2018 NCAA Super Regional Web Site

Press Conferences: Illinois Wesleyan | Wis.-Whitewater

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The No. 24-ranked Illinois Wesleyan softball team bounced back from a one game deficit to advance to their third consecutive NCAA Division III Softball Championship on Saturday, May 19. IWU defeated No. 25-ranked Wis.-Whitewater by final scores of 7-0 and 3-0 on Saturday to win the best-of-3 series.

With a win the Titans improve to 36-11-1 and are locked in as one of the final eight teams remaining in Division III. For a complete list of all IWU Softball NCAA appearances go here. Once the remainder of the final eight teams are determined the updated bracket will be available here. Illinois Wesleyan will find out who they play in the first round on Sunday after the national committee has re-seeded the remaining teams.

Sophomore's Sydney Alery and Sam Berghoff were named co-Most Outstanding Player of the Super Regional while sophomore Ally Wiegand was named as the most outstanding pitcher of the Super Regional. In three games, Alery hit 5-for-9 with three runs batted in, two runs scored, two home runs, and one double. Berghoff hit 5-for-10 with five runs batted in, three runs scored, and two home runs. Wiegand allowed just five hits and one earned run over 14.0 innings pitched while striking out 18 batters over two games started.

A late rally was more than enough to push Illinois Wesleyan past the Warhawks in game one, as the Titans utilized three home runs to score seven combined runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Alery and Berghoff hit back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning to give IWU a 2-0 advantage. Prior to the sixth, the Titans had mustered up just three hits against Warhawk starter Julia Camardo.
 
IWU extended their lead in the seventh starting with a bases-loaded walk by Alery to score sophomore Mia Massaro. In the very next at-bat, Berghoff launched her second home run of the game, a grand slam, to give the Titans a 7-0 lead. Berghoff's two home run game tied Emma Clark (2013) for the Illinois Wesleyan single-season home run record with 12.
 
Sophomore Brea Walker (11-4) earned a victory in the circle pitching 6.0 shutout innings allowing five hits and two walks, and striking out one. Senior Mackenzie Marquis completed the shutout by allowing one walk and striking out one in her lone inning.
 
Alery continued to provide pop for the Titans in game two hitting her eighth home run of the season in the first inning to give IWU an early 1-0 lead. Illinois Wesleyan tacked on two insurance runs in the fourth inning as a single from junior Julie Josten drove Berghoff home prior to sophomore Shelby Fulk scoring from third on a wild pitch.

Three runs were all the cushion Wiegand (17-4) needed to secure a game two victory for the Titans in the circle. Wiegand, who was announced on Thursday as a Schutt Sports/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III National Player of the Year finalist, pitched a complete game one-hitter coupled with seven strikeouts. Wiegand now has 202 strikeouts this season, good for second most in an IWU campaign behind Molly McCready's record of 203 in 2012.