Photo Gallery, IWU vs. Transylvania

Postgame Press Conference, IWU vs. Transylvania

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The No. 24-ranked Illinois Wesleyan softball team advanced to the championship game of the Bloomington, Ill. regional on Saturday, May 12 with a 1-0 victory over Transylvania University. Junior Julie Josten's third-inning home run lifted the Titans to victory as one of the Titans three hits of the game.
 
With a win the Titans improved to 33-10-1 with a 16-5-1 record on their home field. Illinois Wesleyan will face Transylvania (34-8) at 12 p.m. on Sunday, May 13. The Pioneers were 7-2 winners over Thomas More in an elimination game later Saturday. The winner of Sunday's game will advance to the 2018 NCAA Division III Softball Super Regional round against the winner of the Wisconsin-Whitewater Regional for a chance at a trip to the NCAA Division III finals in Oklahoma City.

This is the third consecutive season that the Titans have advanced to the regional championship game and Illinois Wesleyan has won five regional championships all-time (2003, 2008, 2014, 2016, and 2017). Go here for IWU appearances in NCAA Tournament.
 
Sophomore Ally Wiegand (16-3) earned victory in the circle for the second day in a row tossing her sixth complete game shutout of the season. Wiegand allowed two hits and struck out five batters in an effort that lowered her season earned run average to 0.97.
Wiegand now has 183 strikeouts this spring, good for fourth most in an IWU campaign and behind Molly McCready's record of 203 in 2012 and McCready (2014) and Christy Engel (2009) with 198.

Josten, who hit the eventual game-winning home run on Saturday, has taken a liking to big moments as of late after sending the Titans to the NCAA Regional with a grand slam against Carthage in the CCIW championship game. Josten's 16 career homers places her fifth all-time at IWU.
 
Transylvania had just two base-runners in scoring position during the contest, including a double by Meg Liter in the second inning. After allowing a lead-off double, Wiegand bounced back to strike out the next two batters before inducing a weak grounder back to the circle to end the inning.
 
Renae Morton (18-6) was the losing pitcher despite allowing three hits to the Titans. The home run Morton surrendered to Josten in the third inning was just the third home run she has allowed this season.
 
Sophomores Sam Berghoff and Shelby Fulk collected IWU's only other hits of the contest, each finishing 1-for-3 at the plate.