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Hope Yeoman batting vs Millikin
Carson Schaefer
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 23-12
1
North Central NCC 20-15
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
23-12
3
Final
1
North Central NCC
20-15
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 3 7 3
North Central NCC 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0

W: Monk, Madie (9-3) L: Corban, Gianna (11-9)

5
North Central NCC 20-16
7
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 24-12
North Central NCC
20-16
5
Final
7
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
24-12
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
North Central NCC 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 5 6 2
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 0 0 0 1 4 2 X 7 9 2

W: Mardjetko, Nina (9-3) L: Adams, Breanna (7-5)

Game Recap: Softball |

Softball Squeaks Out Gritty Wins in Sweep of North Central

Titans lock up No. 2 seed in next week’s CCIW Tournament

NAPERVILLE, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University softball team closed out regular season College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play with a doubleheader sweep of North Central College at Shanower Family Field Saturday, May 1. 

The Titans won by scores of 3-1 and 7-5 to lock up the No. 2 seed in next week's CCIW Tournament as IWU boosted its record to 24-12 overall and 21-9 in league play. NCC dropped to 20-16 overall with a 16-14 mark in CCIW games.

Game One: Illinois Wesleyan 3, North Central 1
Junior Madie Monk's (Manteno, Ill.-Manteno) complete game effort in the circle kept the Cardinals off balance in the opener. Monk allowed just one unearned run on five hits, while striking out four and walking none. With the win, she upped her record to 4-3 on the season.

Illinois Wesleyan's run production came on seven hits, with junior Colleen Palczynski (Mt. Prospect, Ill.-Prospect) and freshman Hope Yeoman (Lafayette, Ind.-William Henry Harrison) notching RBI knocks. Palczynski went 1-for-3 with a RBI and Yeoman registered two RBIs in a 2-for-3 effort.

North Central struck first, as the Cardinals made the most of an IWU miscue to take a 1-0 lead after just one inning. 

Illinois Wesleyan evened the score in the top of the fourth. Freshman Kristina Sherwin (Plainfield, Ill.-St. Francis) kicked off the inning with a double to center and came home on Palczynski's rip through the right side to tie the game at 1-1.

The Titans broke the tie in the sixth, getting two runs on two hits. Senior Toni Tortorella (Park Ridge, Ill.-Maine South) opened the inning with a single up the middle. A pair of bunts loaded the bases, and Yeoman took advantage. The freshman smoked a single back up the middle, bringing in two and putting IWU in front, 3-1. 

After stranding one in the sixth, Monk bested the Cardinals in the seventh. NCC brought the winning run to the plate with two on, but a grounder ended the threat and gave IWU the 3-1 victory.

Game Two: North Central 5, Illinois Wesleyan 7
Illinois Wesleyan picked up a gritty win in game two, coming back from deficits twice in the final three innings. The Titans finished with nine hits to the Cardinals' six, as three players notched multi-hit games. Senior Hannah Heraty (Libertyville, Ill.-Libertyville) and Sherwin each went 2-for-4 with a run scored, while freshman Bailey Turner (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a RBI. Tortorella, who went 1-for-4, drove in a team-high three in the win, while Palczynski walked four times and scored a run.

Sophomore Nina Mardjetko (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont) threw 6.1 innings, allowing three runs on four hits and striking out three. 

Turner's RBI single in the fourth gave Illinois Wesleyan a short-lived 1-0 lead before North Central responded with a three-run fifth. 

Trailing 3-1, Heraty singled to lead off the inning. Sherwin followed with a double to right center, and NCC elected to walk Palczynski to load the bases with nobody out and Tortorella coming to the plate. The senior utility player made the Cardinals pay, splitting the gap in right center with a bases-clearing double. Yeoman capped the inning with a RBI single, putting IWU in front 5-3 into the sixth.

The Cardinals clawed back with two runs on two hits and an error in the sixth to tie the game at 5-5.

The Green and White took advantage of an error by NCC in the bottom of the inning. Turner's leadoff single was followed by a sacrifice bunt attempt which turned into a two-run play for IWU as an errant throw brought both runners home. 

Mardjetko finished off the 7-5 win with a 1-2-3 seventh to complete the doubleheader sweep.

Illinois Wesleyan finishes out the regular season with a non-conference doubleheader at fifth-ranked DePauw University Monday, May 3. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.

 
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