What | Western Illinois (16-24, 6-10) vs. Eastern Illinois (19-15, 11-10)

Where | Macomb, Ill. (Mary Ellen McKee Stadium)

When | Thursday, April 22 (3:30 p.m.)

Watch | Leatherneck All-Access

Twitter | @WIUSoftball
 

Quick Hits

• A two-week road stretch has concluded for Western Illinois softball, as the group welcomes Eastern Illinois to Macomb on Thursday (April 22).

• WIU split 2-2 during its Summit League series at Omaha last weekend, picking up a win in each of the two doubleheaders

• Sydney Hollings currently leads the Leathernecks with ten home runs. That mark stands third-highest in the league and also ranks eighth in Western's record books for single-season totals. She is the first WIU player to reach double-digit homers since Jess Stanforth in 2005

• The EIU matchup is one of two remaining non-league games WIU will partake in this year. A trip to DePaul on May 8 serves as the regular-season finale
   

Previously…

It was the 'Savannah Rodriguez show' on day one of Western's stay at Omaha. She homered twice in as many games, extending her season total to seven. WIU took a 3-1 victory in the series opener on Saturday (April 17). Abby Carlin shined in the circle, pitching all seven innings and putting away five batters. Rodriguez's three hits and two RBI were both game-highs. Marcheschi chipped in an RBI.

Game two ended in the Mavericks' favor. Play remained scoreless until the bottom of the third when an Omaha baserunner made her way around to home on an RBI single. With Hollings and Ill on corner bases in the sixth, Rodriguez smacked her second homer of the afternoon to left-center, piling in three RBI for Western's first lead. Omaha had a quick answer when it was its turn to bat in the sixth. First, the team evened things 3-3 by plating two runs on a double. On the following at-bat, a triple to right-field racked in a go-ahead run. WIU aimed to make something happen in the seventh, but three straight outs ended the contest with a walk-off.

Omaha started Sunday (April 18) strong with a 9-1 game one win. Hollings connected on a solo homer on the first pitch in the fourth period. It ended up being the Leathernecks' lone hit. She, Rodriguez, and Gabriela Drager all drew a walk each. Drager and Kellie Marcheschi paced the defense with four putouts apiece.

Western got off to a much quicker start, offensively, in the series closer. The Leathernecks went up 3-0 after two innings. Omaha, however, saw daylight during its turn to bat in the second. A dinger right down the left line plated two runs as the Mavericks trailed 3-2. The game's pace slowed down considerably afterward. A few more WIU hits were scattered through the next few innings. Omaha also found its way on base during the stretch, but Western did an admirable job keeping its defensive focus in not allowing any further runs. Carlin picked up the win after performing work in all seven innings. Rodriguez and Drager both finished with two hits, while four other WIU batters chipped in one apiece.
 

A Historical Glance

This all-time series unfolded back in 1974, as Western currently leads 49-29-1. The two programs last met in Feb. 2018, where EIU picked up two wins at a neutral location.
 

Summit Marks

Nearing the season's final stretch, Rodriguez maintains her place within the league's top ten in batting average. She has slid to the seventh spot on the list. The junior also ranks fifth in hits (39) and tenth as a pitcher (4.16 ERA). Carlin recently jumped to seventh place in the pitching category - holding a 4.00 ERA and having struck out 123 batters (second-best in the Summit).
 

The Scout

Jade Montgomery (6-10) has spent the most time in the circle for EIU - starting 18 of 23 appearances… she carries a 3.36 ERA and 60 strikeouts… a total of 10 Panthers have registered double-digit numbers in hits this spring… Megan Burton, Morgan Lewis, Haley Mitchell are up to 30+ hits each… Burton and Mitchell also hold 14 and 10 homers, respectively… Lewis leads in batting average (.339)… EIU is coming off a series at EIU, where the crew dropped all three games in two days of competition.
 

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.