BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University softball team concluded its home tournament unbeaten for the second year in a row thanks to an extra-inning thriller victory over DePauw on April 2, 2023. (Photo by Jimmy Naprstek/Kodiak Creative)

Kodiak Creative

Titans to Battle Big Blue in Matchup of League Leaders

First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. in Decatur

4/18/2023 3:00:00 PM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University softball team heads down to Decatur, Ill. Wednesday, April 19, for a clash of College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin leaders. The Titans will take on Millikin University in a twin bill beginning with a 4 p.m. first pitch.

Illinois Wesleyan motors into the midweek with a 15-10 overall record, including a 6-0 CCIW standing. IWU most recently swept Carthage and Carroll, April 14-15, in Wisconsin. The 4-0 weekend saw junior Bailey Turner (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) named the CCIW Hitter of the Week, April 17. Millikin is 19-7 on the season and is currently on an eight-game win streak which has the Big Blue sitting at 8-0 in CCIW games. MU most recently swept a pair of road doubleheaders, April 14-15. The Big Blue shutout North Park 5-0 and 3-0, April 14, before taming Wheaton 4-2 and 6-2, April 15.

IWU and MU have a wealth of history, having met on the diamond 67 times ahead of Wednesday's double dip. Illinois Wesleyan holds a 46-21 edge in the series all-time, but the two teams have split the last 10 meetings. Last season, the Titans took two of three from the Big Blue. IWU won the initial meeting, 3-2, in eight innings on Ava Khoury's (Columbia, Ill.-Columbia) walk-off sac fly, but dropped the nightcap to MU, 4-0. The Titans returned the favor, blanking the Big Blue, 2-0, in the CCIW Tournament, May 7, en route to winning the conference tournament title.

The Green and White offense has found its stride in conference play, holding a team batting average of .341 through six CCIW games. Turner tops the Titans with a .500 clip, while freshman Casey Wissmiller (Bloomington, Ill.-Olympia) is leading the team with eight RBIs. Sophomore Jen Kuhn (Normal, Ill.-University High) is hitting .426 with a team-high 10 hits, while Khoury holds a .364 clip in conference play. Khoury is also second on the team with seven RBIs, and has seen two of her eight homers on the year come against CCIW foes.

Just as the hitting has improved in league play, so has IWU's pitching. The Titans hold a 1.50 earned run average and have limited opponents to a .203 average. Senior Nina Mardjetko (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont) has eaten up 23.0 innings and leads the staff with 14 strikeouts. Fellow senior Natalie Grubczak (Medinah, Ill.-Lake Park) is second on the team in innings pitched (13.0), strikeouts (7), and ERA (1.62). Freshman Caroline Gatchell (Grayslake, Ill.-Carmel Catholic) made her CCIW debut against Carthage, April 15, tossing six shutout innings, yielding just three hits and striking out six.

First pitch of Wednesday's key CCIW set is slated for 4 p.m. at Millikin's Workman Family Softball Field. Links to live stats and the live stream can be found on the softball schedule page of iwusports.com.

Print Friendly Version