Western Swaps Home/Away Series with SIUE

Western Illinois baseball will now travel to Southern Illinois - Edwardsville Wednesday for a 6:30 p.m. matchup

MACOMB, Ill. - In a change of venue, Western Illinois baseball will now travel to Southern Illinois - Edwardsville Wednesday for a 6:30 p.m. matchup. The home/away series will swap locations with the Cougars now visiting Alfred D. Boyer Stadium Wednesday, April 25.

Last Outing
Western Illinois earned its first series win over Oral Roberts this past weekend. The Leathernecks defeated the three-time reigning Summit League champions by scores of 8-2 and 1-0 and dropped game two, 5-4.

The success not only captured the Leathernecks first series win over ORU, but also Ian Koch's first win over the program and Javin Drake's first win of the season.

Oral Roberts committed 12 errors in the three-game set while Western recorded four
Hits were virtually even with the Leathernecks posting one more than ORU, 22-21
The Leathernecks used seven pitchers and they combined for a 2.00 ERA on the weekend; Drake (6.0 IP), Jordan Mikel (3.1 IP), Colan Borchers (3.0 IP) and Sam Cottingham-Beard (2.2 IP) didn't surrender any runs

Start It Up
Western's regular rotation - Koch, Drake and Ryan Dunne - have been magic for the program.

Koch'N
Ian Koch currently ranks sixth in the conference with a 3.94 ERA. In 45.2 innings of play, he has 42 strikeouts which ranks third best in The Summit League, with two wins.

Job Well Dunne
Dunne sits atop the Summit League in strikeouts (53). He eclipsed his previous career-high with 10 Ks versus Oral Roberts, and the tally also marked the most recorded by a Leatherneck pitcher this season.

He was named the Summit League Pitcher of the Week (March 19) after surrendering a season-low three hits and no earned runs against North Dakota State. Dunne didn't allow a hit through the first five innings of play, and finished the game with seven strikeouts.

DraKe
Credited with the 1-0 shutout win over Oral Roberts, Drake recorded a career-high eight strikeouts. The victory marked his first of the season as well as back-to-back outings where he has pitched a season-high six innings.

The Wizard of Oz
Alex Dorethy is currently in the midst of a seven-game hitting streak. In four games, ORU and Bradley, he recorded 10 hits including a perfect 4-for-4 effort in game two against the Golden Eagles. He hit .556 on the week with five RBIs.

Keep It Going
Deion Thompson and Johnathan Fleek remain the only two Leathernecks to have competed in every game this season.

With a .263 batting average, Thompson continues to lead Western in RBIs (14), runs (15) and hits (25). Fleek is hitting .270 and ranks second on the team in hits (24) with eight RBIs.

Scouting the Opposition
SIUE currently manages an overall record of 7-22, and are in the midst of a four-game winless skid.

Brock Weimer and Aaron Goecks have a team-high 18 RBIs while Jordan Ross leads the Cougars with a .279 batting average.

On Deck
The Leathernecks will return to Alfred D. Boyer Stadium for a series against Omaha. Game one is scheduled for Friday at 3 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#16 Colan Borchers: RHP; 6' 2"; Senior; R/R

#42 Sam Cottingham-Beard: RHP; 6' 2"; Senior; R/R

#22 Alex Dorethy: INF/P; 6' 1"; Redshirt Freshman; L/L

#44 Javin Drake: P; 6' 4"; Sophomore; R/R

#35 Ryan Dunne: P; 6' 3"; Senior; R/R

#3 Johnathan Fleek: INF; 5' 7"; Senior; R/R

#23 Ian Koch: P; 6' 4"; Junior; R/R

#24 Deion Thompson: INF; 6' 1"; Junior; R/R

#25 Jordan Mikel: P; 6' 5"; Freshman; R/R

Players Mentioned

#16 Colan Borchers
: 6' 2"; Senior; R/R
: RHP

#42 Sam Cottingham-Beard
: 6' 2"; Senior; R/R
: RHP

#22 Alex Dorethy
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Freshman; L/L
: INF/P

#44 Javin Drake
: 6' 4"; Sophomore; R/R
: P

#35 Ryan Dunne
: 6' 3"; Senior; R/R
: P

#3 Johnathan Fleek
: 5' 7"; Senior; R/R
: INF

#23 Ian Koch
: 6' 4"; Junior; R/R
: P

#24 Deion Thompson
: 6' 1"; Junior; R/R
: INF

#25 Jordan Mikel
: 6' 5"; Freshman; R/R
: P