BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- The Illinois Wesleyan softball team managed just three hits and was shutout for only the third this this season in a 2-0 loss to Carthage College in the first game of the best-of-three NCAA Division III Super Regional at Bloomington's IWU Softball Field on Friday, May 17.

Photo Gallery, Illinois Wesleyan vs. Carthage, May 17

The Titans are 36-8 while the Lady Reds improved to 30-14. The two teams will meet again at 1 p.m. Saturday but weather could alter the start time of that game so check back at iwusports.com as well as Twitter and Facebook.

IWU is in a familiar spot, needing to battle back to win two games on the final day - the Titans have lost the opener of the Super Regionals in 2016 (at Luther), 2017 (at Transylvania) and 2018 (Wis.-Whitewater) before coming back to win two games to advance.

On Friday, Illinois Wesleyan received singles from junior shortstop Sam Berghoff and freshman catcher Hayley Earl along with a pinch-hit double from sophomore Toni Tortorella.
Junior Ally Wiegand (21-3) struck out 10 and allowed just six hits and one earned run. She remains one victory short of tying the IWU single-season mark of 22 shared by Christy Engel (22-5, 2009) and Molly McCready (22-4, 2014).
Wiegand did break her own single season strikeout record on Friday, now with 238 Ks, besting her 2018 mark of 229.

Carthage junior pitcher Stefanie Guercio (22-4) recorded her school single-season record 10th shutout as she fanned six inn the complete game. The Lady Reds have outscored their opponents, 16-1, in their four games of the 2019 Division III Softball Tournament.