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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The defending NCAA Division III national champion Linfield Wildcats recorded a 3-0 victory against the host Illinois Wesleyan Titans on Saturday afternoon (May 12) at the Bloomington, Illinois Regional of the NCAA Division III Softball Tournament.

The victorious Wildcats scored three runs, on two hits and Illinois Wesleyan was scoreless, on four hits. Neither team committed an error in the game.

Linfield scored all three of its runs in the decisive third inning. A pair of walks setup a three-run home run over the fence in right centerfield by Wildcat catcher Emilee Lepp. Linfield would only get one other hit in the game, a single by centerfielder Jaydee Baxter in the bottom of the fifth inning, but Lepp's home run was all the defending national champions would need.

Linfield improves to 41-5 and will return to action at 2 PM on Sunday. With its 3-0 record at the Regional, Linfield is one victory away from returning to the NCAA Division III Softball Championship, which will begin May 18 in Salem, VIrginia.

The Titans fall to 38-7 on the year, with their first loss in the regional. Today's decision snapped an eight-game winning streak for Illinois Wesleyan and was only the second time this year the Titans have been shut out. The first IWU shutout was a 1-0 loss to University of Chicago on April 1. The Titans will return to action on Sunday at noon when the host school will face College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin rival Carthage College. The Lady Reds were 6-1 winners over Anderson in the late Saturday game.

Linfield pitcher Lauren Harvey (18-2) earned the victory for the Wildcats. Harvey tossed four scoreless innings, allowing just three hits, with three strikeouts and one walk. Karina Paavola earned the save as she worked three innings of scoreless relief, allowing just one hit, with five strikeouts and one walk.

Illinois Wesleyan starting pitcher, sophomore lefthander Molly McCready (17-4), took the loss in six innings. She allowed three runs, on just two hits, with seven strikeouts and seven walks. McCready moved to within two strikeouts of tying Illinois Wesleyan's single-season record for strikeouts. She now has 196 strikeouts on the 2012 campaign, just two shy of the top Titan mark of 198 set by Christy Engel in 2009.

NOTES: When Illinois Wesleyan plays Carthage on Sunday, it will be the fourth meeting of the year between the two schools. IWU and Carthage split in the regular season in a doubleheader in Bloomington and the Titans won in the conference tournament...Including the game against Anderson, Carthage has played 10 games on the IWU field including their last eight.