DECATUR, Ill. - In a battle of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin leaders, the Illinois Wesleyan University softball team swept Millikin University Wednesday evening, April 19, at the Workman Family Softball Field. The Titans broke out the bats for a 15-9 win in game one, before riding the long ball to a 4-3 game two victory. With the wins, IWU pushed its record to 17-10 overall and 8-0 in the CCIW, while upping its win streak to 13. Meanwhile, Millikin dipped to 19-9, 8-2 in the league, as the Big Blue were swept at home for the first time since March 16, 2021.

Game One: Illinois Wesleyan 15, Millikin 9
The Titan offense erupted in the fifth and sixth innings, erasing a 6-1 deficit. 

After a solo homer off the bat of freshman Claire Post (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) in the fourth, the Green and White went for four runs on four hits in the fifth. A two-out rally started with junior Bailey Turner's (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) single. A wild pitch and single by Priscilla Peek (Deer Creek, Ill.-Peoria Notre Dame) put two on for Post, who came through with a run-scoring knock to right. Freshman Casey Wissmiller (Bloomington, Ill.-Olympia) then sent a ball out to left center evading the grasp of the Big Blue outfielder to even the score at six all.

The potent Titan offense was not done yet, as seven hits and two errors led to an eight-run sixth as IWU lit up the scoreboard like a christmas tree. Senior Madison Moore (Verona, Wis.-Edgewood) opened the frame with a single and came around to score on sophomore Ava Khoury's (Columbia, Ill.-Columbia) RBI single. Peek drove in a run on an error before RBI singles from Post, Wissmiller, and junior Maya Black (Springfield, Ill.-Glenwood) opened up an 11-6 lead. Moore's sacrifice fly scored junior Isabelle Piwowarczyk (Hometown, Ill.-Oak Lawn) and junior Megan Fontanetta (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Buffalo Grove) capped the inning with a two-run double to right. 

The game went to the bottom of the sixth with IWU on the verge of a run-rule victory, leading 14-6. 

Millikin responded with four hits and three runs in the sixth to send the game to the seventh, where Khoury cranked a double to left center. Turner singled putting runners on the corner for Peek, who drove in Khoury on a blooper turned fielder's choice to push the score to 15-9.

Senior Nina Mardjetko (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont) finished off the game with a 1-2-3 seventh sealing the game one victory. The win, which was Mardjetko's 10th of the season, saw her strikeout eight over seven innings.

Offensively, IWU poured it on with 18 hits, tying for the sixth-most in single game history. Six different players recorded multi-hit games, while every Titan with an at bat registered at least one hit. Post, Turner, and Wissmiller finished with a team-best three hits. Turner went 3-or-3 with two runs scored, Post finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs and a pair of runs, and Wissmiller drove in four as part of a 3-for-5 effort.

Game Two: Millikin 3, Illinois Wesleyan 4
The long ball powered the Titans to the win in game two, as IWU held on to an early lead to complete the sweep. 

Moore drew a bases-loaded walk in the second to crack the scoring column, and Khoury and Peek added homers in the third to boost the advantage to 4-0. Sophomore Jen Kuhn (Normal, Ill.-University High) began the third with a walk before Khoury smashed a homer to right center. The two-run roundtripper was her ninth of the season. One out later, Peek poked one out to left to extend the lead to four.

The four-run lead stood into the sixth, where Millikin scored twice on two hits, but senior Natalie Grubczak (Medinah, Ill.-Lake Park) stranded two as Turner's leaping snag at second ended the threat.

Things got interesting in the seventh, as a one-out triple brought the tying run to the plate with one out. A wild pitch allowed the Big Blue to pull within one, but Grubczak induced a groundout and a popup to finish off the win.

Peek led the Green and White offense with a 2-for-2 outing that included two runs scored, an RBI, and a walk. Millikin outhit IWU, 6-5, in the nightcap, as Moore, Khoury, and Wismiller recorded the other three hits.

Grubczak went the distance, allowing three runs on six hits over seven innings to improve to 6-2 in the circle.

The Titans take a break from conference play this weekend as they travel to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Sunday, April 23, for a twin bill. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.