BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The bats came alive as the Illinois Wesleyan University softball team took down Wheaton College Friday, April 18, in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play. The Titans (21-7, 6-0 CCIW) toppled the Thunder (12-18, 2-8 CCIW) in a pair of six-inning run-rule wins by scores of 11-3 and 18-6.

Game One: Illinois Wesleyan 11, Wheaton 3 (6 inn.)
Illinois Wesleyan struck first with a run in the bottom of the first as senior Jen Kuhn (Normal, Ill.-University High) singled to drive in junior Anna Beckman (Bourbonnais, Ill.-Bishop McNamara), who had walked earlier in the inning. 

The Thunder clapped back with two solo homers in the second, one to left and another to center, to stake a 2-1 advantage.

The bottom of the lineup got things going for IWU in the third, as freshman Grace Wilkens (Bartlett, Ill.-Bartlett) drew a leadoff walk to turn it over to the top. Sophomore Hailey Milgazo (Poway, Calif.-Poway) followed with an infield single, and Beckman reached with a bunt single to load the bases for the Titans' RBI leader, Kuhn. The senior roped an RBI single to center, and senior Ava Khoury (Columbia, Ill.-Columbia) and freshman Bella Pinter (LaMoille, Ill.-Saint Bede Academy) followed with sacrifice flies. Junior Casey Wissmiller (Bloomington, Ill.-Olympia) capped off the inning with a single through the left side to score Kuhn and push Illinois Wesleyan in front, 5-2.

After the Thunder plated a run in the top of the fourth, the Titans came back with two in the bottom half of the frame. Kuhn came through with her third RBI knock of the game to bring in Beckman from second before scoring on Khoury's good-luck single to right. Putting a ball high into the air, a wind gust dropped a base knock down to give Khoury a base-hit and RBI. 

Illinois Wesleyan finished off the run-rule win in the sixth. Kuhn continued her torrid day, belting a two-run homer off the left field foul pole. Junior Claire Post (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) walked it off with a two-run single, driving home Khoury and sophomore Parker Cash (Galesburg, Ill.-Galesburg) to seal an 11-3 victory.

Kuhn headlined an IWU offense that accrued 15 hits with a 4-for-4 effort. She scored three runs and drove in five. Post went 3-for-4 and drove in a pair, while Beckman, Khoury, and Pinter tallied two hits each.

Junior Gianna Certa (Third Lake, Ill.-Grayslake North) earned the win, improving to 10-2. Certa fanned three over six innings of work. Sophomore Mallory Holland (Shelbyville, Ill.-Shelbyville) tossed an inning in relief, retiring the side in order.

Game Two: Illinois Wesleyan 18, Wheaton 6 (6 inn.)
Playing as the away team in game two, IWU scored twice in its first trip to the plate as Khoury and Pinter notched run-scoring doubles.

The Green and White responded to a three-run inning from the Thunder with three runs of its own in the second. Freshman Ella Hermes (Peru, Ill.-Saint Bede Academy) led off with a single to center and moved into scoring position on a passed ball and a sacrifice bunt. Wilkens executed a squeeze to perfection, getting a bunt single out of the play along with an RBI as Hermes scampered home. Beckman later drilled a double off the wall in center to plate two and propel Illinois Wesleyan in front, 5-3. 

Wheaton scored on an RBI single in the second and Illinois Wesleyan drew a bases-loaded walk as IWU carried a two-run lead into the third.

The Thunder appeared poised for runs in the third, loading the bases, but Holland entered out of the bullpen. Needing just two pitches, Holland induced an inning-ending groundout and Wissmiller stepped on third to strand three and maintain IWU's lead, 6-4.

Hermes cranked the first homer of her career to right in the fifth, extending the Titan advantage to 7-4.

With the lead cut to one, 7-6, the Green and White offense caught fire for an 11-run sixth. Beckman singled and swiped second before Kuhn's double drove her in. The two-bagger, Kuhn's 12th of the season, tied her with Sam Berghoff atop the program's all-time list with 44 doubles. The inning continued as Pinter whacked a two-run single off the top of the green wall in center, while Post, Hermes, freshman Julia Wilkens (Bartlett, Ill.-Bartlett), Beckman, Khoury, and Pinter added RBI knocks as IWU went around the batting order. The big inning gave the Titans full control, 18-6, with the Thunder coming to the plate.

Junior Caroline Gatchell (Grayslake, Ill.-Carmel Catholic) slammed the door with a 1-2-3 sixth, registering a strikeout and a pair of groundouts. Hermes earned the win, jumping to 3-1 on the year, while Holland secured her third save of the season.

The Titan bats bullied the Thunder for 19 hits, with seven players tallying multi-hit games. Hermes turned in a 4-for-4 showing with three runs scored and two driven in. Beckman, Khoury, and Pinter tacked on three hits apiece, with Pinter racking up a career-high five RBIs. Beck drove in four, while Grace Wilkens and Kuhn added two hits each.

Illinois Wesleyan will host Elmhurst University tomorrow, April 19, for Senior Day. First pitch is currently scheduled for 1 p.m., with IWU set to recognize seniors Kennady Estes, Ava Khoury, and Jen Kuhn ahead of game time tomorrow.