ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The Illinois Wesleyan University softball team completed its weekend sweep of Washington University in St. Louis Sunday, March 5, with a 3-2 comeback in eight innings. The win came after a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Coe College earlier in the day, as IWU finished up the weekend with a 2-2 overall record. 

Game One: Coe 2, Illinois Wesleyan 1
A solo homer off the bat of sophomore Ava Khoury (Columbia, Ill.-Columbia) gave IWU its lone run of the game. The one-run blast came in the bottom of the seventh, but Illinois Wesleyan's rally did not go any further as Coe's two-run third was enough to down the Titans.

Senior Natalie Grubczak (Medinah, Ill.-Lake Park) threw a complete game in the circle, allowing two runs on five hits and six walks, while striking out three. 

In all, IWU outhit Coe, 9-5, as senior Madison Moore (Verona, Wis.-Edgewood) and junior Bailey Turner (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) each recorded multiple hits. Moore went 2-for-4 with a stolen base, while Turner finished 2-for-3. 

Game Two: Illinois Wesleyan 3, No. 23 WashU 2
WashU jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first, but Illinois Wesleyan showed fight in the late innings just as it did one day prior. 

The Green and White leveled the game at 1-1, as freshman Casey Wissmiller (Bloomington, Ill.-Olympia) scampered home on a double steal in the fifth.

After Mardjetko held the Bears at bay in the seventh, Khoury made the most of her trip to the plate in the eighth. With a runner on second as a result of the international tiebreaker, Khoury cranked a round-tripper, her second of the day, to propel the Titans to a 3-1 advantage.

The Bears looked to respond in their half of the inning, but Mardjetko fanned the first batter and then got a fly out for the second out. A RBI single with two away made things interesting, but Mardjetko fooled the WashU batter on the 2-2 count to end the comeback with a strikeout.

In all, IWU finished the game with just two hits as WashU recorded five. Khoury went 1-for-3 with two RBIs, a walk, and a run scored. Junior Maya Black (Springfield, Ill.-Glenwood) notched IWU's other hit, going 1-for-2 with two free passes.

Mardjetko put together a strong performance in the circle, going all eight innings en route to her second win of the weekend. She held the Bears without an earned run on five hits and struck out eight, while issuing just one walk.

Illinois Wesleyan embarks on an eight-game, five-day trip to the south, March 12-16, for spring break. IWU will make a stop in Shreveport, La. for a double dip at Centenary College, March 12, before continuing on to Marshall, Texas for games against LeTourneau University, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, and East Texas Baptist University, March 13-16.