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Natalie Grubczak pitching | IWU vs. Wartburg
Kodiak Creative
4
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 3-4
3
Centenary College CENT 4-7
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
3-4
4
Final
3
Centenary College CENT
4-7
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 R H E
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 4 7 1
Centenary College CENT 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 3 6 3

W: Mardjetko, Nina (3-2) L: Abigail Hodg (0-3)

4
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 4-4
0
Centenary College CENT 4-8
Winner
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
4-4
4
Final
0
Centenary College CENT
4-8
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 4 7 0
Centenary College CENT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

W: Grubczak, Natalie (1-1) L: Alexis Roach (0-2)

Game Recap: Softball |

Softball Starts Spring Break with Sunday Sweep

Grubczak throws complete game, one-hit shutout in nightcap

MARSHALL, Texas - After a multiple hour delay and a location change, the Illinois Wesleyan University softball team began its spring break trip Sunday evening, March 12, with a doubleheader against Centenary College at the home field of East Texas Baptist University. The twin bill, which was moved from Shreveport, La. to Marshall, Texas due to poor field conditions, saw the Titans (4-4) sweep the day with scores of 4-3 and 4-0.

Game One: Illinois Wesleyan 4, Centenary 3 (8 inn.)
Centenary manufactured the first run of the game off a leadoff double. The two-bagger was followed by a walk to put runners on the corners with one out. After a key strikeout from senior Nina Mardjetko (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont), a RBI single gave CC the first run of the game.

IWU responded in the top of the fifth as freshman Claire Post (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) went yard, blasting the first homer of her collegiate career, to tie the score at one. Junior Priscilla Peek (Deer Creek, Ill.-Peoria Notre Dame) followed with a solo shot of her own, to push Illinois Wesleyan ahead, 2-1. The back-to-back jacks forced a Centenary pitching change, which ultimately kept the Titans from tacking on any more in the frame.

Sophomore Ava Khoury (Columbia, Ill.-Columbia) broke the sixth open with a duck snort to center and advanced to second on junior Bailey Turner's (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) sacrifice bunt, but a pop out and strikeout stranded Khoury on second.

Mardjetko sent Centenary down in order in the bottom of the sixth, as three straight grounders, including a web gem by freshman Casey Wissmiller (Bloomington, Ill.-Olympia) at third, sent the game to the seventh.

Peek led off the Titans' half of the seventh with a gritty at bat. After fouling off pitch after pitch, Peek finally got enough of one and sent it back up the middle for an infield single. The base knock was all IWU mustered in the inning though, as Centenary went to the plate in the bottom of the seventh with Illinois Wesleyan clinging to a one-run lead.

Centenary capitalized on a leadoff walk, scoring the game-tying run on a two-out double down the left field line to even the score at two and force extras.

With a runner on second due to the international tiebreaker, junior Maya Black (Springfield, Ill.-Glenwood) put a sacrifice bunt down the third base line. The small-ball play saw an error from Centenary allow junior Megan Fontanetta (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Buffalo Grove) to score from third. Khoury followed with a single up the middle to put two in scoring position for Turner. A double steal pushed Black across home safely for a key insurance run. 

Things got interesting in the bottom of the eighth, as Centenary used an RBI groundout to pull within one. A single, an error, and a walk loaded the bases with two outs, but Mardjetko escaped the jam with a fly out to right to close out the 4-3 victory.

Mardjetko earned the win in the circle, going the distance with six strikeouts. She scattered six hits and allowed three runs, two of which were earned, while walking three.

Offensively, IWU outhit CC by a slim 7-6 margin. Khoury and Peek paced the production at the plate with a pair of multi-hit games. Khoury went 2-for-4, while Peek finished 2-for-3 with a homer.

Game Two: Illinois Wesleyan 4, Centenary 0
The top of the second inning of the nightcap saw IWU spring for three runs on three hits. A one-out walk was followed by a double to the right center gap from sophomore Jen Kuhn (Normal, Ill.-University High). Senior Erica Barker (Linton, Ind.-Linton-Stockton) then came through with an RBI groundout in a pinch hit spot before senior Madison Moore (Verona, Wis.-Edgewood) singled through the left side to double the Titan lead. Fontanetta capped the scoring with a double to right that scored Moore, extending IWU's lead to 3-0 into the bottom of the second. 

Making the most of a CC miscue, IWU tacked on an insurance run in the fifth as Black reached via error and promptly swiped third. Khoury then pushed Black across home on a RBI groundout to extend the IWU advantage to 4-0.

Senior Natalie Grubczak (Medinah, Ill.-Lake Park), who held Centenary to just one hit, slammed the door with a 1-2-3 seventh to preserve the shutout and complete the sweep, 4-0.

Grubzak finished with six strikeouts, two of which came in the seventh, and walked just one over seven innings of one-hit work in the circle. She earned her first win of the year with the performance. 

Khoury's bat remained hot as she led the Titans with a 2-for-3 showing that included two doubles and one driven in. She was the lone player to record multiple hits in the game as IWU outhit CC, 7-1.

Illinois Wesleyan gets right back after it tomorrow, March 13, with a doubleheader against LeTourneau University. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m. in Marshall, Texas.

 
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