Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

DECATUR, Ill. – In both games of a doubleheader with Millikin, the Illinois Wesleyan softball team was able to rally ahead and pull off victories by scores of 4-3 (8 innings) and 6-5 on Tuesday (April 30) at Borg Warner Field in Decatur, Ill.
 
The Titans improve their overall record to 30-7 and 11-3 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, while the Big Blue fall to 20-13 and 5-9 in the CCIW.
 
Game One
The Titans and Big Blue remained close through the eighth inning when IWU scored to get the 4-3 victory.
 
♦   Millikin started the game out with a two-run homer by Sarah Kisch to put the Big Blue ahead, 2-0, in the second.
♦   The Titans got three across the plate in the fourth to take a 3-2 lead. Brianna Mormann and senior Emma Clark each scored when sophomore Chloe Montgomery doubled. Moments later, sophomore Hannah Bowen also scored when junior catcher Sara Daley grounded out.
♦   The Big Blue evened the score at 3-3 in the bottom of the fourth and it stayed that way until the eighth, as Keri Leach scored off a Millikin error to give IWU a 4-3 edge.
♦   IWU senior pitcher Alyssa Vorel (12-2) earned the victory for the Titans in relief of starter Molly McCready. Vorel went three innings and allowed one hit while fanning two. McCready went the first five frames, allowing three runs on six hits with four walks and three strikeouts.
 
Game Two
Similar to the first game, the second game was a close one until the end, when IWU scored in a last chance effort in the seventh inning to earn the win, 6-5.
 
♦  The Titans scored the winning run in the last of the seventh when junior Erin Sweeney lined out to the Millikin shortstop, who threw to first to attempt a double play as Jessica Toth advanced home on the throw, scoring on a fielder's choice.

♦   The Titans jumped ahead early, putting two runs on the board in the first as a Leach single scored Courtney Martin, who had walked, and Allie Riordan brought in sophomore Audra James on a ground out.
♦   In the fifth, Riordan picked up another RBI on a ground out, bringing home Leach to give IWU a 3-0 lead.
♦   Millikin scored a run in the sixth to make it 3-1 but the Titans responded with two runs in the sixth, to extend their lead, 5-1. Sweeney scored when Leach grounded out to second base and senior Stephanie Polich crossed the plate on a passed ball for an unearned run.
♦   The Big Blue tied up the game in the seventh, 5-5, when Tess Strang hit a one-out grand slam home run.
♦   Vorel (13-2) earned her second pitching win of the day, allowing six hits with four walks and three strikeouts.
 
What's Next?
The No. 2-seed Titans will face No. 3-seed Augustana at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 3, in the opening game of the CCIW Championships in Kenosha, Wis. The No. 1-seed Carthage will play No. 4 North Central in the other first round game. More details on the CCIW softball tournament are available here.