BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University softball team came up on the opposite end of a pair of walk-off games as part of its annual home tournament Saturday, March 28. IWU (10-8) used a seventh-inning grand slam to upend No. 19 University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh before falling to Wartburg College, 2-1, on a walk-off single by the Knights.

Game One: Illinois Wesleyan 7, No. 19 UW-Oshkosh 4
Sophomore Grace Wilkens (Bartlett, Ill.-Bartlett) sparked the home team in its first trip to the plate, using her speed to reach with an infield single. Sophomore Kelsey Bartels (Downs, Ill.-Tri-Valley) bunted her to second with senior Casey Wissmiller (Bloomington, Ill.-Olympia) stepping to the plate. With a runner in scoring position, Wissmiller pushed a single back up the middle for a 1-0 IWU lead.

UWO strung together a few hits in the third to take a 2-1 lead. After back-to-back knocks, Oshkosh capitalized with a two-run double to snag a one-run lead. 

A pair of ground balls gave UW-Oshkosh two baserunners in the fourth, but senior Gianna Certa (Third Lake, Ill.-Grayslake North) held off the visitors. Sophomore Julia Wilkens (Bartlett, Ill.-Bartlett) got a force out at third on a ball to left field and a 4-3 groundout retired the side.

Narrowly escaping a jam moments prior, the Green and White put UWO on the ropes in the bottom of the frame. Three hits accompanied by three errors saw IWU grab the lead, 3-2. Sophomore Riley McDoniel (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg) singled and took second on a miscue in the outfield before Julia Wilkens bunted her way on base. An errant throw moved up both into scoring position with nobody out. Junior Annika Brown (Normal, Ill.-Normal Community) brought home a run on a sacrifice fly and a throwing error allowed another to score as Illinois Wesleyan grabbed a 3-2 advantage.

Oshkosh answered with a two-run sixth on the back of two big hits. A leadoff single was held in by the centerfield wall, but UWO's next batter deposited a two-run homer into left-center to reclaim the lead, 4-3.

Trailing by one into the bottom of the seventh, following a 1-2-3 relief inning from senior Caroline Gatchell (Grayslake, Ill.-Carmel Catholic), the Green and White rallied for its second walk-off in as many games. Bartels got on with a lucky bounce of a popup bunt and later scooted into third on a single by senior Anna Beckman (Bourbonnais, Ill.-Bishop McNamara). Senior Claire Post (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) followed with a walk to load the bases with nobody out as freshman Isabella Boskey (Huntley, Ill.-Huntley) stepped to the dish. Facing a 1-1 offering, Boskey cranked a walk-off grand slam to left for an IWU victory, 7-4.

Illinois Wesleyan churned out a season-high 13 hits in the win. Grace Wilkens paced the offense with a 3-for-4 outing, while Wissmiller and Beckman chipped in two hits apiece. 

In the circle, Certa went the first six innings before being lifted in favor of Gatchell. Certa fanned three, while allowing three runs on eight hits. Gatchell picked up the win, improving to 2-1 on the year, with a hitless seventh. 

Game Two: Illinois Wesleyan 1, Wartburg 2
Grace Wilkens reached base on a walk in the top of the first with the Green and White playing as the away team. She swiped second and came around to score on Wissmiller's RBI hit up the middle. Beckman followed with a bunt single down the third-base line to put two on with one out, but a lineout and a popout kept IWU from widening the gap any further.

Gatchell took to the circle for Illinois Wesleyan and quickly retired to the first Knights she faced. A two-out double off the right-center wall did not shake the senior lefty as she sent the next batter down swinging to strand one.

Gatchell ran into some trouble in the second as Wartburg notched back-to-back singles. A passed ball moved the pair into scoring position with nobody out, but Boskey made a tremendous full-extension play in foul territory to hold the runners with one out. Wissmiller snagged a liner at third and Beckman charged a slow grounder to keep the Knights off the board.

An error allowed Wartburg to plate its first run in the fifth inning, while Illinois Wesleyan saw scoring chances halted by double plays. 

With the game tied at one, Bartels beat the shift with a single up the middle and Beckman went to the opposite field for a base knock to put two on with one out. Unfortunately for the Green and White, the Knights turned a lineout into a double play to keep the tie intact. 

Gatchell put together a 1-2-3 sixth but ran into trouble as Wartburg came up with back-to-back singles. With the winning run on second and one away, IWU elected to go to the bullpen. Stepping into the circle, junior Mallory Holland (Shelbyville, Ill.-Shelbyville) struck out the first batter, but a 1-1 offering found its way through the infield for a walk-off , one-run single.

The Green and White finished with eight hits to six by Wartburg. Beckman went 2-for-3 in the loss, while IWU's remaining four hits were spread evenly at one apiece. 

Gatchell turned in another strong outing, going 6.1 innings in the circle. She fanned a career-high seven without issuing a walk and allowed two runs on seven hits. 

Illinois Wesleyan gets back at it tomorrow morning, March 29, with a 10 a.m. rematch against the Knights. The Green and White will conclude the weekend's games with a 2:30 p.m. first pitch against UW-Oshkosh.