Softball Embarks on Four-Game Wisconsin Weekend

Titans to play Carroll and Carthage, April 26-27

4/24/2025 3:00:00 PM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The final roadtrip of the regular season takes place this weekend as the Illinois Wesleyan University softball team travels to Wisconsin Saturday-Sunday, April 26-27, for two pivotal College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin doubleheaders. The Titans will square off with Carroll University Saturday, April 26, in Waukesha with first pitch tapped for 1 p.m. IWU will meet Carthage College one day later for a 12 p.m. start in Kenosha Sunday, April 27.

Illinois Wesleyan makes the trip across state lines with a 25-7 overall record and stands at 10-0 in CCIW competition. The Titans most recently swept North Central, April 23, defeating the Cardinals by scores of 7-2 and 8-0. Carroll owns a 13-19 mark on the year and finds itself jockeying for a spot in next month's conference tournament. The Pios are 4-8 in league play with four conference games remaining on their schedule. Carthage boasts a 24-10 record, including a 10-2 CCIW mark. The Firebirds are one of three teams battling for the CCIW Regular Season title and hosting rights for the league's tournament, as Carthage, IWU, and Augustana enter the final days of the regular season within two games of one another. The Firebirds will battle Millikin Saturday, April 26, before going up against the Titans to close out the weekend.

The Green and White offense has only gotten better as the season has progressed, boasting a team batting average of .345. The mark ranks third in the CCIW and 46th nationally. Senior Jen Kuhn (Normal, Ill.-University High) headlines the offense with a team-best .464 batting average with team-highs in hits (52) and RBIs (43). Junior Claire Post's (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) batting average of .395 is second-best on the team, while she paces the league with seven homers. Five other Titans hold averages above .300 in freshman Grace Wilkens (Bartlett, Ill.-Bartlett), senior Ava Khoury (Columbia, Ill.-Columbia), freshman Bella Pinter (LaMoille, Ill.-Saint Bede Academy), and juniors Anna Beckman (Bourbannais, Ill.-Bishop McNamara) and Casey Wissmiller (Bloomington, Ill.-Olympia). Wilkens is hitting .384 in her rookie season, while Khoury checks in with a .374 clip and is second on the team with 33 RBIs. Pinter (.355) and Beckman (.319) are tied for fourth with 21 RBIs apiece, while Beckman's 31 runs scored tops the Green and White. Wissmiller is hitting .307 on the season.

In the circle, the Titans have seen sophomore Mallory Holland (Shelbyville, Ill.-Shelbyville) and junior Gianna Certa (Third Lake, Ill.-Grayslake North) combined to throw 137 of 210 innings this season. Holland holds a team-low 1.53 earned average over 50.1 innings and has limited opponents to a .162 batting average. She has amassed a 5-1 record with three complete games and two shutouts. Certa tops the staff with 61 strikeouts while logging 86.2 innings and compiling a 12-2 record. She has thrown eight complete games, including two shutouts, and has three saves on the year.

IWU and Carroll have met 24 times previously, having met just four times prior to CU rejoining the conference in 2016. The Titans lead the all-time tally, 21-3, against the Pios and have won the last five straight dating back to the 2022 CCIW Tournament. Illinois Wesleyan and Carthage have a far more extensive history, with 88 all-time games played against one another prior to this weekend's double dip. The Green and White owns a 62-22 advantage in the series since it began in 1997. IWU holds a five-game win streak over CC, with Carthage's last win coming in Bloomington April 23, 2022.

Game time between IWU and Carroll is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch at Kilgour Field Saturday, April 26. Sunday's matinee at Carthage is scheduled for a 12 p.m. first pitch. Links to live streams and live stats for each day's games can be found on the softball schedule page of iwusports.com.

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