MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Day two of Middle Tennessee State's hosted spring tournament began satisfyingly for Western Illinois softball (9-11).

After dropping a 15-3 decision versus Mercer yesterday, the Leathernecks bounced back to defeat the Bears 9-2 in Sunday's (March 21) first test. It was the Sydney Hollings show during those two hours, as the fifth-year displayed an exceptional batting performance.

Facing the host team again, WIU hung around for as long as possible, but the Blue Raiders completed a 1-0 finish.

"We competed hard against two well-established programs this weekend," said WIU head softball coach Alisa Goler. "I'm especially happy with how hard we fought today in both games. We had a lot of moving pieces, lineup-wise, all weekend, and I felt each player was able to make the most of her opportunities."
 

WIU 9, Mercer 2

Piper Foote set the tempo with a leadoff single in the first inning. A Mercer wild pitch and groundout then allowed her to reach third. Kellie Marcheschi completed an RBI single to put WIU on the board first. Hollings crushed a homer to left field, bringing in herself and Marcheschi to extend Western's lead to 3-0 in a strongly started first frame.

Mercer tripled on its first hit in the second, eventually finishing its run on a groundout. WIU continued to demonstrate effective batting in the bottom half, as Meghan Henson and Ami Ill both singled. Foote smacked a 2 RBI double to right-center, upping the Leatherneck advantage to 5-1.

Western's stifling defense led to three scoreless innings before Mercer railed in another run on a single down the right-field line. The WIU batters again took over and put an exclamation mark on the morning meeting. Ill and Foote reached base on singles, and Abrianna Gracia helped the two advance on a sacrifice bunt. Marcheschi earned a walk, loading the bases. With two team outs, Hollings gave her squad its best hit of the spring: a grand slam down the left-field line. Abby Carlin caused two more Bears to go out swinging in the top of the seventh, and WIU ended the contest walk-off style.

Hollings' 4-run homer was the first of the season for Western and put her at a team-leading five dingers. Her six RBI was a season-high and tied for third all-time in individual game records. Foote and Ill contributed two hits apiece. Maddy Anderson took the pitching win (4-1) after 3.0 innings of work, while Carlin earned a save in 4.0 innings with four strikeouts.
 

MTSU 1, WIU 0

The Blue Raiders went ahead in the third, rushing in an unearned run on a WIU fielding error. It remained a battle of the defenses for much of the afternoon. Western's infield especially stood out in making quick plays, as Anderson tied for a game-high seven putouts. Gabriela Drager later subbed in at the same position to make three of her own. Gracia assisted on five of the team's 18 putouts.

In the bottom of the sixth, MTSU put two runners in scoring position after singling twice. However, Hollings and Drager teamed up on a double play to end the potential opportunity, giving Western one final shot on the batting end. Marcheschi singled on a short hit to lead off the seventh, but three consecutive outs finished the game for MTSU via walk-off.

Foote, Hudson, and Marcheschi all chipped in a hit each.

Western visits Missouri on Wednesday (March 24) for a late afternoon doubleheader. It will be a final contest before Summit League play begins that weekend.