PEORIA, Ill. – The Illinois Wesleyan University softball team broke the 2021 season open with a pair of wins over Illinois College Thursday, Feb. 18, at the Louisville Slugger Sports Dome in Peoria, Ill. The Titans held on for a 6-4 game one victory, and followed with a 10-0 run-rule win in the night cap.

Game One: Illinois College 4, Illinois Wesleyan 6
Illinois Wesleyan cranked out 10 hits, spread amongst seven players. Senior Lexy Trammell (Peoria, Ill.-Limestone) and juniors Colleen Palczynski (Mt. Prospect, Ill.-Prospect) and Hayley Earl (Washington, Ill.-Washington) led the way with two hits apiece. Earl and senior Toni Tortorella (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine South) recorded two RBI each.

Sophomore Nina Mardjetko (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont), who allowed four runs in 6.1 innings, while striking out one picked up the win, while freshman Bailey Turner (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) was credited with the save.

The Green and White got out to a 1-0 lead on Trammell's RBI single in the second, but a two-run double gave the Lady Blues a 2-1 through three and a half.

A sacrifice bunt turned into extra bases for freshman Kristina Sherwin (Plainfield, Ill.-St. Francis) in the Titans' half of the fourth, scoring fellow freshman Megan Fontanetta (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Buffalo Grove), to even the score up at two all into the fifth.

Entering the game as a pinch hitter, Tortorella came up club with a two-run base knock to give IWU a 4-2 advantage. Earl's two-run single in the sixth extended the Illinois Wesleyan lead to 6-2 with Illinois College coming to the plate for its last at bats.

IC made things interesting, scoring two runs to cut IWU's lead in half, but the Titans escaped victorious, 6-4.

 Game Two: Illinois Wesleyan 10, Illinois College 0 (5 innings)
Junior Madie Monk (Manteno, Ill.-Manteno) tossed all five innings for the Titans, striking out two and allowing just four hits, en route to the win in the circle in the nightcap.

Offensively, Turner and Sherwin paced the Titans. Turner finished the game 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Sherwin cranked out three RBIs in a 1-for-2 effort at the plate. Trammell added two RBIs, while sophomore Nora Adams (Chesterfield, Mo.-Nerinx Hall) and Tortorella drove in one each.

A pair of bases loaded walks by Adams and Sherwin in the top of the first put the Titans on top, 2-0.

The two-run IWU lead held into the fifth, where Illinois Wesleyan erupted for eight runs on seven hits and an error.

Turner led the inning off with a single to right and quickly scooted into second on Fontanetta's sacrifice bunt. Earl's single put runners on the corners for Palczynski, who walked to load the bases for Adams.

Adams laced a single up the middle to bump Illinois Wesleyan's lead to three, and Sherwin followed with a two-run double to extend it to 5-0 and force an IC pitching change.

The change in the circle did little to quiet the IWU bats as Tortorella singled, Trammell doubled, and Turner tripled racked up the RBIs to wrap up the 10-0 win.

Next up for the Titans is a trip to Georgetown, Ky., where Illinois Wesleyan will take on Trine and Transylvania, March 20. First pitch of IWU's game against Trine is set for 10 a.m. ET, while the clash with Transy is set for 3 p.m. ET.