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George Hartmann

Week Four Preview: Taking Purple & Gold to the Black & Yellow

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

Western Illinois softball plays four games this weekend in a tournament hosted by Wichita State.

The Weekend Schedule
  • Saturday, March 4, 12 p.m. – Bradley
  • Saturday, March 4, 2:15 p.m. – Wichita State
  • Sunday, March 5, 11 a.m. – Bradley
  • Sunday, March 5, 3:30 p.m. – Wichita State
Where | Wilkins Stadium - Wichita, Kan.
Social Media | Instagram & Twitter (@WIUSoftball)

Matchup history: The Leathernecks and Bradley Braves have matched up 61 times in program history, a series that dates back to a 12-4 Western Illinois victory on April 16, 1980; WIU holds a 42-19 advantage in those games. The last meeting came on Feb. 19, 2021, during head coach Alisa Goler's first season at the helm of the program. The Leathernecks won both games of a doubleheader, 6-1 and 5-0. Against tournament hosts Wichita State, Western Illinois is 16-18 in 34 total meetings, but has struggled in recent years with losses in the previous six matchups. The last time Western Illinois and Wichita State played was in March of 2018.

Players to Watch: 
Kathryn McChristy had the best performance of her young career against Lindenwood on Sunday, starting the game and allowing just four hits and two runs (both earned) while striking out three across six innings of work. A true freshman from Jonesburg, Mo., McChristy ranks third on the team with 14 innings pitched this season.
 
The team-leader in batting average among players with 10 at-bats this season, Gabriela Drager recorded five hits in four games over the weekend, including two multi-hit performances. She's hitting a team-high .412 with two doubles, one RBI and holds an on-base percentage of .459. Last weekend Drager doubled in Western's 9-6 victory over Lindenwood and also scored two runs in the game, also managing 11 putouts in one game against Green Bay.

Bella Alvarez also had a huge weekend in St. Charles, finishing 7-13 (.538) with four extra-base hits thanks to two doubles, one triple and a home run, also driving in five RBIs and extending her hitting streak to six games – including three-consecutive with at least two hits. This season, Alvarez's .406 average ranks second behind Drager and Alvarez's 1.128 OPS leads the team (min. 10 at bats).
 
In the final game of last weekend's tournament, Savannah Rodriguez had one of the best games of her career at the plate, finishing 3-4 with two home runs and a career-high five RBIs. She drove in three with a fourth-inning homer to left field that cut the Lion lead to just one, and added a two-run shot to right during the sixth inning. Rodriguez, who entered this year with 14 home runs in her previous four seasons, is up to four through the team's first 11 games.
 
Situational hitting has been key for the Leathernecks this season, and Cynthia Hull has served as one of the primary sources of that production. She made one of the biggest plays of the game in WIU's 9-6 victory over Lindenwood on Sunday, coming on as a pinch hitter in the top of the seventh inning and delivering with a home run to left that turned a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 advantage, and has delivered several late-game hits this season. With eight at-bats this season, Hull is hitting .500 with one home run, three RBIs and two runs scored.
 
A true freshman from LaCygne, Kan., Rylee Boone finished last weekend's games with four hits, one RBI sand three runs scored in 11 total at-bats – good for an average of .364. Boone finished 2-4 with two singles and one run scored in a 4-2 victory against Green Bay on Saturday and now holds a .320 average on the season while being one of five players on the roster to appear in at least 12 games.
 
Maria Luna had another strong weekend at the Lindenwood invite, finishing with hits in three out of four games for a .417 batting average, also recording her first extra-base hit in the process with a double against Lindenwood on Saturday. Luna had two multi-hit games in the process as well and hit an RBI single in Western's victory over the Lions to put them ahead 4-3 in the eighth inning. Now hitting .320 for the season, she one of four players on the roster to appear in at least 10 games and hit for an average of .300 or greater.  

What's next: 
Western Illinois next heads on its much-anticipated spring break road trip, starting next weekend with five games at the MTSU invitational before rounding out the trip with games against Tennessee Tech, Murray State and Illinois.
 
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