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

SOMERS, Wis. (Mar. 20, 2015)-- After playing its first 17 games on the road, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside softball squad gets to enjoy the comforts of home, hosting a pair of Saint Louis rivals this weekend at the Case Complex.
 
The Rangers open the home slate on Saturday at noon with a twinbill against Great Lakes Valley Conference rival Maryville University before hosting fourth-ranked University of Missouri-Saint Louis in a noon doubleheader on Sunday. Live stats for both doubleheaders will be available.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (4-13, 0-4 GLVC) looks to net its first win of the GLVC slate after coming up empty handed on the road last week to open conference play. The Rangers surrendered five runs in the third inning of the opener on Mar. 14 against Truman State University, eventually falling 7-1 to the hosts before edged 3-0 in game two after the Bulldogs scored all their runs in the first two innings.
 
The following day against Quincy University, the Rangers were victimized by a solo home run in the bottom of the first and a RBI single in the sixth, falling 2-0 to the Hawks in the opener and owned a 2-0 lead in game two before yielding six unanswered runs in a 6-2 setback. In the nightcap, a Kalli Gosser home run blast brought in Megan Holderby, giving the Green and White a 2-0 lead in the top of the second. Quincy sliced the Ranger lead in half with a solo home run in the second before seizing the lead in the fifth on a two-run blast by Kelsey Ley.
 
On the season, Madison Manders owns a team-best .320 batting average while driving in six runs while Courtney Ellingson is hitting at a .304 pace with a team-best nine RBIs. Paige Harbord has a .298 average and has scored eight runs while Morgan Dastych has a team-leading four doubles in 2015.
 
In the circle, Ellingson is the workhorse, pitching a team-high 50 2/3 innings while striking out 35 with a 2.76 earned run average. Amber Ramos sports a 3.71 ERA with 24 strikeouts having tossed 17 innings while Carly Dundee has pitched three complete games and has 25 punchouts in 38 1/3 innings of action.
 
About the Saints: Maryville (4-13, 1-3 GLVC) heads north to Wisconsin having dropped five of its last six games. The Saints fell 5-3 to McKendree University on Mar. 14 to open GLVC play before rebounding with a 12-9 victory in game two after pumping out six runs in the second inning. Maryville returned to the diamond the following day, dropping 5-2 and 11-3 decisions to the University of Illinois Springfield.
 
Maryville features three players hitting above .400, including Nicole Taylor who leads the GLVC at the plate with a .491 batting average with 11 extra base hits. Taylor additionally boasts a .807 slugging percentage and has stolen 10 bases on the season. Ashley Marks sports a .413 average with a team-high 15 RBIs while Danielle Williams has a .412 average. The Saints like to run on the basepaths, swiping 36 bags this season while getting gunned down just three times.
 
Wendy Macias is the Maryville ace, appearing in 40 2/3 innings and striking out 43 with a 3.27 earned run average. Taylor has 18 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings of work while Danielle Williams and Sheridon Sprague have each pitched at least 18 innings this season.
 
About the Tritons: Fourth-ranked Missouri-Saint Louis (18-2, 3-1 GLVC) had its 15-game win streak snapped last Sunday in game two of a doubleheader against Illinois Springfield. In that game, the Tritons managed just one hit all game as the Prairie Stars generated a run in the fourth en route to a 1-0 victory to snap the skid. The loss came after the Tritons pummeled UIS 10-0 in a mercy rule shortened opener, marking the sixth time this season UMSL has shutout an opponent.
 
Hannah Perryman has been lights out inside the circle for the Tritons, collecting back-to-back perfect games last week. The senior tossed a perfect game against Lake Superior State University on Mar. 11, striking out 15 batters and replicated the feat four days later with 13 punchouts in a 1-0 win over McKendree. On the season, the southpaw owns a 1.86 earned run average with 110 strikeouts in 60 1/3 innings of action. Brittni Chapman heads into the weekend with an equally impressive ERA (1.78) with 30 strikeouts in 59 innings of work.
 
Offensively, Madison Zbaraschuk leads the team with a .441 batting average with 15 RBIs. Brianna Butler sports a .433 average with a team-high 27 RBIs while Alex Stupek boasts a .426 average with 21 RBIs.
 
Early Bird: UW-Parkside opens up its home slate in the month of March for the first time since the 2012 season when the Rangers hosted the University of Minnesota-Duluth in a twinbill on March 20. Last season the Rangers didn't hit the diamond at the Case Complex until April 11 while in 2013 it took until April 6 to play games in Somers.
 
GLVC Accolades: Courtney Ellingson was named the GLVC Hitter of the Week on Mar. 10 after lighting up the competition the previous week inside the Husky Dome in Saint Cloud, Minnesota. The freshman hit .667 over the four game weekend series, driving in five runs and scoring six times. Ellingson had five extra base hits while pitching 15 innings for Parkside and striking out 13 batters.