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Sarah Ritter

Leathernecks Drop Doubleheader at Home

| By: WIU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

Western Illinois lost a pair of close games on Saturday to Tennessee Tech

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 MACOMB, IL - Mary Ellen McKee Stadium opened its doors for the 2024 WIU softball season on Saturday, playing the first two of a three-game series against new conference opponent Tennessee Tech. Tech grabbed a pair of close OVC victories and catapulted themselves to 4-1 in conference play to start the year. 

Western opened up conference play with a 23-run shootout in game one, as the Leathernecks scored eleven runs and recorded thirteen hits. Tennessee Tech started hot, grabbing a pair of first-inning runs off of Leatherneck pitcher Lillie Wools to start it off. 

The Leathernecks struck back in the bottom of the first, scoring three runs off of two hits, singles from Rylee Boone and Bella Alvarez. Wools got through the Golden Eagles in the second, while the Leathernecks added a run in the bottom half of the frame to make it 4-2. 

In the third, the Golden Eagles took the lead off a pair of singles and a two-run homer, making it 6-4. The Leatherneck bats went down in order in the third inning, before an offensive explosion in the fourth. Lillie Wools led off the frame with a single, and Megan Leonard drove her in to cut the Tennessee Tech lead to one. Alvarez then drove in a pair of runs with a two-bagger of her own, giving the Leathernecks a one-run lead. With a pair of runners on, Maria Luna smashed a pitch to right-center field, a three-run home run that extended the lead to four. Wools added another run with her second-inning single, as the Leathernecks left the fourth on top 11-6. 

Tech brought it back to a close game in the fifth, scoring four runs on five hits. After the Leathernecks went down in order in the fifth, Tennessee Tech tied it up in the sixth at 11. Western got two runners on in the sixth but did not take the lead. 

Entering the seventh knotted up at 11, Tech scored on a sacrifice fly to take a one-run lead. Western threatened to score with two runners in scoring position with two outs but flew out to end the game. 

Sophomore Rylee Boone recorded a career-high four hits in game one, going 4-5 at the plate. Alvarez finished 2-5 with a double, two RBI, and two runs scored. Lillie Wools had a great day at the plate, getting her second and third career hits at the plate, as she has primarily only been a pitcher in her freshman year. 

In game two, the Western Illinois bats cooled off a bit while the Tech offense kept cooking. Tech got two runs out of the gate off of Leatherneck pitcher Emily Price. Western got one back on a second-inning sacrifice fly, cutting the lead to one.

Tech got one back in the third inning on an RBI single. Western drew three walks in the third, and Gabriela Drager knocked in a run on an RBI single of her own. Tech would tack on two more in the fifth.

Western got three singles in the bottom of the fifth, as Drager again drove in a run. The senior finished 3-4 at the plate in game two and batted in two while crossing home plate once. Tech scored one more in the sixth, then Western got one back in the sixth off of two hits including a Valerie Combs double. Tennessee Tech sealed the game with three runs in the seventh, winning the game 9-4.

Coming up, Western caps off the series tomorrow vs. Tennessee Tech at noon. 
 
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