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Western Illinois University Athletics

Sydney Hollings
Sarah Elsner
0
Fort Wayne FW 14-21
5
Winner Western Illinois WIU 11-22
Fort Wayne FW
14-21
0
Final
5
Western Illinois WIU
11-22
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Fort Wayne FW 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
Western Illinois WIU 2 0 0 0 1 2 X 5 9 0

W: Ira, Emily (5-7) L: Bailey Benefiel (9-7)

9
Fort Wayne FW 14-22
10
Winner Western Illinois WIU 12-22
Fort Wayne FW
14-22
9
Final
10
Western Illinois WIU
12-22
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Fort Wayne FW 0 7 0 0 2 0 0 9 12 2
Western Illinois WIU 2 5 0 0 1 0 2 10 12 2

W: Abbott, Payton (3-2) L: A. Benham (1-7)

Game Recap: Softball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Ira Dominates In Game One; Ealy The Hero In Fifth-Straight Victory

The Leathernecks clinched the series win on Saturday

MACOMB,Ill.- It was a tale of two games on Saturday as Western Illinois displayed dominance in the circle in its 5-0 victory over Fort Wayne and its power at the plate in its 10-9 win against Fort Wayne on Saturday inside Mary Ellen McKee Stadium. The Purple and Gold have now won five-straight contests and have clinched the series against Fort Wayne.
 
"In both games today, we made sure we played together and that we trusted and believed in each other. I think that is why we were able to come away with two wins today. Emily was dominant in the circle and our defense was incredibly solid behind her," said head coach Beth Golitko. "In the second game, we knew that Fort Wayne was going to come out with a lot of intensity. They did a good job of keeping us off balance in the early innings, but we trusted each other and won. Brooke did well when we needed her in the circle and Alyssa (Ealy) came up huge."
 
GAME ONE
 
The Leathernecks scored twice in the first inning to go up 2-0, and that was all Emily Ira needed as the Purple and Gold cruised to the 5-0 victory over the Mastodons.
Fort Wayne walked home a run in the first inning and after an infield fly call, the Leathernecks plated the second run of the first frame.
 
Sydney Hollings continued her impressive streak at the plate, as she hit a solo home run to left field in the fifth inning to put Western Illinois up 3-0. In the sixth inning with two runners on, Hailey Duwa smacked a double to center field to score Kelsey Marlow and Ashley Minyard.
 
Ira pitched her ninth complete game of the season in game one, yielding just two hits while striking out five Mastodons.  Jasmine Lara finished the game going 2-for-four, while Duwa ended going 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
 
The Leathernecks blanked their opponent for the fifth time on Saturday, while winning their first game when scoring in the first two innings of a contest.
 
GAME TWO
 
Western Illinois found itself down a run in the seventh inning and after Halle Hollatz and Meghan Henson got on base, Alyssa Ealy knew it was her time to shine.
 With two outs, down in the count 0-2, and the winning run on second base, the freshman belted a double over the right fielder's head to win the game in the bottom of the seventh frame.
 
"At first I was nervous, but I knew winning was more important than my nerves right now and I wanted to do it for my teammates," said Ealy. "We work so hard every day and I knew it was my opportunity to give back to my team for all of their hard work."
 
The Purple and Gold jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning because of a throwing error by the Mastodons, but the 'Dons' offense made up for it in the second frame, by scoring seven.
 
It didn't take Western long to recover; as WIU posted five runs in the bottom of the second to take the game at seven runs apiece. Henson and Rachel Beatty led off with back-to-back singles and Lara walked to load the bases. Fort Wayne made another throwing error in the inning, resulting in four Leatherneck runs. Down 7-6, Payton Abbot launched a solo home run over the right field wall to tie up the game.
 
Fort Wayne took the lead in the fifth inning with an RBI single that drove in two runs and the Leathernecks found themselves trailing 9-7. Henson drove in a run with a double to right center in the bottom of the fifth to cut the lead to just one run.
 
Abbott came into the circle for the final two innings and kept the Mastodon lead to just one run before Ealy played hero in the seventh.
 
Henson ended the contest going 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Abbott and Hollatz each recorded a pair of hits.
 
The Leathernecks look to win their six-straight win and second consecutive series sweep tomorrow at 11 a.m. inside Mary Ellen McKee Stadium.
 
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