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Jen Kuhn rounding third on a homer
© AshtinElder
5
Winner Illinois Wesleyan IWU 18-7, 3-0 CCIW
4
Millikin MILLIKIN 16-11, 4-3 CCIW
Winner
Illinois Wesleyan IWU
18-7, 3-0 CCIW
5
Final
4
Millikin MILLIKIN
16-11, 4-3 CCIW
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Illinois Wesleyan IWU 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 5 7 1
Millikin MILLIKIN 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 4 7 0

W: Holland, Mallory (3-1) L: Bruno, Kelsey (9-3)

6
Millikin MILLIKIN 16-12, 4-4 CCIW
7
Winner Illinois Wesleyan IWU 19-7, 4-0 CCIW
Millikin MILLIKIN
16-12, 4-4 CCIW
6
Final
7
Illinois Wesleyan IWU
19-7, 4-0 CCIW
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Millikin MILLIKIN 2 0 1 0 2 1 0 6 4 2
Illinois Wesleyan IWU 1 0 1 3 2 0 X 7 7 2

W: Pool, Maddie (5-2) L: Wilken, Abby (2-2)

Game Recap: Softball |

Softball Squeaks Out Sweep in Decatur

Titans move to 19-7 on the season

DECATUR, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University softball team eked out a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin sweep of Millikin University Tuesday evening, April 15, at the Workman Family Softball Field in Decatur. The Titans (19-7, 4-0 CCIW) edged out the Big Blue (16-12, 4-4 CCIW) in a pair of one-run games. IWU defeated MU, 5-4, in the first game before escaping with a 7-6 victory in the nightcap.

Game One: Illinois Wesleyan 5, Millikin 4
The Titans took the lead from the jump as a leadoff free pass by sophomore Hailey Milgazo (Poway, Calif.-Poway) started off the game. A bunt and a passed ball put Milgazo on third for senior Jen Kuhn (Normal, Ill.-University High), who singled to left to take a 1-0 lead. Freshman Bella Pinter (LaMoille, Ill.-Saint Bede Academy) doubled to score Kuhn and push the Titans advantage to 2-0, just minutes after first pitch.

Junior Gianna Certa (Third Lake, Ill.-Grayslake North) made quick work of the Big Blue in the bottom of the inning. A quick snag by junior Casey Wissmiller (Bloomington, Ill.-Olympia) at third and a diving catch by freshman Grace Wilkens (Bartlett, Ill.-Bartlett) in right promptly retired the first two batters. Certa closed the inning with a strikeout, painting the edge of the zone, to send the game to the second. 

After escaping a bases loaded jam in the third, Certa ran into trouble in the fourth as a couple hits and an error allowed the Big Blue to climb ahead, 4-2. Millikin used three straight singles to load the bases with nobody out. A sacrifice fly brought in MU's first run of the evening and an IWU error drew the game level, 2-2. The Big Blue singled up the middle, and despite a diving effort from Kuhn, plated two runs to move ahead by two. Sophomore Mallory Holland (Shelbyville, Ill.-Shelbyville) entered in relief of Certa and induced a groundout to send the game to the fifth. 

Freshman Riley McDoniel (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg) and Milgazo notched singles and junior Anna Beckman (Bourbonnais, Ill.-Bishop McNamara) laced a double to the left-center gap to knot the game, 4-4, after four and a half innings.

The Titans reclaimed the lead in the sixth as Khoury cracked the frame open with a double. Pinter followed with a walk to put runners on the corners before Wissmiller ripped a double to left to push IWU back ahead, 5-4. 

Holland worked around two walks and did not allow a hit in the final two innings. After a top-10 worthy play by Wissmiller robbed the Big Blue of an extra-base hit, Holland capped the game off with a strikeout as the tying run was stranded on first. 

Holland moved to 3-1 in the circle this season with the victory, while the nitty gritty of her stat line included two strikeouts over 3.1 innings of work alongside just one hit allowed.

Illinois Wesleyan and Millikin tied with seven hits apiece, with IWU's coming via seven different Titans. Beckman went 1-for-3 with two RBIs, while Pinter drove in one on a 1-for-2 game. Wissmiller collected the other RBI as she went 1-for-3 with a double. 

Game Two: Illinois Wesleyan 7, Millikin 6
Millikin grabbed the two-run lead in the first inning of game two, but an error allowed Illinois Wesleyan to cut the lead in half.

After the Titans gave a run back on a pair of errors in the third, Kuhn lifted an opposite-field homer over the right field fence to cut the Big Blue's edge to one, 3-2, into the fourth.

Wissmiller's one-out walk was followed by singles by junior Claire Post (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) and freshman Maddie Pool (Wheaton, Ill.-Wheaton Warrenville South) to load the bases. A fielder's choice got the out at home but a wild pitch moments later knotted the game at three. Milgazo kept the rally going with a two-out walk and Beckman notched a two-run single to give Illinois Wesleyan a 5-3 advantage. 

Three walks led to two runs for Millikin in the top of the fifth, tying the game, 5-5, but IWU responded with its own two-run frame. The Green and White used three walks and a hit to manufacture a 7-5 lead into the sixth.

The Big Blue scraped a run across in the top half of the sixth as a leadoff walk came around to score on a sacrifice fly. 

Entering the game with the winning run at the plate and the tying run on first, Certa retired three batters in-a-row to preserve the win and complete the sweep.

At the plate, IWU tallied seven hits to MU's four. Kuhn paced the team, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and another driven in, while Beckman was credited with two RBIs in a 1-for-3 showing.

Holland tossed the first four innings, before Pool, freshman Ella Hermes (Peru, Ill.-Saint Bede Academy) and Certa each tossed an inning out of the bullpen. The three combined to finish the final three innings, allowing just one hit, but four walks made things tight down the stretch. Ultimately, Pool came away with the win and Certa the save. Pool's record jumped to 5-2 on the year, while Certa collected her third save of the season.

Illinois Wesleyan hosts Wheaton College this Friday, April 18, in a CCIW double dip. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. at Inspiration Field and will serve as IWU's annual Mental Health Awareness games.

 
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