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Bradley Motton

Week Nine Preview: Home and Away

| By: WIU Athletic Communications

WIU Softball is scheduled to face SIUE and St. Thomas this week.

The Weekly Schedule
  • Tuesday, April 4, 3 / 5 p.m. (DH) vs SIUE - Macomb, Ill.
  • Friday, April 7, 12 / 2 p.m. (DH) at St. Thomas - St. Paul, Minn.
  • Saturday, April 8, 11 a.m. at St. Thomas - St. Paul, Minn.
Social Media | Instagram & Twitter (@WIUSoftball)

Matchup history: 
Dating back to the first series matchup on April 30, 1976, Western Illinois holds a 14-8 record against the SIUE Cougars, last matching up on April 12, 2016 in Edwardsville, Ill. Western Illinois and St. Thomas met for the first time in program history last season in Macomb, with the Leathernecks winning game one of a three-game series. Several players had big performances in that first contest against the Tommies: Savannah Rodriguez finished 2-4 with a double and two RBI while the likes of Bella Alvarez (2-3, two RBI) and Megan Leonard (1-3, two runs scored) contributed to a 9-8 victory.
 
Players to Watch:
Georgia Rea is coming off a monster weekend against the Bison, where she finished the weekend 5-10 with two home runs and seven RBI across three starts. She opened the series by tying a career-high with three hits in a 6-5 victory over NDSU on Saturday, finishing 3-4 with a home run, RBI, and two runs scored. In game two of Sunday's doubleheader, Rea finished 2-3 with another home run and four RBI while finishing a perfect 10-10 in the field for the weekend. Rea is now one of just six players in the entire league with a perfect fielding percentage as she's converted on each of her 73 total chances this season.
 
Cynthia Hull has made 21 appearances in the Leatherneck lineup this season, hitting .242 with one home run and four RBI while posting a perfect fielding percentage on 34 total chances. Against the Bison on Saturday, she came up with the biggest hit in her collegiate career, coming into the game as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning and hitting a single into left field that scored the game-winning run before being mobbed by the rest of the team. Hull's performance caught the eye of head coach Alisa Goler.
 
"I was so proud of Cy for staying ready all game until she had her chance," Goler said. "I always say that pinch hitting is the hardest thing in softball and she's truly something special to watch in that role."
 
A longtime figure in the WIU lineup, Savannah Rodriguez made an impact both as a pitcher and a hitter against the Bison. She was credited with the win in game one after allowing no hits and striking out three in two innings of work before allowing just five hits and one run across a complete game performance in game two. As a hitter, Rodriguez finished the weekend 4-9 (.444) with a double and two runs scored, and her .299 batting average is good for third-best on the team while tying with Bella Alvarez for the team-lead in home runs (four) and RBI (11).

What's next: 
The next three games are slated to be played on the road as Western heads to Vermillion, S.D., to face the South Dakota Coyotes next weekend for a three-game series. A doubleheader is scheduled for next Saturday (April 15) at 1 and 3 p.m. before concluding with a 12 p.m. contest on the following day.  
 
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