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

SOMERS, Wis. (Apr. 2, 2015)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside softball team returns to the friendly confines of the Case Complex this weekend, hosting a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference foes from Downstate Illinois. The Rangers open the home slate on Friday against the University of Illinois Springfield and cap off the weekend on Saturday with a twinbill against McKendree University.
 
The Rangers and Prairie Stars square off in a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 3 p.m. at the Case Complex while the Rangers and Bearcats get their two-game set underway at noon on Saturday. Live stats for both games will be provided at parksiderangers.com.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (5-22, 0-12 GLVC) continues a busy week of spring break, squeezing in 10 games in a six-day stretch. The Rangers opened the week against 12th-ranked University of Indianapolis on Monday, falling 8-0 and 4-2 before getting edged 5-3 and 1-0 by Lewis University the next day. UW-Parkside earned a non-conference split on Wednesday, unseating Division I University of Wisconsin-Green Bay 10-2 in the opener before stumbling 12-4 in game two.
 
Carly Dundee stole the show on Wednesday in game one, going three-for-three at the plate with two home runs while tossing a gem inside the circle, yielding just four hits all game and only one after the first inning in the mercy rule win. In game two the Phoenix piled on nine runs in the second inning to ultimately derail the Rangers' attempt at a doubleheader sweep of the defending Horizon League Champions.
 
Madison Manders leads the Rangers at the plate with a .342 batting average and five doubles while Courtney Ellingson carries a .320 average with 11 RBIs while scoring on 11 occasions.
 
In the circle, Ellingson leads the team in innings pitched (75 2/3), strikeouts (54) and complete games (seven) while sporting a 3.52 earned run average. Amber Ramos owns a team-best 3.50 ERA in 28 innings of work with 44 strikeouts one save while Dundee has five complete games on the season along with 34 strikeouts.
 
About the Prairie Stars: Illinois Springfield (21-10, 8-6 GLVC) heads to Somers having dropped three of its last four games. The Prairie Stars were swept 6-4 and 5-0 by 16th-ranked University of Southern Indiana on Sunday before earning a doubleheader split on Tuesday against travel partner McKendree. The Prairie Stars pummeled the Bearcats 15-2 in game one but McKendree struck back in the nightcap, rallying to the 7-5 win to secure a split.
 
The McKendree series wrapped up a 12-game homestand for UIS, finishing with a 7-5 mark in games played at the Land of Lincoln Complex.
 
Ashli King is the Prairie Stars' top hitter with a .347 batting average along with 12 extra base hits and 20 RBIs. Jordyn Larsen is hitting at a .292 clip while Luaren Hollinshead has scored 27 runs this season while stealing 25 bases to pace UIS.
 
In the circle, Taylor Bowlby and Alexandria Smith have done a majority of the heavy lifting, combining to throw 203 innings. Bowlby sports a 2.36 earned run average with a 13-5 record having fanned 78 batters while Smith sports a team-leading 94 punchouts with nine complete games and a 3.31 ERA.
 
About the Bearcats: McKendree (11-19, 3-11 GLVC) heads into the weekend having dropped five of its last six games, including sweeps last weekend at the hands of Southern Indiana and Bellarmine University.
 
The Bearcats were stymied by 16th-ranked USI by 8-3 and 6-1 scores last Saturday before stumbling 4-0 and 12-6 to Bellarmine the following day. McKendree's slump reached five games after getting drubbed 15-2 by Illinois Springfield on Tuesday before closing the series with a 7-5 victory, scoring three runs in both the first and fifth innings.
 
Five Bearcats are hitting above .300 on the season, led by Ashley Scheffler who sports a .378 average with 12 RBIs and a team-high 13 stolen bases. Kate Mayes checks in with a .365 average with 19 RBIs and seven extra base hits while Erica Johnson has driven in a team-high 23 runs.
 
Kelsie Stoszkus has a team best 4.46 earned run average, having collecting five wins inside the circle for McKendree. Susan Goetze has a team-best four complete games and a staff best 39 strikeouts while Brooke Gajewski is the workhorse having logged 57 2/3 innings inside the circle with 38 strikeouts.