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Softball Action vs South Dakota 700.4736
Sarah Ritter
0
Detroit Mercy DETMERCY 0-2
2
Winner Western Illinois WIU 1-0
Detroit Mercy DETMERCY
0-2
0
Final
2
Western Illinois WIU
1-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Detroit Mercy DETMERCY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Western Illinois WIU 0 0 1 0 0 1 X 2 7 0

W: Rodriguez, Savannah (1-0) L: Chloe Spitzer (0-1)

1
Winner Valparaiso VALPO 1-2
0
Western Illinois WIU 1-1
Winner
Valparaiso VALPO
1-2
1
Final
0
Western Illinois WIU
1-1
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Valparaiso VALPO 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 4 2
Western Illinois WIU 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 2

W: Seib, Easton (1-1) L: Price, Emily (0-1)

Game Recap: Softball | | WIU Athletic Communications

Rodriguez Throws Perfect Game in Season Opener

Western Illinois was victorious, 2-0, before falling 1-0 in the second game of the day.

CHICAGO, Ill. – Western Illinois softball opened its 2023 campaign on Friday (Feb. 10), finishing with a victory over Detroit Mercy and loss to Valparaiso on the opening day of the 2023 season. The Leathernecks are opening this year's non-league slate at the Rosemont Dome Tournament, hosted by DePaul, and will round out the weekend with one contest on Saturday and two on Sunday.
 
GAME 1: Leathernecks 2, Detroit Mercy 0
Savannah Rodriguez got the nod in the circle to start the season and put in a performance for the record books, as the fifth-year player sat down each of the 21 Titan hitters to record the first perfect game thrown by a Western Illinois pitcher since Holly (Killion) Van Vlymen did it on March 31, 2000 – a stretch that lasted 7,986 days.
 
The Woodridge, Ill., native wasted no time in this one, sitting down two opposing hitters in the first inning who were caught looking before striking out the side in the second. Having set her previous career-best mark for strikeouts (nine) in the same exact tournament last season, Rodriguez finished the game with 12 while only throwing 88 pitches.
 
Offensively, the opening run came courtesy of Piper Foote in the bottom of the third inning. With one out and a 3-1 count, Foote got ahold of the pitch, blasting it over the wall in left field to give Western a 1-0 advantage. That lead would double in the sixth inning when Abrianna Gracia capitalized on an attempted diving catch by a Titan outfielder that was missed, rounding the bases for an inside-the-park home run to seal a 2-0 Western Illinois victory.
 
Foote finished 2-2 on the day with one run scored and was joined by Georgia Rea (2-3) as the two Leathernecks to record multiple hits. Jorja Hudson and Bella Alvarez both singled in the second inning and, along with Gracia's home run, helped the team to seven hits, while the defense put in a solid outing with no errors.  
 
Game 2: Leathernecks 0, Valparaiso 2
Western's offense continued to generate baserunners in game two, as the Leathernecks finished with six hits and one walk; Maria Luna and Alivia Beard also recorded the first hits of their respective collegiate careers. The Leathernecks did create scoring opportunities and even had the bases loaded in the second after consecutive singles by Hudson and Alvarez along with a Malorie Gill hit-by-pitch but were unable to convert.
 
Emily Price got her first start of the season and went all seven innings, allowing just four hits and one run (one earned) while striking out a career-best nine opposing hitters. She found a rhythm late in the game, striking out three Beacons in the fifth alone before adding two more in the seventh.
 
Despite the opportunities, WIU was unable to plate a runner as Valpo used a fourth-inning double to secure the 1-0 victory.
 
The action at the Rosemont Dome continues with a lone contest tomorrow night, as Western Illinois takes on Saint Louis University at 5 p.m.
 
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