EDWARDSVILLE, IL - Friday marked the start of a new conference series, with Western Illinois traveling south to SIUE for the first time as OVC members. Emily Price, one of the league's top pitchers, showed up and shut out the Cougars for the Leathernecks' fourth conference triumph of the year, and Price's seventh win in 2024. 

The Western offense started the day with a scoreless first frame, with senior Bella Alvarez getting plunked for the Purple and Gold's first baserunner. In the bottom of the frame, Price struck out the first batter she saw and got through the inning with no trouble. 

In the second, freshman catcher Valerie Combs reached on a dropped third strike and then stole her fifth base of the year. An unfortunate double play ended the inning with no runs for Western. A leadoff single and error in the bottom of the frame saw the Cougars threaten to score, but Price got out of the jam on a groundball. 

After the Leathernecks went down in order in the third, Price allowed a single but nothing more to keep the score knotted at zero. Rylee Boone led off the fourth with a single and walks from Alvarez and Maria Luna loaded the bases. Western took a 1-0 lead when Sophia Sanchez drew a lead-taking walk. Price went on to keep the Cougars at zero, striking out one and stranding two in the fourth. 

Boone got her second hit of the game in the fifth, singling while Alvarez reached base safely for the third time with a walk. Western stranded two in the frame, but Price kept rolling with a scoreless fifth. A walk from Sanchez and a single from Beth Pavy gave the Leathernecks a key scoring opportunity in the sixth, and Megan Leonard came up huge with a double into right-center field, which scored the pair of baserunners. Western exited the inning with a 3-0 lead, and Price ensured that Western remained in front. With a runner on third and one out, the senior struck out the final two batters of the inning, slamming the door on SIUE. In the seventh, Price fanned her seventh batter of the game in another scoreless inning, grabbing a key conference victory.

The Leathernecks, Cougars, and Morehead State now stand tied for eighth in the conference, all with a 4-9 record heading into tomorrow's games. On Saturday, Western plays two against SIUE, with the first game coming at 1 PM on ESPN+.