2018 NCAA Super Regional Web Site
PRESS CONFERENCES: Illinois Wesleyan |
Wis.-Whitewater
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – In what can best be described as a pitchers' duel, the No. 24 Illinois Wesleyan softball team lost a 1-0 decision to No. 25 ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater in the first game of the best-of-three NCAA Super Regional at IWU Softball Field on Friday, May 18.
Winners of 10 straight, the Warhawks (29-11-1) scored the game's only run in the top of the seventh and withstood a late Titan surge. The two teams return to action at 1 p.m. Saturday. If Illinois Wesleyan wins that game, a third and decisive game will be played at approximately 3:30 p.m.
Sophomore
Ally Wiegand (16-4) allowed only four hits and struck out 11 for the Titans while her pitching opponent, sophomore Bella Matthias (10-4), scattered just three hits while striking out seven in her second straight shutout.
With the game scoreless after six, rightfielder Kaiden Jackson doubled to left center and stole third with nobody out. Jackson came home when leftfielder Mallory Klotz delivered a single up the middle, the 231st hit in her career that broke the Warhawks' all-time record.
The Titans (34-11-1) opened the bottom of the seventh with back-to-back singles from sophomore leftfielder
Sydney Alery and sophomore shortstop
Sam Berghoff. But Matthias struck out the next three Titans to end the threat and the game.
NOTES: This is the third consecutive year for IWU to be in an 0-1 position after a Friday game in the NCAA Super Regional round. In 2016, the Titans lost at Luther 4-0 on Friday before winning both games on Saturday. In 2017, IWU lost at Transylvania 3-1 on Friday before coming back to win both Saturday games in extra innings.
Go here for IWU appearances in NCAA Tournament. ... The Friday victory is the seventh game in their last last eight that Whitewater has won by one run ... Wiegand now has 195 strikeouts this season, 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.