**UPDATE**
Saturday's doubleheader will now begin at 3:30 p.m.

Weather permitting, South Dakota and Western Illinois will meet for the first time in three years Saturday. The Coyotes and Leathernecks are slated to start a three-game series with a noon doubleheader at McKee Stadium. Game three is set for 11 a.m. Sunday.
 
The pandemic wiped away the Summit series between these two teams in both 2020 and 2021. South Dakota won two of three against Western Illinois in Macomb back in 2019 and leads the all-time series 16-8.
 
Some heavy rain could fall in the Macomb area Friday and Saturday's forecast is calling for scattered thunderstorms and a high of 73 with winds between 20-30 mph. Sunday's forecast is for a high of 58 and a five percent chance of rain.
 
It is an important series for Western Illinois (8-30, 4-11 Summit) which holds a one-game lead over North Dakota for the sixth and final spot in the Summit League Tournament with two series remaining. Western Illinois holds the tiebreaker with North Dakota. The Leathernecks just ran the SDSU and NDSU gauntlet and ended a nine-game losing streak by winning game three at Kansas City last weekend.
 
Veteran southpaw Abby Carlin is quietly having another solid season in the circle for the Leathernecks. She has a 2.57 ERA and 104 strikeouts against just 26 walks in another workhorse year. It's the offense that has been hard to come by. Western Illinois is batting a Summit-low .210 and averaging fewer than two runs per game.
 
South Dakota (24-20, 8-7) got back in the win column Tuesday with a 4-0 shutout of Creighton in the Coyotes' final home game of the season. That followed a 0-3 weekend against Omaha in a battle for second place and a first-round bye in the tournament.
 
Clara Edwards had arguably her most dominant performance of the season against Creighton, allowing two hits (one that corralled off the first base bag) and struck out eight without a free pass. Edwards improved to 13-11 and boasts the ninth-most victories in a season in program history.
 
The Coyotes' strength offensively has been their balance throughout the lineup. Eight of nine starters are batting between .306-.333 in Summit play. Third baseman Aleesia Sainz tops the list and has been one of the top hitters in the league all season. She has the second-best OPS in the Summit at 1.242 and leads USD with 11 home runs, 38 RBIs and 31 runs scored.
 
Catcher Bela Goerke is batting .529 (9-for-17) with a home run and team-best nine RBIs over the last seven games. Second baseman Tatum Villotta enters with a five-game hitting streak. Sainz has reached base in 10 in a row.