EAU CLAIRE, Wis. - An extra-inning win over weekend host University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire highlighted a split for the Illinois Wesleyan University softball team at the Blugold Invitational at The Sonnentag Fieldhouse Sunday, March 1. The Titans (2-4) edged the Blugolds, 6-5, in eight innings before suffering a 3-1 setback against St. Catherine University.
Game One: Illinois Wesleyan 6, UW-Eau Claire 5 (8 inn.)
Illinois Wesleyan provided sophomore
Maddie Pool (Wheaton, Ill.-Wheaton Warrenville South) with run support before the right-hander stepped into the circle as IWU pounced for two runs in the first. Sophomore
Grace Wilkens (Bartlett, Ill.-Bartlett) beat out an infield single and sophomore
Kelsey Bartels (Downs, Ill.-Tri-Valley) followed with an infield knock of her own to put the first two aboard. Sophomore
Riley McDoniel's (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg) sacrifice bunt moved runners into scoring position and senior
Anna Beckman (Bourbonnais, Ill.-Bishop McNamara) drove one in with an RBI grounder. A passed ball followed to score Bartels from third and give IWU a 2-0 edge into the bottom of the first.
Pool ran into some trouble in the second as an error and two walks loaded the bases with one out, but the sophomore buckled down to escape the jam. Pool induced back-to-back fly outs to left field to keep the two-run lead intact into the third, but the Blugolds cracked the scoring column one inning later.
A leadoff walk, single, and an error put two on with nobody out. UW-Eau Claire needed just one swing of the bat to crank a three-run home run and charge ahead, 3-2. The home team was poised for more, but senior Casey Wissmiller (Bloomington, Ill.-Olympia) made back-to-back plays at third to strand three.
Illinois Wesleyan leveled the score in the fourth. Beckman opened the inning with a walk, swiped second, took third on a grounder, and then slid home on a wild pitch to knot the score, 3-3.
After UWEC moved back in front with a sacrifice fly, junior Annika Brown (Bloomington, Ill.-Normal Community) doubled to the right-center gap to start the fifth. Grace Wilkens' sacrifice bunt moved Brown to third with one out, setting up Bartels for her first RBI as a Titan.
With the game tied, 4-4, junior Mallory Holland (Shelbyville, Ill.-Shelbyville) became the fourth Titan to take the circle. Inheriting a runner on first with no outs, Holland induced a double play to escape the jam.
After Holland worked around a baserunner in the seventh, the heart of the order went to work in extras. Sophomore Margo Geary (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North) stood on second with the international tiebreaker in place and Beckman followed with a walk. A wild pitch put both in scoring position and Wissmiller got the job done with an RBI groundout. Freshman Isabella Boskey (Huntley, Ill.-Huntley) tacked on an insurance run with a run-scoring double to catapult the Green and White to a 6-4 advantage.
A fly out and a single up the middle brought home a run for the Blugolds in the bottom of the eighth. A wild pitch made things dicey with the winning run moved into scoring position, but Holland dialed up a strikeout to seal the 6-5 victory.
IWU tallied six hits, while UWEC went for 10. Boskey led the offense, going 2-for-3, while four different Titans notched RBIs.
In the circle, Illinois Wesleyan used the services of four different pitchers. Pool got the start and tossed the first two frames, allowing three runs on two hits while walking five. Sophomore Ella Hermes (Peru, Ill.-Saint Bede Academy) tossed one frame, while senior Caroline Gatchell (Grayslake, Ill.-Carmel Catholic) threw two scoreless. Holland, who grabbed her first win of the season, chewed up the final three innings. She and Gatchell each fanned two, with Holland's line including no earned runs and no walks.
Game Two: St. Kate's 3, Illinois Wesleyan 1
The Titans mustered just three hits in their final game of the weekend, with senior Claire Post (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) notching a 2-for-2 performance. Grace Wilkens, who scored IWU's one run, registered the other knock along with two steals.
A two-run roundtripper lifted the Wildcats to an early 2-0 lead. Wilkens swiped home in the third to cut the lead in half, but St. Kate's came back with a run-scoring single up the middle to grab a 3-1 advantage at the midpoint.
Freshman Macy Iwanus (Manteno, Ill.-Manteno) worked a four-pitch walk with one out in the seventh, but a dribbler to the shortstop was scooped up for a game-ending 6-4-3 double play.
Senior Gianna Certa (Third Lake, Ill.-Grayslake North) made her first start of the weekend in the circle. She went the first five innings, striking out three with three runs on eight hits. Gatchell was strong in relief, limiting the Wildcats to one hit over two frames with a strikeout.
Illinois Wesleyan embarks on a six-game spring break trip Sunday-Wednesday, March 15-18. The Titans will make their way through Mississippi for doubleheaders against Mississippi University for Women, Belhaven University, and Millsaps College.
