Who | Western Illinois (9-11) at Missouri (20-6, 1-2)

Where | Mizzou Softball Stadium (Columbia, Mo.)

When | Wednesday, March 24 - 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

Watch | SEC Network +

Twitter | @WIUSoftball

Quick Hits

• Before Summit League play officially launches this weekend, Western Illinois softball has a mid-week, non-conference challenge out of state once again. The Leathernecks visit Missouri on Wednesday for a late afternoon doubleheader

• As of today (March 23), Missouri stands at #18 in USA Today/NFCA Division I national rankings

• In her last three outings, Sydney Hollings has played excellent at the plate. The fifth-year infielder homered three times in as many games last weekend, putting her at a team-leading five long balls

• Sophomore pitcher Maddy Anderson is now 4-1 on the mound this season and holds a 2.83 ERA, which stands as sixth-best in the league

Previously…

Down in Murfreesboro, Tenn., for Middle Tennessee State's hosted spring tournament last weekend (March 20-21), WIU finished with a 1-3 record after two days. Mercer defeated the Leathernecks in the tournament opener, 15-3. 

Hanging tough against MTSU in game two on Saturday, Hollings had a solo bomb in the second inning before MTSU doubled to even things 1-1 late in the third. Both sides' staggering defense continued well into the sixth until the Blue Raiders homered to right-center, going ahead 2-1. Hollings and Meghan Henson both reached base off of hits in the seventh's opening at-bats. An error by MTSU allowed Hollings to rush through home plate, and the score was again tied, 2-2. MTSU's batters would then take over to advance a runner to third base and ultimately finished the afternoon on an RBI bunt.

Day two started with Hollings putting on an absolute show in a rematch versus Mercer. She tallied six RBI and two hits, including a 4-run homer that was the first of the season for WIU. Her RBI numbers were also a season-high and tied for third all-time in individual game records. Foote and Ill contributed two hits apiece. Anderson took the pitching win after 3.0 innings of work, while Carlin earned a save in 4.0 innings with four strikeouts.

The tournament closer, versus MTSU again, was a battle of the defenses for much of its duration after the Blue Raiders scored a third inning unearned run after Western committed a fielding error. In the bottom of the sixth, MTSU put two runners in scoring position after singling twice. However, Hollings and Gabriela Drager teamed up on a double play to end the potential opportunity, giving WIU 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.

A Historical Glance

This all-time series started back in April of 1982, and the Tigers currently lead 40-5. The two most recent matchups happened during a doubleheader on April 25, 2018, where Missouri took two shutout wins.

The Scout

Missouri is 20-6 overall on the year with a 4-0 clip at home… eight Tigers have totaled 18 or more hits… Kimberly Wert is one of the biggest threats within the pen, leading the team with 10 homers on a .392 batting average… Jenna Laird and Brooke Wilmes are tied at 22 RBI apiece… Wilmes is also 8-9 in stolen base attempts… pitchers Megan Schumacher (5-1) and Emma Nichols (3-2) both sit at a 2.26 ERA… Laurin Krings has struck out 50 hitters… Missouri is currently outhitting its opponents 245-162.