BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The No. 25 Illinois Wesleyan University softball team won its College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin opener, 6-0, before dropping the second leg of the doubleheader, 8-3, to Millikin University Wednesday, April 10. With the split, IWU is 14-7 (1-1 CCIW), while MU is 14-10 (2-2 CCIW).

Illinois Wesleyan 6, Millikin 0
Junior Jen Kuhn (Normal, Ill.-University) gave IWU its first base runner of the game in the second. A sac bunt scooted Kuhn to second, but a pair of groundouts stranded her as the game remained scoreless into the third.

A bunt single and a four-pitch walk gave Millikin an opportunity with nobody out in the third, but a fly out down the right field line was turned into a double play by freshman Hailey Milgazo (Poway, Calif.-Poway). Making the catch on a dead sprint in towards the line, Milgazo threw a strike to home, where freshman Elyssa Stenger (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) applied the tag. Sophomore Gianna Certa (Third Lake, Ill.-Grayslake North) finished off the inning with a strikeout to send IWU back to the plate with the game level, 0-0.

In the bottom of the frame, sophomore Anna Beckman (Bourbonnais, Ill.-Bishop McNamara) sparked a two-out rally before scoring the game's first run. Milgazo legged out an infield single, while Beckman flexed her speed to get to third on the play. Rounding the base aggressively, Beckman forced an errant throw by the Big Blue and took off for home to push the Titans ahead, 1-0.

Junior Ava Khoury (Columbia, Ill.-Columbia) turned a lineout into a double play to carry Illinois Wesleyan's 1-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth, where the Green and White pounced for five runs. Three hits and a pair of errors allowed the Titans to manufacture a big inning and open up a 6-0 advantage. Sophomore Claire Post (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) reached on an error and senior Megan Fontanetta (Arlington Heights, Ill.-Buffalo Grove) followed with a single to put the pressure on the Big Blue defense. Beckman singled to load the bases and Milgazo followed with a ball in play that brought home a run. Fontanetta ultimately took an extra base on the ball of Milgazo's bat courtesy of an errant throw. Sophomore Casey Wissmiller (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) smacked an RBI single through the left side before two more trotted home safely. 

In the sixth, the Big Blue had two on before Beckman turned a rare solo double play from center. With runners on second and third, Beckman tracked down a fly ball in shallow center before tagging out a baserunner well-off the base between second and third for an inning-ending double play. 

Certa slammed the door with a 1-2-3 seventh to secure the 6-0 shutout win. With the victory, Certa drove her record to 7-2 in the circle this season. The sophomore pitcher struck out two over seven innings, while scattering six hits.

Offensively IWU matched MU hit-for-hit as each team tallied six. Illinois Wesleyan's were spread across five players, with Beckman going 2-for-3 in the leadoff spot. Milgazo, Wissmiller, and Kuhn registered RBIs.

Game Two: Illinois Wesleyan 3, Millikin 8
Millikin charged ahead with a four-run second inning, forcing Illinois Wesleyan to fight back from behind. 

IWU's runs all came on one swing, a three-run shot down the left field line by Kuhn. In all, the Titans stranded seven on base in an 8-3 setback.

Sophomore Caroline Gatchell (Grayslake, Ill.-Carmel Catholic) started the game and was ultimately the pitcher of record. She went four innings with two strikeouts, while freshman Mallory Holland (Shelbyville, Ill.-Shelbyville) threw the final two innings.

The Green and White was outhit 9-4 in the contest. Milgazo went 2-for-3, while Kuhn was 1-for-2 with three RBIs.

Illinois Wesleyan heads on the road for a CCIW twin bill at Elmhurst University Saturday, April 13. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.