BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University softball team ran its win streak to eight with a sweep of Illinois College Tuesday, March 26, at a gusty Inspiration Field. IWU took game one 13-8 before holding off IC, 11-8, in game two to complete the sweep. The Titans boosted their record to 10-4 on the season, while IC dove to 5-12.

Game One: Illinois Wesleyan 13, Illinois College 8
The first game of the day was a slugfest, featuring a total of four home runs and 29 hits.

Illinois Wesleyan struck first, using RBI singles from freshman Hailey Milgazo (Poway, Calif.-Poway) and junior Casey Wissmiller (Bloomington, Ill.-Olympia) to climb ahead, 2-0, but Illinois College answered with a two-run second to level the score.

IWU used a double steal to reclaim the lead in the bottom of the second, as senior Megan Fontanetta (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Buffalo Grove) won out in a pickle to give freshman Elyssa Stenger (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) time to trot home. 

With the Titans ahead 3-2, the Lady Blues used three hits and an error to push two across home plate in the top of the third.

Wissmiller got things rolling with a single through the left side in IWU's half of the third. Junior Ava Khoury (Columbia, Ill.-Columbia) followed with a double to right center, before senior Maya Black (Springfield, Ill.-Glenwood) singled to score pinch-runner Parker Cash (Galesburg, Ill.-Galesburg) from second. Leading 5-4, sophomore Anna Beckman (Bourbonnais, Ill.-Bishop McNamara) roped a two-run single to center to up the lead to three. After Milgazo singled to load the bases, junior Jen Kuhn (Normal, Ill.-University High) cleared them with a grand slam over the centerfield fence to break the game open, 11-4, into the fourth.

Solo homers by Fontanetta and sophomore Claire Post (Normal, Ill.-Normal Community) came in the fourth and sixth innings to power IWU to a 13-8 victory. 

Five Titans registered multiple hits in the win, with Beckman and Milgazo tallying three apiece. Beckman finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored, a pair driven in, and a walk. Milgazo finished 3-for-5 with a stolen base, two runs scored, and a RBI. Kuhn was the team RBI leader with four in a 2-for-3 showing.

In the circle, sophomore Gianna Certa (Third Lake, Ill.-Grayslake North) and freshman Mallory Holland (Shelbyville, Ill.-Shelbyville) split duties. Certa threw 3.2 innings with a pair of strikeouts, while Holland tossed the final 3.1 with two Ks to earn the extended save.

Game Two: Illinois Wesleyan 11, Illinois College 8
The Titans strung together hit after hit in the bottom of the first, plating six runs in their first trip to the plate. Beckman's single was followed by a bunt single from Milgazo, putting two aboard for Kuhn, who ripped a single up the middle. The poke, paired with an errant throw, brought home two to give IWU a 2-0 cushion. Wissmiller and Khoury added RBI doubles to open up a 4-0 advantage. A two-run single from Beckman capped the seven-hit, six-run inning as Illinois Wesleyan took a 6-0 lead into the second.

IWU's offense slowed from there, while Illinois College plated runs in the second, third, and fourth innings. IC scored two in the second and three in the third, to trim the Titan lead to one, 6-5.

The Lady Blues pounced for two more in the fourth on a pair of hits and two Titan miscues to take their first lead of the game, 7-6, into the bottom of the fourth.

Milgazo singled to start off IWU's half of the fifth and took second on an errant throw. A triple off the bat of Wissmiller tied the game at seven, but the Green and White's scoring run was not over. Khoury belted a run-scoring double to the fence in center and Post followed with a ball in play that brought in another run as IWU charged back ahead, 9-7.

Illinois College rallied in the fifth, scoring a run, before Holland entered in relief and shut down the Lady Blues with a pair of groundouts. Back-to-back fielder's choice grounders kept IWU's lead intact, 9-8, with the Titans coming to bat.

The Green and White scored two key insurance runs on the back of three hits and an error. Beckman's leadoff, ground-rule double proved to be the start of three straight hits as the Titans saw Milgazo and Kuhn single. The string of hits boosted Illinois Wesleyan's lead to three, 11-8, into the sixth.

Beckman and Milgazo led an IWU offense that finished with 15 hits. The reigning CCIW Hitter of the Week, Beckman finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Milgazo finished 3-for-4 with a team-best three runs scored. Kuhn, Wissmiller, and Khoury tallied two RBIs apiece to tie Beckman for the team lead. The trio, along with Fontanetta, notched two hits each in the win.

Sophomore Caroline Gatchell (Grayslake, Ill.-Carmel Catholic) earned the start in game two. The lefty hurler went 4.1 innings with three strikeouts to move to 4-1 on the season. Holland picked up her second save of the year with 2.2 scoreless innings, in which she yielded just four hits.

The Titans travel to Lake Forest College this Saturday, March 30, for a doubleheader against the Foresters. Game time of the twin bill is set for 1 p.m.