BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - After dropping a tight bout with 15th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the Illinois Wesleyan University softball team took down DePauw University in the final game of day one of the IWU Invitational Saturday, April 6, at Inspiration Field. The Green and White were edged, 1-0, by UWW, but came back to overpower the Tigers, 15-7, in five innings. With the split, IWU upped its record to 12-6 on the year.
Game One: Illinois Wesleyan 0, No. 15 UW-Whitewater 1
The opening game of the tournament was a pitcher's duel from the jump, as the two hurlers combined for five strikeouts in the first inning alone.
The Warhawks put two on in the top of the second, pushing two into scoring position with one outs. Sophomore Gianna Certa (Third Lake, Ill.-Grayslake North) buckled down though, as junior
Jen Kuhn (Normal, Ill.-University High) and freshman
JD Dowling (Roselle, Ill.-Lake Park) hauled in key catches to keep the game scoreless.
A walk by freshman Elyssa Stenger (Bloomington, Ill.-Central Catholic) gave IWU its first base runner of the game in the bottom of the third. An infield single by freshman Hailey Milgazo (Poway, Calif.-Poway) put two aboard, but a strikeout thwarted the threat as the game remained deadlocked, 0-0, into the fourth.
A one-out single up the middle by Kuhn gave IWU another opportunity in the fourth, but the Titans could not capitalize.
After a nine-pitch at bat resulted in a Warhawk walk, a sac bunt moved the runner into scoring position only to have Certa fan the very next batter.
UW-Whitewater recorded its second hit of the day in the sixth, driving in the first run of the day in the process. A deep drive down the left field line, which was deemed a homer after an umpire conference, gave the Warhawks a 1-0 edge.
Illinois Wesleyan had the winning run at the plate after a single by Kuhn in the seventh, but IWU could not get her past second as the Titans fell, 1-0.
Certa was sacked with the loss in the circle, despite a strong complete game effort. She fanned eight over seven innings, allowing four hits and one run. With the loss, Certa stands at 5-2 on the season.
Game Two: Illinois Wesleyan 15, DePauw 7 (5 inn.)
Playing as the away team, IWU wasted little time cracking the scoreboard in game two. The Green and White pounced for two with a steal of home and run-scoring single from junior Ava Khoury (Columbia, Ill.-Columbia).
After DePauw used an RBI single to left to cut the IWU lead in half, freshman Mallory Holland (Shelbyville, Ill.-Shelbyville) escaped a bases loaded jam with a clutch double play turned by senior Bailey Turner (Normal. Ill.-Normal West) to keep the Green and White in front.
Leading 2-1, the Titans erupted for six hits in each of the next two innings. Stenger singled to left to get the second frame started. After a double to right by sophomore Anna Beckman (Bourbonnais, Ill.-Bishop McNamara) put runners on second and third, Milgazo ripped a two-run single to left. Kuhn followed with an RBI single before Turner cranked a three-run blast down the left field line to push IWU's lead to 8-1 after one and a half innings.
DePauw plated four runs in the second to pull back within three, but Illinois Wesleyan struck for six more in the third. The inning featured homers by Beckman and Kuhn, along with a two-run double off the bat of Stenger.
The Titans carried a 15-7 lead into the bottom of the fifth with eyes on the run-rule win. A one-out walk and a single put two on with the Tigers down to their final out. A single to left was quickly fielded by Dowling, who fired a throw home to Stenger for the out at the plate, sealing the 15-7 victory.
Illinois Wesleyan churned out 18 hits as DePauw finished with eight. Milgazo, Kuhn, Stenger, and Turner tallied three hits apiece, with Kuhn driving in a team-best four. Turner notched three RBIs.
Holland nabbed the first win of her collegiate career with a five-inning complete game.
The Green and White wrap up the weekend tomorrow, April 7, with an 11 a.m. first pitch against UWW and a 4 p.m. tilt with DePauw.
