CHICAGO - One day removed from a tightly contested senior day sweep, the Illinois Wesleyan University softball team continued College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin competition at North Park University Sunday, April 30. The Titans (22-13, 12-2 CCIW) could not dig themselves out of an early hole in game one, falling to the Vikings (17-20-1, 9-7 CCIW), 6-3. In game two, the Green and White weathered a rain delay before erupting for a 10-4 victory.

Game One: Illinois Wesleyan 6, North Park 3
Sophomore Jen Kuhn (Normal, Ill.-University High) got the game started in a hurry, singling through the right side and quickly taking second on a passed ball. A single by senior Madison Moore (Verona, Wis.-Edgewood) put runners on the corners with one out, but a grounder and a flyout to deep center stranded two.

The Vikings came back with a two-run double in the bottom half of the first. After a leadoff walk, an infield single put runners on the corners with two outs. The NPU five hole hitter then lifted a double to the center field fence to give the home team a 2-0 edge. 

North Park expanded its lead to 6-0 with a run in the third and three more in the fourth to carry a comfortable lead into the fifth.

A leadoff single from junior Priscilla Peek (Deer Creek, Ill.-Peoria Notre Dame) kickstarted things for IWU in the fifth. Freshman Casey Wissmiller (Bloomington, Ill.-Olympia) walked and junior Maya Black (Springfield, Ill.-Glenwood) singled to load the bases with the lineup turning over to the top. A bases loaded, five-pitch free pass drawn by Kuhn brought in the Titans' first run of the day. Moore drove a sacrifice fly to center to bring home Peek, while an NPU errant throw allowed Wissmiller to scamper home to cut the deficit in half, 6-3.

After freshman Caroline Gatchell (Grayslake, Ill.-Carmel Catholic) worked around a two-out walk to keep the three-run difference intact, IWU went to the plate for its final time. The Titans could not muster anything at the plate, falling by a 6-3 tally. It marked IWU's first-ever loss to North Park, snapping a 52-game win streak.

Senior Nina Mardjetko (Lemont, Ill.-Lemont) got the start in the circle, but threw just two innings before being lifted for freshman lefty Gatchell. Mardjetko allowed three runs, none of which were earned, on two hits, while walking one and plunking two. Gatchell's final line over four innings of work saw her tagged for three runs on four hits, while she struck out three and walked two.

Illinois Wesleyan finished tied with North Park with six hits in the game. Peek paced the Titans with a pair of hits in three at bats, while four others recorded a base knock. Kuhn and Moore were credited with RBIs.

Game Two: North Park 4, Illinois Wesleyan 10
North Park wasted no time jumping in front in game two. The Vikings, playing as the visitors, used a two-out double to spark a two-out rally. NPU lifted a blooper just out of the reach of a Titan, and with some aggressive baserunning brought in the runner from second. Freshman Gianna Certa (Third Lake, Ill.-Grayslake North) kept things from getting any further though, inducing a flyout to right to strand two. 

Turner broke through with IWU's first hit of the game in the second, blooping a two-out single to right center. Junior Megan Fontanetta (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Buffalo Grove) followed with a base knock to left, putting two on with Kuhn digging into the batter's box. A dribbler up the middle was not enough to keep the threat going as a fielder's choice ended the inning.

After a lengthy rain delay, Certa fanned three straight to send the Titans back to the plate in the third. Back-to-back doubles from Moore and freshman Claire Post (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) put two on. A wild pitch allowed Moore to scamper home and sophomore Ava Khoury (Columbia, Ill.-Columbia) followed with a two-run blast down the left field line as IWU grabbed a 3-1 lead through three innings.

Two hits and a walk saw the Vikings trim the lead to one, 3-2, in the top of the fourth, but Illinois Wesleyan came right back. A leadoff walk from Kuhn put things in motion as Black bunted her to second. Moore came through with an RBI single and Post followed with a base on balls before Khoury ripped a two-run double to the right-center gap, upping the lead to 6-2.

North Park cut into the lead in the fifth and sixth innings. The Vikings used an RBI groundout to score in the fifth and a solo homer in the sixth to trim the Titan lead to two, 6-4. Senior Natalie Grubczak (Medinah, Ill.-Lake Park) entered in relief following the leadoff homer in the sixth, and quickly retired back-to-back batters. A walk and a single put her in a bit of a jam, but the senior hurler fanned NPU's cleanup hitter to thwart the threat.

After Peek's leadoff walk, Khoury drilled her second homer of the game out to left-center. The two-run shot marked the 14th of the season for the sophomore and extended IWU's lead to 8-4. Kuhn came through with a sacrifice fly and Black dumped a single down the left field line to score senior Erica Barker (Linton, Ind.-Linton-Stockton), giving IWU a 10-4 advantage into the seventh.

After surrendering a leadoff single, Grubczak fanned the very next batter and then induced a game-ending 4-6-3 double play to finish out a 10-4 win. 

Certa earned the victory in the circle, the first of her career, while Grubczak notched the save. The senior threw two innings of two-hit ball, allowing zero runs and striking out two. 

Illinois Wesleyan cranked out 12 hits, six of which were for extra bases, en route to hitting double-digits in the scoring column. Seven different players recorded a hit in the game, with Khoury and Moore tallying three apiece. Khoury had a monster game, going 3-for-4 with two homers, six RBIs, and two runs scored. Moore finished 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored, an RBI, and a walk. Black rounded out the multi-hit efforts with a 2-for-4 showing that included an RBI. 

Illinois Wesleyan takes a few days off for final exams before traveling to DePauw University for a non-conference doubleheader in Greencastle, Ind. Wednesday, May 3. First pitch is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. ET.