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Rachael Keating

Leatherneck Baseball Opens Season at No. 4 Louisville

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

Western Illinois begins the 2021 season at No. 4 Louisville on Friday (Feb. 26) at 2 p.m.

Who | Western Illinois (0-0) at No. 4 Louisville (4-0)
When | Friday (Feb. 26) at 2 p.m. - Saturday (Feb. 27) at Noon - Sunday (Feb. 28) at Noon 
Where | Jim Patterson Stadium - Louisville, Ky. 
Watch | ACCNX 
Social Media | Twitter + Facebook #TRADITIONofTOUGH

First Pitch | After the original season opener at Central Arkansas was canceled last week due to winter weather, the Western Illinois baseball team opens the 2021 season at No. 4 Louisville on Friday at 2 p.m.  

Tickets / COVID-19 Protocols | For more information regarding protocols and ticketing at Louisville, visit here. 

Headlines 
  • Head coach Andy Pascoe enters his second season at the helm of Western Illinois and is currently the third youngest head coach in division I baseball. 
  • On Tuesday (Feb. 16), Trent Bauer was named a Summit League Player to Watch and Austin Edwards was selected as a Summit League Pitcher to Watch. 
  • Freshman Brett Sears will get the opening day start on Friday, Jace Warkentien is set to start game two followed by Chandler Fochs in the series finale.  
  • Friday marks the sixth meeting between both programs with WIU trailing all-time 1-5, the last meeting both sides happened in the 2014 season where No. 10 Louisville won both games. 
  • The Leathernecks last defeated Louisville 20-12 on March 24, 1991, on the road. 
  • WIU last win (16-8) against a ranked opponent came against No. 24 Iowa in 2015, the Leathernecks notably defeated No. 1 Arkansas in 2013 on opening weekend. 
  • Western returns its team-leaders in every offensive, defensive and pitching category. 
  • Leatherneck baseball welcomed nine newcomers for the 2021 season with five transfers and four from the high school ranks. 
  • WIU returns 27 players from the 2020 campaign, highlighted by seven starters. 

Record Book Meeting | When Western Illinois and Louisville first met on the diamond on March 23, 1991, the programs combined for 58 runs with the Cardinals holding on for a 28-26 victory. The game featured the all-time Division I record with 17 home runs (WIU-6, LOU-11) and 110 total bases. WIU's 26 runs are also the second most by a losing team. 

Scouting the Opposition | Ranked No. 4, Louisville is coming off a weekend sweep of Bellarmine and a midweek win over Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday… the Cardinals were selected as the AAC preseason poll favorite with 11 of 13 first-place votes… six players received preseason All-American recognition… outfielder Cameron Masternam was named ACC co-Player of the Week… Louisville finished runners-up at the College World Series in 2019.

The Return | Shortly after the 2020 season was canceled, seniors Trenton Bauer, Kevin Raisbeck, and Jackson Gray were granted an extra year of eligibility. The transfer trio has combined for 133 games in the Purple and Gold, including helping set the program's all-time Summit League victories (16) and handing Oral Roberts, the 18-time league champion, it's first-ever sweep in league play. 

Preseason Hardware | Earlier this month, freshman Chase VanDerGinst was named to the Perfect Game Preseason All-Conference team for the Summit League. He played in nine games with five starts and concluded the season on a five-game hit streak that featured two multi-hit games to end the shortened season with a .386 average and a .455 OBP.  

Quick Start | Catcher Jayden Gibson made his collegiate debut and season opener last year at Tennessee, one to remember as he recorded both of Western's two hits in the series opener. Off his bat in the second inning, he collected the Leathernecks' first hit of the season and later singled up the middle in the bottom of the eighth. Gibson also threw out a runner at second in the bottom of the sixth. 

Bullpen | The WIU bullpen returns 13 of 15 arms from last season, led by the team-leaders in appearances, starts, strikeouts, and innings pitched. In back-to-back games at Mizzou last year, the Leatherneck relievers tossed up zeros. The combination of three relievers - Chandler Fochs (7.0), Brian Raymond (4.0), and Jack Carberry (2.2) - tossed 13.2 innings of shutout ball and have held the Tigers to six hits. 

Newcomers | Nine newcomers will suit up for the Purple and Gold this season - Derek Botaletto, Kory Olsen, Caden Kratz, Collin Drake, Christian McKelvey, Gavin Terry, Thurman Thomas III, Jacob Greenan, and Will Jaynes. 

On Deck | Western travels to Southern Illinois on Tuesday (March 2) for a midweek matchup, then heads to Evansville for a four-game series against the Purple Aces on March 5-7.  
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