TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
MACOMB, Ill.- The Western Illinois softball team travels to Lawrence, Kansas, on Thursday for its final tournament of the 2018 slate. The Rock Chalk Challenge, hosted by the University of Kansas, begins Thursday (March 15), with the Leathernecks taking on the host at 4:30 p.m. and UMKC at 7 p.m. Western continues play on Friday with games against Northern Colorado (11:30 a.m.) and Saint Louis (2 p.m.) before concluding the tournament Saturday at 9 a.m. against Murray State.
LAST TIME OUT: The Purple and Gold are coming from the Wichita State Tournament, a slate in which Western Illinois went 0-4. The Leathernecks were victims of three walk-off hits, and the only game not to follow the trend was the first matchup against Missouri State.
GIVE US THE SOUTHPAW: Although a small sample size (546 at-bats against right-handed pitchers and 63 at-bats against left-handed pitchers), the Leathernecks have hit significantly better against left-handed pitchers. As a team, Western hits .302 against southpaws compared to just .251 against right-handed pitchers.
SAM-I-AM: Sam Ralphs is the only player on the Leathernecks' roster to record a pinch hit this season.
BRING 'EM AROUND: Payton Abbott has been impressive with runners on base. She is hitting .429 with runners in scoring position, which leads Western Illinois' players that have more than three at-bats in the position.
FAB 5: Jasmine Lara, Payton Abbott, Halle Hollatz, Brooke Stulga and Kelsey Marlow have started in all 24 games to start the season.
LEADING THE BUNCH: Jasmine Lara leads the team in many a category. The sophomore paces Western in batting average (.328), runs (12), walks (11) and on-base percentage (.423). This year has been no sophomore slump for the Bettendorf, Iowa, native. In her freshman campaign, she finished the year batting .219 with 12 walks and 19 runs.
DIFFERENT SOURCE OF POWER: Through 23 contests last season, the Leathernecks recorded eight home runs and 27 doubles. So far in 2018, Western Illinois has logged only six home runs, but have hit 30 doubles. Hailey Duwa leads the team with six two-baggers.
SCOUTING THE JAYHAWKS: Kansas comes into the tournament with a 17-5 record. This past weekend (March 8-10), the Jayhawks hosted the Jayhawk Invitational. Kansas went 1-2 over the weekend on their home diamond, highlighted by a win over UMKC.
SCOUTING THE BEARS: University of Northern Colorado has posted a 14-13 overall record this season. Most recently, the Bears split with UC-Davis (Lost 2-1, Won 1-0) in two low-scoring affairs. The Bears are led by Lauren Paige, who is hitting at a .319 clip with 69 at-bats this season.
SCOUTING THE RACERS: Murray State is 8-13 so far this season, but have won its last two of three games, posting a 2-0 win against Rhode Island and a 7-6 win over Oakland. The Racers are led by Haven Campbell, who has posted a 5-6 record with a 3.56 ERA.
SCOUTING THE ROOS: UMKC is led by Olivia Fluehr, who is batting .320 with five home runs. The Roos have posted a 5-14 record thus far and have fell in four of their last five contests.
SCOUTING THE BILLIKENS: This will be the second time this season that the Leathernecks and Billikens have met, with the Leathernecks claiming the first game, 3-2. Saint Louis is 10-9 on the season and have been victors in six of its last seven contests.
ON DECK: This will be the last weekend of tournament play for the Leathernecks in their 2018 slate. Western Illinois plays Bradley on March 21 to end non-league play. On March 30, the Purple and Gold travel to Vermillion, South Dakota, for its first league matchup against South Dakota.
BUNTS
• Western Illinois is currently in the middle of a stretch of 28 straight games on the road
• Each of the last three games have ended in walk-off fashion, each going against the Leathernecks
• Payton Abbott has been impressive of late, as she has reached base in nine straight ballgames, which leads the team
• Western Illinois has not been good in close games, as the Leathernecks are just 1-9 in games that are decided by just one run
• The Leathernecks have also struggled late in ballgames, as they are 0-6 when tied after the fifth inning
•Three Leathernecks (Hailey Duwa, Abby Carlin and Emily Ira) are on a three-game hitting streak, which leads the team. The Leathernecks only recorded one hit (Ashley Minyard) against Missouri State on March 10
• When Hollatz hits third, the Leathernecks are 6-9, the best winning percentage of any player in any position.
• WIU is vying for its first true road win of the season, as the Leathernecks are 0-7 in true road games this season.
• The Leathernecks have not won a game in which they have scored less than two runs.
