(040624) - SB - IWU vs UWW | casey Wissmiller running out for starting lineup intors

Kodiak Creative

Softball Hosts Coe in Midweek Twin Bill

First pitch set for 2 p.m.

4/23/2024 10:00:00 AM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Taking a brief break from College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play, the Illinois Wesleyan University softball team will host Coe College Wednesday, April 24, for a doubleheader at Inspiration Field. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.

IWU enters the midweek contest with a 21-8 overall record. The Titans are coming off sweeps of Carthage and North Park, April 20-21. Coe holds a 24-6 record and brings a five-game win streak into Wednesday. The Kohawks, who will host Nebraska Wesleyan a day prior to making the trip to Bloomington, blanked Loras 4-0 and 9-0, April 20.

Illinois Wesleyan and Coe have met 14 times previously, with the Kohawks leading the all-time series, 8-6. The two teams last squared off in St. Louis, March 4-5, 2023. There, Coe pulled away with a pair of tight victories by scores of 4-3 and 2-1 to snap IWU's five-game win streak against the Cedar Rapids-based institution.

The Titans are led by a quartet of hitters with batting averages north of .400. Freshman Hailey Milgazo (Poway, Calif.-Poway) tops the team with a .480 clip behind a team-high 47 hits. She also leads IWU with 13 stolen bases. Junior Jen Kuhn (Normal, Ill.-University High) is amid a breakout season in which she is hitting .438 with a team-high eight doubles. Kuhn also has 30 RBIs, 26 runs scored, and 13 walks on the season. Sophomore Anna Beckman (Bourbonnais, Ill.-Bishop McNamara) and sophomore Casey Wissmiller (Bloomington, Ill.-Olympia) enter the double dip hitting .434 and .410, respectively. Beckman has a team-high slugging percentage of .697 and also leads the squad with an on-base percentage of .527. Wissmiller is top on the team with 32 RBIs and six homers.

In the circle, sophomore Gianna Certa (Third Lake, Ill.-Grayslake North) is coming off a six-game stretch that earned her CCIW Pitcher of the Week honors for the second consecutive week. The sophomore righty leads the staff with a 1.56 earned run average. She has struck out 71 over 89.2 innings of work and has amassed an 11-2 record. Freshman Mallory Holland (Shelbyville, Ill.-Shelbyville) is 2-0 on the year with a pair of saves. Sophomore Caroline Gatchell (Grayslake, Ill.-Carmel Catholic) has six wins in the circle this season. She is second on the team with 41 Ks.

Wednesday's doubleheader gets underway with a 2 p.m. first pitch from Inspiration Field. The games will be live streamed through the Titan Broadcast Network, while live stats will also be available. Links can be found on the softball schedule page of IWUsports.com.

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