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Emily Ira FP vs. NDSU SL Champs (May 11)
4
Winner Western Illinois WIU 22-30
3
North Dakota State NDSU 24-31
Winner
Western Illinois WIU
22-30
4
Final
3
North Dakota State NDSU
24-31
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Western Illinois WIU 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 4 7 0
North Dakota State NDSU 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 5 0

W: Ira, Emily (12-14) L: Sertic (16-22)

Game Recap: Softball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Emily Ira Strikes Out 13 as Leathernecks Best North Dakota State 4-3

The Leathernecks advance to the semifinals undefeated and face No. 1 IUPUI Friday at 1 p.m.

FARGO, N.D. – Western Illinois topped the No. 2 North Dakota State Bison 4-3 Thursday afternoon (May 11) in The 2017 Summit League Tournament behind another impressive performance from the league's 'Pitcher of the Year' Emily Ira. Western's win over NDSU in Fargo is the program's first since the 2012 season.
 
Ira finished the game with 13 strikeouts, which is the third-most ever in a Summit League Tournament game. The sophomore from Iowa City, Iowa, went the distance, giving up three runs on five hits without surrendering a walk in the seven innings of action.
 
"Before the game we talked to Emily (Ira) about making sure she was spinning her pitches and hitting her spots, and if she did that we knew we would have a chance," said head coach Holly Van Vlymen. "The Bison are always a great team… they never stop fighting. So we knew we had to go out there, commit to the pitch and hope that it all worked out."
 
Western, who is the No. 3 seed in the tournament, improves to 22-30 overall on the season after the win. NDSU fell to 24-31 on the year after the loss.
 
After neither team was able to get anyone on base in the first inning, Holly Hoelting drew a leadoff walk to start the second before Hailey Duwa smashed her sixth home run of the season over the center field fence to put Western up 2-0.
 
The Leathernecks added a third run in the third inning. Sam Ralphs, who reached on a leadoff bunt single, was hit home thanks to an RBI single to left field off the bat of Kelsey Marlow to give WIU a 3-0 advantage.
 
With one out in the bottom of the fourth inning, North Dakota State tied the game when Vanessa Anderson hit a 3-run home run to right center field off of Ira, who hadn't allowed a Bison to reach base through the first three innings.
 
WIU quickly regained the lead in the top of the fifth. Nina Maggio opened the inning with a single before Hoelting walked with one out. Both runners then advanced into scoring position after a wild pitch before Halle Hollatz hit an RBI single up the middle sending Hoelting in to score what proved to be the game-winning run.
 
The Bison were retired in order in the bottom of the fifth before getting two runners on with two outs in the sixth. Ira then ended the threat with her 11th strikeout of the game before retiring NDSU 1-2-3 in the bottom of the seventh to close the game, including back-to-back strikeouts.
 
"(Our team) has done a great job all tournament so far, especially after yesterday's game, of just making sure to fight back no matter what happens," said Van Vlymen about NDSU tying the game in the fifth. "It wasn't going to matter if NDSU came out and scored several runs right away, we were going to fight and have good energy no matter what."
 
Ira improved to 12-14 in the year in the circle, while NDSU's Jacquelyn Sertic dropped to 16-22 on the season. Sertic gave up four runs on seven hits while striking out six and walking four.
 
Six Leathernecks recorded a hit, led by Ira who tallied two. Duwa's homer gave her a team-best two RBIs and Hoelting led the team with two runs scored.
 
NDSU's Anderson led the Bison with two hits including her game-tying 3-run home run.
 
Western advances to the semifinals were it's slated to face No. 1 IUPUI Friday (May 12) at 1 p.m. Earlier this season WIU took 2-of-3 from the Jags in Macomb, winning games one (6-1) and two (11-6) before falling in the series finale, 10-5.
 
The winner of WIU vs. IUPUI will advance to Saturday's championship game undefeated, and the loser will fall into the losers bracket and face North Dakota State in an elimination game at 3:30 p.m. Friday.
 
To view the most up-to-date bracket, click HERE.
 
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