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

SOMERS, Wis. (Apr. 17, 2015)-- The bird is the word this week for the University of Wisconsin-Parkside softball team, heading west to Kansas City for the final Great Lakes Valley Conference road trip of the season. The Rangers open the trip on Sunday with a doubleheader against the Cardinals of William Jewell College and finish the road swing on Monday with a two-game set against the Hawks of Rockhurst University.
 
Sunday's action against William Jewell begins at noon in Liberty, Missouri at the Spratt Complex while Monday's doubleheader begins at noon in Kansas City at Loyola Park.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (6-29, 1-19 GLVC) heads into the weekend looking to snap a six game slide after dropping four games on the road last weekend. The Rangers led early in both games against 16th-ranked University of Southern Indiana on April 12 but was ultimately unable to match the hosts, falling 10-4 and 8-3.
 
In game one, the Rangers owned an early 2-0 lead and tallied four runs in the opening two frames before going silent the rest of the game as USI pulled away for the win. Kalli Gosser drove in two of the Rangers' four runs in game one, finishing two-for-four at the plate.
 
In the nightcap, Emily Bell singled in Savannah Wells in the third inning, giving Parkside the 1-0 advantage but the pesky Screaming Eagles pushed across eight runs over a three-inning stretch to secure the 8-3 win.
 
Missed opportunities derailed the Rangers on Sunday, stranding 16 runners on base and falling 6-0 and 5-1 to host Bellarmine University. In game two, UW-Parkside had the bases loaded and the tying run at the plate in the top of the seventh before a fielder's choice neutralized the Ranger scoring threat, giving BU the final out of the inning and the 5-1 win.
 
Courtney Ellingson leads the Rangers at the plate, owning a .327 batting average with 11 extra base hits, four home runs, 17 RBIs, and a .535 slugging percentage. Gosser and Paige Harbord are both hitting at a .312 clip with Gosser netting 13 RBIs and scoring 15 runs. Madison Manders is the fourth Ranger hitting above .300, owning a .311 average with five doubles.
 
Ellingson additionally leads the Parkside pitching staff, carrying a 3.20 earned run average with 65 strikeouts in 100 2/3 innings of action. The Racine County native has made 13 starts in the circle and has gone the distance 10 times, including one shutout. Amber Ramos owns a 3.21 ERA with 49 strikeouts while Carly Dundee has tossed 84 2/3 innings and owns 46 strikeouts.
 
About the Cardinals: William Jewell (23-20. 9-13 GLVC) heads into Sunday's clash with Lewis University having split a pair of midweek doubleheaders. The Cardinals swept Quincy 10-4 and 4-3 last Saturday before getting swept 4-1 and 8-4 at the hands of host Truman State University on Sunday. WJC played back-to-back non-league twinbills on Wednesday and Thursday, earning splits with Newman University and Emporia State University.
 
In Wednesday's non-league clash against Newman, the Cardinals were outhit 10-7 but were able to push across the winning run in the bottom of the sixth for the 5-4 win. In game two, the Jets tallied four runs in the opening frame and it proved to be just enough to earn the win, escaping Liberty, Missouri, with the 4-3 victory.
 
The following day, WJC claimed a 6-2 win over Emporia State before the visiting Hornets evened the series with an 11-5 win in the nightcap. William Jewell trailed early in the opener before scoring runs in four consecutive innings to notch the win while in game two Emporia piled on four runs in the fourth inning and five more in the sixth to salvage a split.
 
Faith Song is the Cardinals' leading hitter, carrying a .399 batting average with 10 home runs and 32 RBIs. Nona Pauline sports a .382 average with 13 doubles and 29 RBIs while four more WJC players are hitting above .300 on the season.
 
Song has a team-best 3.48 earned run average inside the circle, owning a 6-3 record with one save while Shelby McGraw is the workhorse, logging a team-high 120 1/3 innings in the circle, striking out 52 and tallying nine complete games. Pauline is the third pitcher to see extensive action for Jewell, collecting a team-high 90 punchouts.
 
About the Hawks: Rockhurst (22-16, 12-10 GLVC) heads into the weekend having dropped three of its last four games. The Hawks were swept by the GLVC's other Hawks, Quincy University, on Sunday, falling 10-6 and 2-1 before earning a midweek doubleheader split on Tuesday against non-league foe Fort Hays State University. The Hawks seized the opener 6-2 before falling victim to the Tigers in a 2-1 setback.
 
Against Quincy, Rockhurst trailed 4-0 until exploding for five runs in the top of the fifth to claim the lead. RU's lead proved fleeting with host Quincy tallying six runs in the bottom of the sixth on its way to the 10-6 win. Quincy utilized a walkoff double in game two to complete the sweep, netting the 2-1 win.
 
Two days later against Fort Hays State, a four run fourth inning paved the way for the Hawks in game one while the Tigers pushed across a run in extra innings on a RU fielding error, emerging with the 2-1 win in eight innings.
 
Madison Wagner leads Rockhurst at the plate, hitting .403 with 12 extra base hits and 29 stolen bases while Lexie Zuniga has a team-best 17 RBIs.
 
Bridgette Sappington and Demi Plathe have done a majority of the heavy lifting for the Rockhurst pitching staff, combining to toss all but 8 2/3 innings this season. Sappington has a team-best 1.70 earned run average with 97 strikeouts with 15 complete games and a 17-8 record inside the circle. Plathe has 58 strikeouts and seven complete games in 97 1/3 innings of work.