BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University softball team will make its 20th all-time appearance in the NCAA Division III Softball Tournament this week, May 16-18, as the Titans trek to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh for NCAA regional play. IWU will square off against Wartburg College Thursday, May 16, at 2:30 p.m. UW-Oshkosh and College of Saint Benedict will tangle in the first game of the day, which is set for a 12 p.m. first pitch.
Illinois Wesleyan enters the postseason with a 30-10 overall record, having run through the regular season en route to College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin regular season and tournament titles. The Green and White most recently grabbed three wins over three days, including a 4-2 triumph over fourth-seeded Millikin University in the title game, to secure the conference's automatic bid to the national tournament.
THE ROAD TO OSHKOSH: The Titans path to this weekend's UW-Oshkosh Regional came by virtue of an automatic bid as the Green and White won three in-a-row to claim the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament title. The tournament championship is IWU's 16th in program history, and the program's first since 2021.
IWU AGAINST THE FIELD: Illinois Wesleyan played one of the more difficult schedules in all of Division III this season, boasting the 15th-toughest schedule in Division III. In fact, IWU has played nine of the other 61 teams in this year's national tournament, compiling a 6-5 record against the competition.
A LOOK AT THE ALL-TIME LEDGER: IWU has very little familiarity with the three other teams making up this weekend's regional, evident by a 7-4 record against this weekend's competition all-time. Illinois Wesleyan and Wartburg have a recent history, having met in each of the past three seasons. IWU leads the all-time tally, 3-1, including a 7-1 win as part of the NFCA Leadoff Classic, March 3. That said, the Knights took down the Titans, 5-2, in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. The lone meeting took place in St. Louis, Mo. March 26, 2005, and saw the Titans come out victorious, 3-2.
POSTSEASON PAST: The Titans are no stranger to the postseason, as this weekend will mark Illinois Wesleyan's 20th appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament. IWU owns a 53-43 record in the postseason all-time, good for a .552 winning percentage. Illinois Wesleyan has made five World Series appearances (2003, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019), including a runner-up finish in 2018.
DEJA VU: Many that follow IWU softball may be experiencing a little deja vu ahead of this week's NCAA regional. In fact, three of the four teams competing in Oshkosh were part of the regional the Titans played in back in 2022. The pod, which was hosted by Saint Ben's included IWU and Wartburg, even featuring a first-day game between the Titans and Knights. Nebraska Wesleyan, who did not make the field this year, rounded out the four-team regional. Wartburg went on to capture the regional crown, advancing to a super regional where the Knights were clipped by Millikin.
HEADLINING ALL-CCIW TEAMS: Sophomore Gianna Certa was voted the CCIW Pitcher of the Year, while senior Bailey Turner garnered the CCIW Defensive Player of the Year distinction.
Certa, Turner, sophomores Casey Wissmiller and Anna Beckman, juniors Jen Kuhn and Ava Khoury, and freshman Hailey Milgazo all garnered First Team All-CCIW status. IWU's staff was also tabbed the CCIW Coaching Staff of the Year for the second straight season. Senior Isabelle Piwowarczyk was named IWU's CCIW RESPECT Award recipient.
HEY BATTER, BATTER: Illinois Wesleyan boasts one of the top offenses in all of Division III this season, highlighted by four players with batting averages north of .400. As a team, IWU is hitting .353 on the season, good for 18th-best nationally. With 391 hits on the year, the Titans rank 21st across Division III, while their 28 homers are 15th-most and their slugging (.499) is 22nd.
Individually, Hailey Milgazo tops IWU with a .473 batting average in her first collegiate season. She paces IWU with 62 hits and 19 stolen bases. Jen Kuhn and Casey Wissmiller are tied for the team lead with 46 RBIs apiece, all the while holding averages of .448 and .416, respectively. Rounding out the quartet is Anna Beckman, with a .402 clip. She leads the team with 47 runs scored, good for 15th-most in Division III.
HOMEGROWN: The Titan roster is home to six student-athletes native to the Bloomington-Normal area, while all but three players on the 22-person roster hail from Illinois. Elyssa Stenger is a Central Catholic graduate, while Annika Brown is a product of Normal Community. Casey Wissmiller, a Bloomington, Ill. native, hails from the same high school as head coach Tiffany Prager (Olympia). Claire Post and Bailey Turner are Normal West graduates, while Jen Kuhn is a University High product.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS: Illinois Wesleyan has benefited from one of the best defenses in all of Division III this season as the Titans hold a team fielding percentage of .977. The impressive mark is fourth-best nationally, but is the second-best of any team competing at this weekend's regional. UW-Oshkosh, which will play on its home field, holds the highest team fielding percentage in the country at .984. Meanwhile, Saint Benedict is 35th at .968 and Wartburg is 270th (.943).
ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS: Illinois Wesleyan has put up some gaudy offensive numbers this season as note by the countless categories they rank highly in nationally. IWU is currently batting .353 as a team, good for third-best all-time in program history. The 277 runs scored by the Titans are fifth-most as are the 237 RBIs. Jen Kuhn and Casey Wissmiller each have 46 RBIs this season, a mark that ranks fifth-most in program history. Additionally, they are the first teammates to have 40-or-more RBIs in the same season since Emma Clark (43) and Keri Leach (42) did so in 2013.
ON THE HORIZON: The winner of the UW-Oshkosh regional advances to the super regional weekend of the tournament to face the winner of the Trine regional, May 24-26.
