in 14 games… Johnathan Fleek is batting .400 in that span with nine RBI in 15 games, and has walked seven times to only five strikeouts… Adam McGinnis is at .311 with three doubles, 10 runs scored, 12 walks and just three strikeouts… The Leathernecks owns edges in slugging percentage (.335/.327), on-base percentage (.358/.341) and stolen 28 bases to 10 by the opponents… The team's ERA of 3.03 is keyed with the weekend starters Javin Drake (0.73 ERA) and Preston Church (2.16) combining for eight earned runs in 49.2 innings.
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TSCHIDA REWRITING CAREER RECORDS: Senior Chris Tschida moved into a tie for eighth place in hits with 175 (tying Brad Owens). He's six shy of tying for fifth place… His 176 games played tie him with Troy Shelby for seventh place all-time… With seven career triples, Tschida needs two more to tie for ninth place.
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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… He needs two more to tie Brian Loconsole for second place.
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DIAMOND STEALING: Western recorded a season-high eight stolen bases against Robert Morris, including a career-high two steals from Chris Tschida… The team is currently 44-of-63 in 26 games… Johnathan Fleek (5-11) and Deion Thompson (5-6) are tied for the team lead… Right behind with four are: Adam McGinnis, Roman Visintine, Tschida, Cord Church and Steve McShane… In all, everyone on the team with at least 19 at-bats have a minimum one steal.
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NATIONAL RANKINGS: Western leads The Summit League and rank 49th averaging 0.96 double plays turned per game… The 31 hit batters on offense lead the Summit and rank 67th nationally… Western's 1.69 stolen bases average lead the conference and ranks 'Top 25' nationally… Johnathan Fleek's .355 batting average is second in the conference… Preston Church's 6.75 hits allowed per nine innings leads the Summit… Adam McGinnis ranks 45th nationally with his conference-leading toughest to strikeout ratio (13.0 AB)… Roman Visintine leads the Summit and is 42nd nationally with three triples.
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SUMMIT LEAGUE ONLY NUMBERS: Western Illinois' numbers in Summit League play, despite being just one-game under .500 at 4-5, are vastly improved for pitching and defense… The Leathernecks are fielding at a .966 clip through nine games… The team ERA dropped to 2.57 (second-best in league) after giving up just six runs all weekend at league-leading Oral Roberts… Javin Drake is tied for the league lead with a 0.42 ERA (1 run in 21.1 innings)… Preston Church is tied for third in ERA (1.29 in 21 innings)… Church and Drake also rank among the league leaders in opponent batting average, .159 and .192, respectively… Adam McGinnis and Johnathan Fleek tie for the team lead with a .333 batting average… Nate Westfahl earned both of his saves in league play… The three weekend starters – Drake, Church and Ian Koch – have combined for all four wins… Despite the 4-5 record, Western lost a 1-0 decision each of the last two series finales on Sundays, with both winning runs crossing the plate in the final inning.
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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.
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HIT FOR THE CYCLE, SORT OF: Sophomore 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.
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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.
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TEAM NOTES:
• Western picked off eight runners to date, three by Ian Koch.
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• When Western recorded a 5-2 win at Oral Roberts in game two of the series, it snapped a 38-game road losing streak to the Golden Eagles in Tulsa.
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• Adam McGinnis has thrown out 8-of-21 runners trying to steal.
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• Roman Visintine leads The Summit League with three triples, and his eight doubles are tied for fourth (two shy of the lead).
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• Ian Koch is one out shy of the conference lead (42.2 IP). His 30 strikeouts tie for sixth.
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FOOTBALL/BASEBALL DUO: Sophomore outfielders Justin Fitzpatrick and Steve McShane begin their second year playing both football and baseball...
           McShane earned Second Team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors at running back, finishing with 917 rushing yards (2nd most in the MVFC) and team-leading eight touchdowns. McShane was a MVFC 'Offensive Player of the Week' and Honorable Mention 'National Offensive Player of the Week' following his career-high 207 rushing yards and two touchdowns at Eastern Illinois. It was the first of his three 100-yard rushing games. He added 234 receiving yards on 23 catches and a TD in 11 games.
           Fitzpatrick played in all 11 games last season as a defensive back. He made 19 tackles on the year, 16 of which were solos, and broke up three passes. Fitzpatrick recorded a career-high seven tackles against Northern Arizona and South Dakota State.
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