BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Behind two dominant pitching performances, the No. 9-ranked Illinois Wesleyan softball team survived frigid weather conditions to beat Hope College 6-1 and Wisconsin-Eau Claire 2-1 in the IWU Softball Tournament at the IWU Softball Field in Bloomington on Friday, April 8. 

The Titans are now 18-4 this season while Hope dropped to 10-10 and Wis.-Eau Claire slipped to 8-8. 

In their first game against the Flying Dutch, Illinois Wesleyan did their damage in the first three innings of the game by scoring four runs in the second inning before plating two in the third. Sophomore Mackenzie Marquis gave up only three hits after allowing a run in the top of the second inning, never giving Hope a chance to mount a comeback. Six Titans collected a hit in the game, led by freshman leadoff hitter Jillian Runyon who smacked a triple and drove in two runs. Seniors Sam Gudat and Danielle Smith each recorded doubles in the contest while Julie Josten, Cassidy Tarpey, and Maggie Graham connected for the other three hits. 

Marquis pitched a gem, allowing only one run on four hits and fanning seven Hope batters to improve to a team-best 10-2 on the season. 

Not to be outdone, senior pitcher Jenna Noland (7-2) made up for the lack of Titan offense in game two by only allowing one run on a single hit to propel IWU to victory. 

Illinois Wesleyan took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as senior Mary Rankin singled home Runyon, who found her way on base following a walk before stealing second and advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt. The Blugolds tied the game in the top of the fourth, leading IWU to retake the lead on an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth. Rankin collected two more hits in the game to go a perfect 3-for-3 in addition to driving in the other Titan run while junior designated hitter Katie Caulfield had Illinois Wesleyan's only extra-base hit of the game with a double in the sixth. 

What's Next?
IWU will take a day off before returning to action with two games to close out the IWU softball tournament on Sunday, April 10th. The Titans will take on Wisconsin-La Crosse at 1:15 p.m. before ending the tournament against DePauw at 3:30 p.m.  Go here for the entire tournament schedule.