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ColleenSB
0
Carroll CARROLL 4-5, 1-2 CCIW
6
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 4-5, 3-3 CCIW
Carroll CARROLL
4-5, 1-2 CCIW
0
Final
6
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
4-5, 3-3 CCIW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Carroll CARROLL 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 0 0 0 6 0 0 X 6 4 0

W: Grubczak, Natalie (2-2) L: Osterhus, Amanda (2-2)

16
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 5-5, 3-3 CCIW
1
Carroll CARROLL 4-6, 1-3 CCIW
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
5-5, 3-3 CCIW
16
Final
1
Carroll CARROLL
4-6, 1-3 CCIW
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 R H E
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 1 5 0 4 6 16 18 1
Carroll CARROLL 0 0 0 0 1 1 5 1

W: Turner, Bailey (1-1) L: Roberts, Breanna (0-2)

Game Recap: Softball |

Softball Clobbers Carroll in Pair of Wins

Titans outscored the Pioneers 22-1 on the day

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Strong pitching and an unstoppable offense powered the Illinois Wesleyan University softball team to a sweep of Carroll University in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play Sunday, March 27. IWU shutout Carroll 6-0 in game one, before run-ruling the Pioneers 16-1 in five innings in the second game.

With the wins, Illinois Wesleyan moved 5-5 on the season and 3-3 in conference play. Carroll dropped to 4-6 overall and 1-3 in the CCIW.

Game One: Carroll 0, Illinois Wesleyan 6
Junior Colleen Palczynski (Mt. Prospect, Ill.-Prospect) launched a grand slam while going 1-for-4 at the plate in game one, as the Titans manufactured six runs on four hits and 10 walks. Freshman Megan Fontanetta (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Buffalo Grove) picked up two hits with a run scored and a RBI, while junior Hayley Earl (Washington, Ill.-Washington) went 1-for-3 with a run scored, run driven in, and a walk.

Sophomore Natalie Grubczak (Medinah, Ill.-Lake Park) was incredible in the circle, tossing the first complete game shutout of her career. Grubczak scattered four hits over seven innings, while striking out seven and walking none.

IWU loaded the bases in each of the first two innings but could not capitalize, leaving the game scoreless into the fourth. 

After Grubczak needed just five pitches to retire the Pioneers in the top of the fourth, the IWU bats got to work. 

A leadoff walk, the Titans sixth free pass of the day, was followed by an errant throw to put two on for Fontanetta. An infield single by the freshman brought in the first run of the game. Earl plated another on a rip to left. Senior Lexy Trammell (Peoria, Ill.-Limestone) drew a two-out walk to load the bases, and Palczynski crushed a grand slam to straight-away centerfield to put the Titans on top, 6-0.

Grubczak retired nine of the next 11 Pioneers she faced to close out the 6-0 victory for IWU. 

Game Two: Illinois Wesleyan 16, Carroll 1 (5 inn.)
Palczynski and sophomore Madison Moore (Verona, Wis.-Edgewood) fueled the offensive eruption in game two. Palczynski went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, two runs scored, and a homer. Moore, who launched the first home run of her career, finished 3-for-4 with four runs scored and a RBI. Earl, senior Hannah Heraty (Libertyville, Ill.-Libertyville), and freshmen Bailey Turner (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) and Kristina Sherwin (Plainfield, Ill.-St. Francis) also added two hits each. Heraty added three RBIs, while Earl and Sherwin notched two apiece.
Grubczak pitched the first two innings of the game, while Turner tossed the final three and earned the win in the circle.

Moore led the game off with a homer, the first of her career, to put IWU ahead 1-0 right away.

The Titans added to their lead in a big way in the second, plating five runs on six hits. Palczynski led things off with a single through the left side, and senior Toni Tortorella (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine South) reached with a hit to put runners on the corners with one out. Turner belted a RBI double to right center, and Sherwin followed with a two-run single up the middle to extend Illinois Wesleyan's advantage to 4-0. Moore tripled and Fontanetta walked before scoring on Earl's double to left center to give IWU a 6-0 cushion through one and a half.

The Green and White boosted its lead to double digits with four runs on four hits in the fourth. Fontanetta drove one in on a RBI double, and scored on Hertaty's run-scoring single. Palczynski and Trammell tacked on two more to put IWU up 10-0.

The Titans remained hot at the plate in the fifth, adding six more runs to put their lead at 16-0. Stepping in as a pinch hitter, junior Kaylee Bowers (Champaign, Ill.-Champaign Central) poked a single up the middle to score senior Amanda Rogers (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal West). Heraty singled down the left field line scoring two more, and Palczynski capped the day with a three-run round-tripper. 

Carroll broke through with a run in the bottom of the fifth, breaking Illinois Wesleyan's scoreless streak of 16 innings. Turner closed out the game with a pair of fly outs to seal the 16-1 win in five innings.

The Titans continue league play with a midweek doubleheader at Millikin University, March 31. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.
 
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