Western Illinois University Leathernecks Women’s Softball will play Southeast Missouri State (SEMO) in the opening round of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Tournament on May 6 at Louisville Slugger Sports Complex in Peoria, Illinois.
The matchup marks an important milestone for Western Illinois, as it is their first appearance in the OVC Tournament and their first postseason berth since 2019. The winner of this game will advance to face fourth-seeded Lindenwood.
The Leathernecks enter the tournament as the No. 8 seed with a record of 14–31 overall and 9–17 in conference play, following a series-ending win over SIUE. SEMO holds the No. 5 seed after finishing its season with a six-game winning streak and an overall record of 20–28, including sweeping Tennessee Tech and Morehead State while outscoring opponents by a combined score of 41–10 during that stretch.
When these teams last met on March 9 in Cape Girardeau, SEMO swept a doubleheader after weather canceled one game. Western Illinois finished its regular season strong with an 8–0 victory over SIUE, highlighted by multiple hits from Ruby Tarr, Sophia Sanchez, and Kam Utendorf. Pitcher Lillie Wools delivered a complete-game shutout for her fifth win of the year.
SEMO is led by All-OVC First Team selections Aubrie Shore and Raigan Brannon along with Second Team honoree Maddison Winkler. Winkler leads her team with a .350 batting average while Brannon has eight doubles and six home runs this season; Shore recorded thirty hits during conference play.
Key statistics for Western Illinois include ranking fourth in OVC batting average at .286 and having Payton Brown lead the league in slugging percentage at .697. Brown also ranks among conference leaders with forty RBIs alongside Tarr’s thirty-three RBIs. Libby Spaulding finished tied for seventh in wins (eight) and ranked seventh in strikeouts (seventy-two). For SEMO, Kamden Hutton was eighth in batting average (.367), Madison Winkler tied for seventh with thirteen stolen bases, and Maddie Carney placed fifth for innings pitched at just over one hundred seven innings.
Western Illinois University Leathernecks Women’s Softball competes at the NCAA Division I level as part of both university athletics offerings and maintains membership within the Ohio Valley Conference according to their official website.
Fans can follow updates about Leatherneck Softball through GoLeathernecks.com or on social media platforms X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook.
