BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University softball team closed out its home tournament with a perfect record as the Green and White topped the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and the University of Chicago Sunday, April 3. The Titans (12-7) took down the Warhawks 5-2, before finishing the tournament with a 6-1 triumph over Chicago.

Game One: UW-Whitewater 2, Illinois Wesleyan 5
After a pair of first-inning singles by the Warhawks, junior Natalie Grubczak (Medinah, Ill.-Lake Park) settled in. The junior hurler went on to retire 12 UWW hitters in a row, while the IWU offense provided run support. 

IWU broke through for a run in the third, as freshman Ava Khoury (Columbia, Ill.-Columbia) led the frame off with a single through the left side. After moving to second on freshman Jen Kuhn's (Normal, Ill.-University High) sacrifice bunt, Khoury came across the plate on sophomore Bailey Turner's (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) RBI double to the right field fence.

Illinois Wesleyan pounced for another one in the fourth, using two hits and a Warhawk miscue to generate a run. A leadoff double by junior Madison Moore (Verona, Wis.-Edgewood) was followed by a single off the bat of senior Hayley Earl (Washington, Ill.-Washington). Moore scampered home on an errant throw by the UWW catcher to up the IWU lead to 2-0.

The Titans made the most of a leadoff single by Kuhn in the fifth, as the sophomore shortstop battled through a 10-pitch at bat before tapping a single through the left side. With Kuhn on third after a sac bunt by Turner and groundout to the right side, sophomore Megan Fontanetta (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Buffalo Grove) drilled an RBI single up the middle.

Whitewater cut into the IWU lead in the top of the sixth, as the Warhawks strung a few hits together to trim the Titan lead to 3-2 into the bottom of the sixth.

Moore wasted little time, as she cranked a solo homer to left to extend Illinois Wesleyan's lead to 4-2. After UWW swapped pitchers, Earl ripped a double to right center and senior Colleen Palczynski (Mt. Prospect, Ill.-Prospect) singled to put two on. IWU's scoring came to a close on Khoury's run-scoring bloop-single to push the Green and White ahead, 5-2.

Grubczak slammed the door with a 1-2-3 seventh, which included a pair of strikeouts, to pick up the win in the circle. The Medinah, Ill. product fanned seven in a complete game effort to move to 3-1 on the year.

Illinois Wesleyan doubled up UW-Whitewater in hits, 10-5, as Moore, Earl, and Khoury each went 2-for-3. Overall seven Titans recorded hits on the morning, while Fontanetta, Moore, Khoury, and Turner notched RBIs. Moore scored two runs, one of which came on her first homerun of the season.

Game Two: Illinois Wesleyan 6, Chicago 1
Chicago jumped out to a 1-0 edge on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the first, a lead the Maroons maintained into the third.

Fontanetta ripped a two-out double into the left-center alley and Moore followed with a walk to put two aboard for the hot-hitting Earl. The senior catcher came through in the clutch, continuing the two-out rally, with a bases-clearing double to claim a 2-1 IWU advantage.

Illinois Wesleyan extended its lead in the fifth. Fontanetta once again got things rolling, this time dumping a double down the right-field line. Moore followed with her second homerun of the day, first of the game, to push the Titans ahead, 4-1.

Turner helped her own cause with a leadoff homer in the seventh and the Titans tacked on one last run via a Chicago miscue.

Senior Madie Monk (Manteno, Ill.-Manteno) tossed the final inning, picking up a strikeout, as she closed out the 6-1 IWU victory.

Turner earned the win in the circle, improving to 3-1 on the season. Offensively, IWU collected nine hits to UC's six led by Fontanetta's 3-for-4 effort. 

Illinois Wesleyan enjoys a few days off before opening up College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play on the road, April 9-10. The Titans will travel to Wheaton College for a doubleheader Saturday, April 9, before trekking to Augustana College for a twin bill Sunday, April 10.