NCAA Division III Bloomington, Ill. Regional Website
Illinois Wesleyan vs. Thomas More Photo Gallery
Illinois Wesleyan Postgame Press Conference

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The No. 24-ranked Illinois Wesleyan softball team advanced on the winner's side of their region in the 2018 NCAA Division III softball championships on Friday, May 11 with a 4-0 victory over Thomas More College. IWU will face Transylvania University in the next regional game, a rematch of last years Super Regional series which saw the Titans advance with a 2-1 series victory.

With a win the Titans improved to 32-10-1 overall with a 15-5-1 record at home. Thomas More fell to 31-15 and will face DePauw University on the loser's side of the bracket on Saturday.

Illinois Wesleyan, who previously defeated Thomas More by a 12-3 score on March 4, racked up four runs on seven hits en route to a victory in their first game of the regional. Sophomore Ally Wiegand (15-3) was superb in the circle allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out 12 Saints batters. Friday marked Wiegand's ninth game with double-digit strikeouts this season.

Wiegand ran into a bit of trouble in the fourth inning after a walk and a pair of singles loaded the bases behind her. Using a "bear down" mentality, Wiegand bounced back to induce two swinging strikeouts and a fielder's choice to end the inning.

Making her first appearance in an NCAA regional game, senior Delaney Olinger provided the Titans with the only offense they'd end up needing with an RBI single to second base in the second inning. Olinger led the team with two hits in addition to her early RBI.

"It was really awesome to do that for my team. I was just trying to have fun, cut it loose, see the ball, and make good contact" said Olinger following the game.

Sophomore Sam Berghoff led the team in RBI with two after she drove home junior Jillian Runyon on a ground out in the third and junior Julie Josten on a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Runyon made a great play to dodge the tag at home in order to provide the Titans with a 2-0 lead. Sophomore Shelby Fulk gave IWU a 3-0 advantage, scoring sophomore Sydney Alery on a ground out to the shortstop.

Thomas More was led by pitcher Alix DeDreu (22-6) who allowed seven hits, four runs (three earned), and one walk over six inning pitched. DeDreu struck out four batters and collected one of two Saints hits during the game. Shortstop Dallis Knotts was the only other Saint to earn a hit off of Wiegand.

What's Next?
Illinois Wesleyan will face Transylvania University in the second round of the regional at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 12. Transylvania advanced to face the Titans with a 8-6 victory over DePauw in extra innings on Friday. The Pioneers needed a walk-off home run from Janelle Hynes to trounce the Tigers in their opening game.