FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Media Relations

SOMERS, Wis. (Mar. 13, 2015)-- After a month of games indoors, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside softball squad finally gets to enjoy the great outdoors, opening up Great Lakes Valley Conference play this weekend with doubleheaders against Truman State University and Quincy University.
 
The Rangers and Bulldogs open up conference action at noon on Saturday at Bulldog Park in Kirksville, Missouri, while Parkside and Quincy square off on the diamond on Sunday at noon at the Mart Heinen Complex in Quincy, Illinois.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (4-9) split a four-game series last weekend inside the Husky Dome in Saint Cloud, Minnesota. The Rangers suffered two close losses against Minot State University, falling 1-0 in eight innings, and 5-3, to the Beavers while claiming a pair of wins at the expense of the University of Minnesota-Crookston, slipping past the Golden Eagles 6-5 before battering UMC 9-0 on Sunday to cap off the trip.
 
Courtney Ellingson stole the show inside the dome, blasting two home runs, collecting five extra base hits, driving in five runs and hitting .667 at the plate. The freshman additionally helped the Rangers inside the circle, striking out 13 batters while earning a win and a save. The southpaw's heroics did not go unnoticed, claiming the GLVC Hitter of the Week honor on Tuesday afternoon.
 
On the year, Ellingson carries a .382 batting average to pace the Rangers with nine RBIs while scoring eight runs while fellow freshman Madison Manders is hitting .351 at the dish with six RBIs. Megan Holderby boasts a .292 batting average while Morgan Dastych has a team-leading four doubles on the season.
 
In the circle, Ellingson has a team-high 27 strikeouts, laboring 35 2/3 innings with two complete games and a 2.75 earned run average. Carly Dundee leads the team in innings pitched, tossing 36 1/3 innings while fanning 23 batters and logging three complete games. Amber Ramos leads the Green and White in ERA at 1.40 in 10 innings of action.
 
About the Bulldogs: Truman State (8-4) opens up its conference slate having won four straight games and seven of its last eight after a successful extended weekend in Clermont, Florida. The Bulldogs dismantled their first three opponents by a combined 30-3 margin, collecting shutout victories at the expense of Saginaw Valley State University and Ohio Dominican University before suffering a 5-3 extra inning setback to Grand Valley State University on Mar. 7.
 
Truman quickly regained its stride, defeating its final four Florida foes by a combined 26-4 margin. The Bulldogs Florida success came after winning just one of four games to open the season at the University of Arkansas-Monticello Classic in Bentonville.
 
Liz Leath is the Bulldogs leading hitter, sporting a .447 batting average with five home runs and 14 RBIs. Devin Gudehus is hitting at a .429 clip while Alexis VanNostrand has 12 RBIs and a .400 batting average.
 
In the circle, Kelsea Dorsey and Kindra Henze have each had six starts. Dorsey leads the team in earned run average (2.21) with a 5-1 record in 38 innings pitched. Henze has amassed a team-high 39 strikeouts in 37 innings of action with a 2.84 ERA. Both hurlers have tossed five complete games and netted two shutouts.
 
About the Hawks: Quincy (8-6) looks to bust out of a two-game slump heading into Saturday's twinbill against Lewis University.
 
The Hawks attended the NTC Spring Games in Clermont, Florida, squeezing in 10 games in a five-day span. QU rolled through its first eight games, dropping just one before closing the trip with a 2-1 setback to Northern State University and a 4-2 loss at the hands of West Virginia Wesleyan University.
 
Lindsey Greene is Quincy's leader hitting, batting .457 on the young season with seven RBIs while Emma Topps has 10 RBIs, six extra base hits and a .450 average. Rachel Scrum is the third Hawk hitting above .400, carrying a .415 average while scoring 10 runs on the year.
 
Murphi Armstrong has tossed five complete games for the Hawks, sporting a team-best 1.75 earned run average with 24 strikeouts in 36 innings of action. Meghan Quirk has logged a team-high 37 innings, tossing four complete games, striking out 11 and carrying a 3.22 ERA.