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Western Illinois University Athletics

Halle Hollatz
Sarah Elsner
3
Fort Wayne FW 14-23
7
Winner Western Illinois WIU 13-22
Fort Wayne FW
14-23
3
Final
7
Western Illinois WIU
13-22
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Fort Wayne FW 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 4 0
Western Illinois WIU 2 1 3 0 1 0 X 7 9 1

W: Ira, Emily (6-7) L: A. Benham (1-8)

Game Recap: Softball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Leathernecks' Power Lifts WIU Over Fort Wayne

Western Illinois completed the sweep with a 7-3 victory

MACOMB, Ill.- The Leathernecks launched four home runs in the 7-3 victory over Fort Wayne on Sunday to complete the series sweep. After the win, Western Illinois has won six-straight contests, a feat that had not been done since 2012.

"Heating up in league play is just something that Western Illinois softball usually does. When league play starts, we try not to press too hard and just work on the little things," said head coach Beth Golitko. "When it comes to hitting, we just try not to overdo it.  Hitting is all about timing and pitch selection, so we don't want to work on mechanics too much. We trusted our training today and played extremely well."

After Fort Wayne led off with a first inning home run, Western Illinois took an early lead in the bottom of the first after Hailey Duwa and Halle Hollatz each drove in a run.

Meghan Henson blasted her second home run of the season in the second inning to put the Leathernecks up 3-1. Top power continued for the Purple and Gold in the third inning as Duwa and Payton Abbott homered on back-to-back pitches to give Western Illinois a 6-0 advantage.

In the fourth inning, Fort Wayne's Demitra Burns pinch hit and put a ball over the fence for a two-run home run to cut the WIU lead to 6-3. 

Halle Hollatz captured the Leathernecks' last run of the contest with a home run in the fifth inning to push across WIU's final run of the ballgame. 

Ira pitched a complete game in the circle for WIU, yielding four hits and three runs, while fanning seven Mastodons. 

Hollatz and Duwa led the Leathernecks over the weekend, as each hit .500 with five hits and a home run. Duwa recorded five RBIs and compiled a .583 on-base percentage. Ira was dominant in the circle all weekend, pitching 14 innings while totaling 12 strikeouts. Her weekend ERA was 1.50 and Mastodons hit at a .128 clip against her.

The Leathernecks are back in action against Iowa State on April 14 in Ames, Iowa. 
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