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CCIW Softball Championship | IWU vs NCC
Jimmy Naprstek/Kodiak Creative
2
North Central NCC 25-11
3
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 27-13
North Central NCC
25-11
2
Final
3
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
27-13
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
North Central NCC 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 6 1
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 2 0 0 1 0 0 X 3 5 1

W: Mardjetko, Nina (12-5) L: Corban (16-5) S: Grubczak, Natalie (2)

Game Recap: Softball |

Softball Holds Off North Central to Claim CCIW Tournament Championship

Titans set to make program’s 19th NCAA Tournament appearance

DECATUR, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University softball team claimed its 15th College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament Championship, and the program's first since 2019, Sunday, May 8. IWU (27-13) defeated fourth-seeded North Central College, 3-2, at Millikin University's Workman Family Softball Complex to earn the CCIW's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

The Titans jumped on the Cardinals (25-11) quickly, scoring two runs on two hits and an error in the bottom of the first. Junior Mikayla Fairfield (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) reached via error with one out. Junior Madison Moore (Verona, Wis.-Edgewood), who was presented with the CCIW's Elite 25 award pregame, drove Fairfield in on a triple to center. Sophomore Bailey Turner (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) capped the frame with a RBI double to field IWU to an early 2-0 advantage.

A clutch double play erased a leadoff walk in the third as senior Colleen Palczynski (Mt. Prospect, Ill.-Prospect), freshman Jen Kuhn (Normal, Ill.-University High), and freshman Ava Khoury (Columbia, Ill.-Columbia) kept the game scoreless midway through.

Junior Nina Mardjetko (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont) tossed a 1-2-3 fourth to set the table for what proved to be the game-winning run.

Turner got things rolling with a single to left and scooted into second on sophomore Hope Yeoman's (Lafayette, Ind.-William Henry Harrison) sacrifice bunt. Sophomore Megan Fontanetta (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Buffalo Grove) remained red-hot at the plate, belting a triple down the left field line to score Turner and push IWU's lead to three. 

The Cardinals got a run back in the fifth on a solo homer to trim the Illinois Wesleyan advantage to one, 3-1. 

Back-to-back singles by NCC led to another run in the sixth, but Mardjetko and the Titan defense held strong. After a pop up, Kuhn made a clutch play at short, getting the runner at first on a throw from her knees to escape the inning and strand two. 

Junior Natalie Grubczak (Medinah, Ill.-Lake Park) helped Marjetko close things out in the seventh. Following back-to-back singles, Grubczak entered in relief with one away. The junior sat the first batter down on strikes before finishing off the save with a throw to first. 

Illinois Wesleyan will learn its NCAA Tournament path tomorrow, May 9, as part of the NCAA Division III Softball selection show at 12 p.m. The selection show can be viewed by clicking here.


 
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