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Week Six Preview: The Road Trip Continues

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

Western Illinois softball faces Tennessee Tech, Murray State and Illinois this week.

The Week Ahead
  • Tuesday, March 14, 3/5 p.m. – at Tennessee Tech (doubleheader)
  • Wednesday, March 15, 3 p.m. – at Murray State
  • Saturday, March 18, 1 p.m. – at Illinois
Where | All games are on the road at each opponent's home venue.
Social Media | Instagram & Twitter (@WIUSoftball)

Matchup history: 
Western Illinois has matched up with the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles just three times in program history, holding a 1-2 record after winning the first contest on Feb. 20, 2010. The two teams last faced off in March of 2019, as Western fell in games on March 1 and 2 of that year. Against the Racers of Murray State, WIU is 1-5 dating back to the first ever matchup on March 4, 2017, and the team won its lone game 6-0 on March 17, 2018. Western dropped both contests last season.
 
Rounding out the road trip is a Saturday contest against the Illinois Fighting Illini, who Western has beaten twice in eight tries. The first ever matchup came on April 23, 1982, and WIU played them twice last season, dropping both games.
 
Players to Watch:
The strong start to this season continues for Emily Price, who leads a Western Illinois rotation that currently ranks fourth in the Summit League for lowest ERA (4.23). Price, who ranks among the league's top-10 pitchers in ERA (2.43; fourth-lowest), wins (three; ninth-most), complete games (five; tied for fourth-most), innings pitched (57.2; tied for sixth-most) and strikeouts (59; fourth-most), made three appearances at the MTSU invitational, allowing five earned runs across 13.1 innings pitched while striking out 14 opposing hitters. Originally from Charleston, Ill., she's struck out at least six hitters in five different games this season, including a season-high nine against Valparaiso on Feb. 10.

Gabriela Drager currently ranks 10th in the Summit League with a team-leading .339 batting average and record four hits in five games played over the weekend while maintaining a perfect fielding percentage. She had two doubles, one of which drove in three runs and put Western Illinois ahead, 3-1, against Middle Tennessee on Saturday (March 11). She had a season-high six assists against App. State on Sunday and holds a fielding percentage of 97.0 on a team-high 100 total changes. The team-leader in hits (20), she's struck out just three times in 59 at-bats this season, which is tied for the second-fewest of any hitter in the Summit League.

The team-leader in on base percentage (min. 10 at bats) at .436, Maria Luna has continued to be a consistent presence in the Leatherneck lineup this season. Her 10 bases on balls this season ranks tied for seventh-most among hitters in the Summit League while leading the team, and she recorded the first three-hit performance of her career against MTSU on Saturday. Against the Blue Raiders, she hit the first of back-to-back solo home runs that would level the game in the seventh inning, and the performance brought her up to a .318 average through 20 appearances.

Bella Alvarez played in every game of the weekend, recording hits in three games – including a 2-4 effort against MTSU on Saturday. In that game against the Blue Raiders, Alvarez hit a game-tying home run in the top of the seventh inning, taking a 2-2 pitch and sending it over the wall in left field after Luna hit a solo home run to left in the previous at bat. The junior infielder ranks just behind Drager with a .328 average this season while tying for the team-lead in doubles (four) and triples (one) while leading the team in slugging percentage (.586). She's been a steady contributor in the infield as well, converting nearly 97% of her 63 total chances, including a perfect 20-20 across five games at the MTSU invitational this weekend.

What's next: 
After concluding the spring break trip, WIU will play its next eight games at Mary Ellen McKee Stadium, starting next Wednesday (March 22) when SIUE comes to Macomb for a doubleheader. First pitch against the Cougars is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 
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