BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The 20th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University softball team looks to lock up a spot in the NCAA Division III World Series this weekend, May 22-23, as the Titans travel to McMinnville, Ore. for a best-of-three series with sixth-ranked Linfield University. The winner of the three-game Super Regional will advance to the NCAA Division III World Series in Bloomington, Ill., May 28-June 4, at IWU's home stadium, Inspiration Field.
    Illinois Wesleyan makes the 2137-mile trek to the pacific northwest with a 37-7 overall record. The Green and White qualified for the national tournament by way of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin automatic bid after winning the league's regular season and tournament titles. The Titans most recently ran through the Bloomington, Ill. regional, May 15-17, to return to the supers for the first time since 2019. Linfield boasts a 41-5 overall record and has won 10 straight games. The Wildcats most recently rolled through its own regional, using a pair of run-rule victories and a 5-3 win over Chapman University to qualify for the super regional round.
    The Super Regional set gets underway Thursday, May 22, with a 4 p.m. PT first pitch. Game two will be played Friday, May 23, at 2 p.m. PT, with an if necessary game set for 30 minutes later.
LINING UP WITH LINFIELD: IWU has played Linfield four times previously ahead of this weekend's super regional, with the Cats holding a 3-1 edge in the all-time series. The two teams have never met in Oregon. LU bested IWU in regional play during the 2012 season, winning 3-0 and 6-2 in Illinois, but the Titans got the best of the Wildcats, 7-0, in 2019. Most recently, Linfield tripped up the Green and White, 12-2, March 5, 2022 in the NFCA Division III Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga.
WHEELS UP: The Titans will make a 2137-mile trip to the west coast while playing in Oregon for the first time in program history. IWU began the season with a trip to California, March 8-10, where Illinois Wesleyan played Chapman, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Case Western, & Bethel. The Green and White compiled a 4-2 record on the trip.
BLO-NO REGIONAL REWARDS: Illinois Wesleyan saw five student-athletes named to the Bloomington Regional All-Tournament team, May 17. Senior Ava Khoury was lauded as the regional's Most Outstanding Player, while she was joined by Gianna Certa, Claire Post, Casey Wissmiller, and Grace Wilkens on the all-tournament team.
TITANS IN THE TOURNAMENT: Overall, IWU holds a 57-45 record in the NCAA Division III Tournament all-time. Illinois Wesleyan has made five World Series appearances (2003, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019), including a runner-up finish in 2018.
IWU has played in five Super Regionals, coming out on top in four of its five appearances, despite never winning the first game of a Super.
CLOSING IN: Senior Jen Kuhn has put together a monstrous senior season in the Green and White, setting career-highs across nearly every statistical category. Earlier this season, Kuhn broke the program's career doubles record and currently has 48 two-baggers to her name.
Furthermore, Kuhn is closing in on yet another career record. With 225 hits during her four-year career, she sits just one behind the all-time record held by Jillian Runyon. Runyon recorded 226 career hits from 2016 to 2019.
FEELING 22: IWU's CCIW Tournament Championship win was the 22nd straight for the Green and White, breaking the program's previous longest streak of 21 set during the 2014 season. The Titans have won 25 consecutive games heading into this weekend's Super Regional, with their last loss coming against UW-Eau Claire, 10-8, April 5.
NATIONAL NODS: IWU's Mallory Holland & Ava Khoury swept the final weekly NFCA awards, May 13. Holland was selected as the DIII Pitcher of the Week, with Khoury snagging Hitter of the Week. Holland threw 12.1 innings in the CCIW Tournament, earning two saves and a win. Khoury hit a whopping .625 for the three-game run, boasting a 1.750 slugging percentage alongside three homers and seven RBIs.
It marks the first time a Titan has received the national player of the week honor since 2020, when Ally Wiegand received the distinction.
HEY BATTER, BATTER: Illinois Wesleyan boasts one of the top offenses in all of Division III this season, highlighted by an entire starting lineup with batting averages north of .320. As a team, IWU is hitting .349 on the season, good for 26th-best nationally. With 430 hits on the year, the Titans rank 14th across Division III, while their 40 homers are 10th-most and their slugging (.515) is 18th.
    Individually, Jen Kuhn tops IWU with a hefty .457 batting average and paces the team with 69 hits and 57 RBIs. Ava Khoury follows with a .389 clip and ranks second with 50 driven in, while her nine homers lead team lead. Kuhn's 69 hits rank 11th-most across Division III and her RBI total is eighth-most.
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 .970. The impressive mark is 24th-best nationally. Linfield carries a .965 team fielding percentage, ranking 60th across Division III.
35 TROTS: With a solo homer in the CCIW Championship game, Ava Khoury broke Illinois Wesleyan's career homerun record with the 34th blast of her career. Khoury, who is well-known for her trots around the bases, broke the record previously held by former Titan great Sam Berghoff. The mark had stood since 2020, with Khoury hitting eight bombs her freshman year, 15 her sophomore season, three in 2024, and nine as a senior as of May 20.
TITAN TRIO EARNS NFCA HONORS: Three Titans received NFCA All-Region honors Friday, May 16, as the organization announced its all-region squads. Jen Kuhn was a First Team All-Region pick, while the freshmen duo of Ella Hermes and Bella Pinter garnered second team status.
POSTSEASON PLAY BACK IN BLO-NO: NCAA regional competition returned to Bloomington, Ill. for the first time since 2019. It was the seventh time overall that IWU has played host to an NCAA Regional, with the Titans carrying a 21-6 record when hosting the opening weekend after running through last weekend, 3-0.
HOMEGROWN: The Titan roster is home to five student-athletes native to the Bloomington-Normal area, while all but two players on the 23-person roster hail from Illinois. Annika Brown and Tessa Bittner are products of Normal Community. Casey Wissmiller, a Bloomington, Ill. native, hails from the same high school as head coach Tiffany Prager (Olympia). Claire Post is a Normal West graduate, while Jen Kuhn is a University High product.
IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY: Freshman pitcher Rhea Mardjetko is no stranger to IWU softball, having spent plenty of time around Inspiration Field during her oldest sister Nina Mardjetko's time donning the Green and White. Nina, an All-CCIW pitcher for the Titans, is one of two older sisters that have played collegiately ahead of Rhea as Sage Mardjetko is currently a pitcher for the University of Tennessee after spending one year at the University of South Carolina.
ON THE HORIZON: The winner this week's Super Regional will advance to the NCAA Division III Softball National Championship. The eight-team finals is scheduled for May 29-June 4 at Illinois Wesleyan's Inspiration Field in Bloomington, Ill.
