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Softball Readies for First Home Tournament

Titans to host DePauw, Lake Forest, and Wartburg

3/28/2025 10:00:00 AM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Four teams will converge at Inspiration Field at Carol Willis Park this weekend, March 29-30, as the Illinois Wesleyan University softball team hosts its first of two weekend tournaments. IWU will play host to DePauw University, Lake Forest College, and Wartburg College for a two-day, eight-game tournament.

The Titans will open the weekend with a 10 a.m. first pitch against Wartburg Saturday, March 29, before playing DePauw in the final game of the day at 4:45 p.m. Wartburg will play LFC in the second game of day one, before DU and the Foresters tangle ahead of the Tigers' tilt with IWU.

Illinois Wesleyan sits at 7-5 on the season ahead of the weekend. The Titans enter off a split at Illinois College, March 26. IWU grabbed a 2-1 win in game two after dropping the first game, 7-0.

DePauw is 8-6 overall this season, and has won its last two games with a sweep of Calvin, March 22. Lake Forest, which will return to action for the first time in a week like DePauw, stands at 7-5 on the season. The Foresters last played March 22, where they split a home doubleheader against Carthage. LFC dropped game one decisively, 11-2, before pulling off a 10-6 win in nine innings. Wartburg brings an 8-8 record to Bloomington following a sweep of UW-La Crosse, March 27.

Offensively, the Titans have four players hitting above .300 led by senior Jen Kuhn (Normal, Ill.-University High). Kuhn leads the way with a .579 batting average and also tops the team with 22 hits, eight doubles, and 22 RBIs. Junior Casey Wissmiller (Bloomington, Ill.-Olympia) is batting .342 on the season, while sophomore Hailey Milgazo (Poway, Calif.-Poway) and senior Ava Khoury (Columbia, Ill.-Columbia) carry .324 averages.

The Green and White have seen six different pitchers log innings this season, with junior Gianna Certa (Grayslake, Ill.-Grayslake North) throwing a team-high 26.1 innings. Certa leads the team with a 4-1 record and is second on the staff with 11 strikeouts. Sophomore Mallory Holland (Shelbyville, Ill.-Shelbyville) holds a team-best 0.91 earned run average, compiling it over 15.1 IP. Freshman Maddie Pool (Wheaton, Ill.-Wheaton Warrenville South) has fanned a team-high 18 alongside a 1.69 ERA, while freshman Ella Hermes (Peru, Ill.-Saint Bede Academy) is limiting opponents to a .178 batting average, the best on the team.

Illinois Wesleyan holds a combined record of 38-28 against this weekend's competition and is no stranger to any of the three teams coming to Bloomington. The Titans and Tigers share a storied history that dates back to 1999. IWU took two over DU at last year's IWU Invite, April 6-7, to push the series record to 21-15 in favor of the Green and White. Illinois Wesleyan is 13-2 all-time against assistant coach Nikki Miller's alma mater, Lake Forest. Last season's doubleheader saw the Titans win game one, 8-2, before the Foresters took the second, 9-3. Illinois Wesleyan and Wartburg hold a shorter history, having met just five times, but the two have tangled in each of the past three seasons. The Titans lead the series, 4-1, with the lone loss coming in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. IWU topped Wartburg twice last season, first at the NFCA Leadoff Classic March 3, and then in the NCAA Oshkosh Regional, 4-1, May 16.

The two-day tournament begins Saturday, March 29, at 10 a.m. with IWU and Wartburg squaring off. The full tournament schedule as well as links to live stats and the live streams can be found at the tournament website by clicking here.

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