Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

2013 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Softball Championships Web Site

KENOSHA, Wis. – The Illinois Wesleyan softball team split the first day of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Championship tournament at Carthage Field Friday. The Titans lost their first game against Augustana, 7-6, but earned a victory against North Central, 5-2.
 
No. 2-seed IWU (31-8) will return to action tomorrow at 10 a.m. (Saturday, May 4) to face Carthage, the tournament's No. 1-seed who lost a 2-1 decision to Augustana on Friday afternoon.
 
IWU vs. North Central

In the second game of the day, the Titans overcame the No. 4-seed Cardinals, 5-2.

♦   IWU put players on base early in the game, scoring two runs in the first. Emma Clark's sacrifice scored senior Courtney Martin and junjior Allie Riordan then singled through the right side to get sophomore Audra James across.
♦  After the Cardinals tied up the game in the second, 2-2, off a double from Jordyn Beck, the Titans took advantage of North Central mistakes in the third inning, scoring two runs off two errors. With two outs, senior Keri Leach singled and scored on a throwing error after Clark's single. Clark eventually crossed the plate on a wild pitch to give IWU a 4-2 advantage.
♦   IWU tacked on a final run in the fifth inning when, with two outs, Clark tripled to right center and then reached home on an error by the first baseman on a Riordan grounder.
♦   Titan senior pitcher Alyssa Vorel (14-3) earned the win, allowing two hits and striking out three in the final five innings in relief of junior starter Molly McCready. Vlasta Mangia (22-6) suffered the loss for the Cardinals.
 
IWU vs. Augustana

In Friday's first game of the CCIW Championship tournament, the Augustana softball team scored four runs in the seventh to steal the game, 7-6, from Illinois Wesleyan on a cloudy, brisk morning at Carthage Field in Kenosha, Wis
  
♦   After Augustana went ahead 1-0 in the first, the Titans tied the game at 1-1 when junior Allie Riordan grounded out to the shortstop with the bases loaded to score Martin.
♦   The Vikings scored two runs off four hits and left left two on base to get a 3-1 lead in the second but IWU also put two across the plate in the second inning to tie the game. Senior Katie Bruins, as a pinch-runner, stole home before Martin scored as a result of an Augustana throwing error on a ball hit by James.
♦  The Titans jumped ahead, 6-3, in the third. Clark led off with a single, went to second on a sacrifice and scored on a triple by sophomore Hannah Bowen. Bowen then scored when sophomore Chloe Montgomery doubled to left field and junior Jessica Toth, running for Montgomery, advanced to third on and home on wild pitches.
♦  The score remained 6-6 until the top of the seventh, when the Vikings put four runs on the board off four hits, three of them doubles, with a walk.
♦  IWU's starting pitcher Vorel took the loss, in relief of McCready, who relieved Vorel and faced two batters in the seventh. After surviving a shaky start, Vorel retired 12-of-13 hitters in the third through sixth innings, including eight in a row during one stretch.