What | Western Illinois (14-22, 4-8) at Omaha (7-21, 2-6)

Where | Connie Claussen Field (Omaha, Neb.)

When | Saturday, April 17 and Sunday, April 18 (noon & 3 p.m.)

Watch | Mavs All-Access

Twitter | @WIUSoftball
 

Quick Hits

• Week four of Summit League play has arrived, and Western Illinois softball remains on the road. A trip to face the Omaha Mavericks is set for this weekend

• WIU recently moved up to fifth in league standings. Omaha currently ties with Kansas City at sixth

• Abby Carlin has edged her way up into the top 10 for league pitchers. She ranks tenth within individuals - sporting a 4.16 ERA and having struck out 111 batters (second-highest)

• Sydney Hollings recorded her ninth homer of the season last Sunday (April 11) against North Dakota. Diving into the Western record books, her total ties for ninth-highest all-time in a single season. This mark also stands third-best in the league.

Previously…

WIU's series at North Dakota ended at a 2-2 split. The Leathernecks took a 2-1 win in Saturday's opener. Hollings contributed to the first run - delivering a sacrifice fly that brought home Ami Ill. Defensively, Western excelled in not allowing a UND batter to reach base after three periods. Alyssa Ealy helped her squad bump its lead to 2-0 by singling, stealing second, and scoring on a wild pitch. UND found its way on the board in the fourth - smacking an inside-the-park homer. The Fighting Hawks filled in bases a couple of additional times throughout the sixth inning, but WIU's defense ultimately proved too much. Carlin went the distance to secure a pitching win (5-10), allowing only one run and striking out three batters.

Game two saw UND secured a 3-0 shutout. The Fighting Hawks first scored on a Western error in the fourth after loading the bases. The host added a pair of runs an inning later and eventually ended the afternoon with a walk-off. Rodriguez struck out a game-high seven batters. Hollings, Abrianna Gracia, and Jorja Hudson all chipped in one hit each.

In terms of wins, day two was similar to the first. WIU again finished victorious in the first contest, 2-0, picking up its first league shutout. After making another RBI sacrifice fly early on, Hollings swung home a solo bomb deep out to the left side with two outs in the fifth. A focused, collective effort on defense steadied for the Leathernecks' first league shutout win. Maddy Anderson took the pitching win, while Rodriguez notched her second season save. Both pitchers struck out three Hawks.

Sunday's closer went to UND, 2-1. During the fourth, a run was marked on the board when the Fighting Hawks succeeded on a two-out RBI single right up the middle. An inning later, they stretched the advantage to 2-0 on another RBI single in the infield. It was in the top of the sixth when WIU recorded its first run. Piper Foote singled and then reached second on a passed ball. Ealy delivered her second hit, a single to center field, allowing Foote to rush through home base. Three pitches were all put into play by Western in the seventh, but UND completed a trio of outs to walk off with a series-closing win. Ealy's two hits and one RBI led the way.

A Historical Glance

These two foes first met back on May 16, 1975. Omaha is narrowly in front to hold bragging rights for the all-time series, 14-12. However, WIU has won the last four meetings. Three of those happened at the Mavericks' home field.

The Scout

Omaha is most recently coming off a 4-2 loss at Creighton yesterday (April 14), a break from league play… Lexi Burkhardt and Lynsey Tucker lead the Mavericks in hits, with 22 and 20, respectively… Tucker has also stolen seven total bases; fifth-best in the league… six other players have registered double-digits in hits… Emily Klosterman holds the most RBI (10)… On the pitching side, Sydney Hampton (3-7) has started 12 of 17 appearances and carries a 3.92 ERA… Kamryn Meyer's 99 batters struck out is the fourth-highest total in the Summit.

Weekends Well-Spent

This year, due to reductions in non-conference play for most programs, The Summit League has expanded its league schedule to four-game series, as opponents will face off in two doubleheaders each weekend. The previous league format was a three-game weekend series - one doubleheader and one single game. WIU has one remaining home series and a single-game matchup versus Eastern Illinois on April 22.