MARSHALL, Texas - The Illinois Wesleyan University softball team dropped both ends of a doubleheader against LeTourneau University Monday, March 13, as the team continued its spring break trip at the Jan Gentry Classic hosted by East Texas Baptist University. The Titans (4-6) fell 3-1 in game one and then 7-3 in the second game against the Yellowjackets (9-6).
Game One: LeTourneau 3, Illinois Wesleyan 1
Senior Nina Mardjetko (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont) threw four hitless innings to keep the game scoreless into the fifth, where Illinois Wesleyan ran into some trouble.
LETU's leadoff batter reached with a single and stole second before coming around to score on a base knock through the left side. Ultimately, LeTourneau plated three runs on three hits to take a 3-0 edge into the bottom of the fifth.
Junior Megan Fontanetta (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Buffalo Grove) laced a double into left and moved to third on a groundout to get things rolling in the bottom of the seventh. Sophomore
Ava Khoury (Columbia, Ill.-Columbia) walked to put runners on the corners with one out, bringing the tying run to the plate. A nine-pitch at bat resulted in a sacrifice fly from junior
Priscilla Peek (Deer Creek, Ill.-Peoria Notre Dame), producing IWU's first run of the game. With Khoury on first and the tying run back at the plate with two away, the Titans rally ended there, 3-1.
Mardjetko (3-4) finished with a stat line of six strikeouts, four hits, three runs, and two walks over seven innings of work. It marked her third complete game of the season and the 15th of her career. The outing also served as her third straight appearance with six-or-more strikeouts.
Game Two: LeTourneau 7, Illinois Wesleyan 3
LeTourneau manufactured the game's first run in the top of the fourth. After a leadoff double, LETU used a pair of bunts to score one. A two-run double expanded the Yellowjackets' lead to 3-0 and saw the Titans make a change in the circle. Freshman Caroline Gatchell (Grayslake, Ill.-Carmel Catholic) entered in relief of fellow freshman
Gianna Certa (Third Lake, Ill.-Grayslake North), inheriting a runner on second with one out.
Illinois Wesleyan cut into the deficit in the bottom of the fourth, as Khoury and Peek reached base with one out. Khoury got on via an error and Peek singled up the middle. Junior Bailey Turner (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) walked to load the bases, and a wild pitch plated IWU's first run. Back-to-back groundouts kept the Titans from scoring more in the inning, as IWU stranded two.
LeTourneau's offense added to the scoreboard in the fifth, springing for three runs on four hits and an error to charge ahead, 7-1.
Fontanetta split the left-center gap in the fifth, cranking a double to the wall with two outs. Junior Maya Black (Springfield, Ill.-Glenwood) followed with an infield single, but the threat ended there as the game went to the sixth with LETU in front by six.
After stranding one in the sixth, IWU returned to the plate looking to fight back from a six-run deficit. Junior Hope Yeoman (Lafayette, Ind.-William Henry Harrison) pushed a single up the middle to begin the inning and took second on a passed ball. Senior Madison Moore (Verona, Wis.-Edgewood) followed with her third hit of the ball game, singling, to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Fontanetta cleared the bases with a two-run double to left-center, trimming the LETU lead to 7-3 and forcing a Yellowjackets pitching change. The reset kept the Titans from completing the comeback, as the LETU reliever came in and retired the side.
Certa took the loss in the circle, throwing 3.1 innings with four runs on four hits and three strikeouts. Gatchell tossed one inning in relief, while senior Natalie Grubczak (Medinah, Ill.-Lake Park) threw the final 2.2 innings and struck out one.
Moore finished 3-for-4 with two stolen bases, while Fontanetta went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two doubles as IWU finished with 10 hits.
Illinois Wesleyan will take tomorrow off before battling nationally ranked University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Wednesday, March 15. First pitch of the double feature is set for 12 p.m.
