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Issued: April 10, 2006

SOFTBALL TO HOST RIVAL STOUT WEDNESDAY IN HOME OPENER

EAU CLAIRE - The UW-Eau Claire softball team will look to add to its winning streak as it will host I-94 rival UW-Stout in a doubleheader on Wednesday night at Gelein Field in Carson Park.

The ninth-ranked Blugolds have a record of 19-3 and a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) record of 4-0 this season. The Blugolds have won 13 straight games and 17 of the last 18.

The Blugolds are one of the better offensive teams in the conference as the team has a batting average of .345. The Blugolds have 19 homeruns in their 22 games thus far including a conference record seven against UW-Platteville in game one of the doubleheader on Sunday. The team record for homeruns in a season is 28, which was set last year.

Casey Leisgang (So.-Seymour, WI) leads the team with six homeruns this season. Rachel Paulus (Jr.-Wisconsin Rapids, WI/Lincoln) leads the team in hits with 34 and has the best batting average on the team at .479. Paulus also leads the team in stolen bases as she has swiped 14 so far this season.

On the mound, Mallory McKinney (Jr.-Brooklyn Park, MN/Champlin Park) has just been outstanding. McKinney has an 11-1 record this season with a 0.46 ERA. She has seven consecutive shutouts, eight total, and has gone the distance in each of her 11 starts. The Blugold record for most shutouts in a season by a pitcher is nine, which is held by Kari DeGross and Heidi Bergstrom. McKinney has not given up an earned run in 52 1/3 consecutive innings.

McKinney has also been effective at the plate as she has a batting average of .382 and has 20 RBIs this season. She is second on the team in hits with 29 and in homeruns with five.

The Blue Devils will come in with a record of 5-15 and a conference record of 0-4. Stout has lost its last four games.

The Blue Devils are at the bottom-end of the conference in batting and fielding. Stout is batting just .264 this season, but are holding its opponents to just .291 average. Jackie Juan leads the Blue Devils in batting with an average of .328. She also leads the team in homeruns with four.

As a team, the Blue Devils have an ERA of 3.09 and have a total of 69 strikeouts this season.

The Blugolds will look to avenge last year's defeat against the Blue Devils in the WIAC conference tournament, in which, the Blue Devils won two straight against the Blugolds to capture the conference tournament title and eliminate UWEC from the NCAA tournament.

The doubleheader gets underway at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Gelein Field in Carson Park.

- JR -

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