BLOOMINGTON, IL - APRIL 16, 2026 - Illinois Wesleyan Softball takes on Millikin in a midweek double header.

AJE Photography 2025

Softball Closes CCIW Play with Four-Game Homestand

Titans to host Carroll & Carthage, April 25-26

4/24/2026 2:00:00 PM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University softball team's pursuit of a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin title comes down to a four-game weekend at Inspiration Field at Carol Willis Park Saturday-Sunday, April 25-26. The Titans will host Carroll University Saturday, April 25, before welcoming Carthage College to town Sunday, April 26. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. each day.

Saturday's twin bill will see IWU recognize the 2016 softball team that advanced to the NCAA Division III World Series, kicking off a run of four straight final site appearances. Members of the team will be recognized prior to game time, with a ceremonial first pitch also on tap. More recognitions will take place Sunday as the Titans congratulate IWU women's basketball standouts Ava Bardic and Sawyer White on their recent All-American honors. The duo, which guided the Green and White to CCIW regular season and tournament championships, will be applauded pregame.

Illinois Wesleyan heads into the final four-game stretch of the CCIW slate sporting a 21-11 overall record. The Titans lead the league with an 11-1 record and have won six straight. IWU most recently left the suburbs with a pair of run-rule wins at Elmhurst, April 18. The Green and White posted back-to-back shutouts with scores of 12-0 and 8-0. Carroll holds a 16-17 record ahead of the weekend and is battling for a spot in the league tournament at 3-7 in CCIW play. The Pios most recently dropped both ends of a doubleheader with North Central, April 21. Holding a 19-15 record, including an 8-6 CCIW standing, Carthage will also complete its conference slate Sunday. The Firebirds most recently grabbed a 6-5 game two win to earn a split against Elmhurst, April 21.

Seniors Claire Post (Normal, Ill.-Normal West), Anna Beckman (Bourbonnais, Ill.-Bishop McNamara), and Casey Wissmiller (Bloomington, Ill.-Olympia) along with sophomore Grace Wilkens (Bartlett, Ill.-Bartlett) pace the Titan offense. Post is hitting a team-best .377 and is one of three with 20+ RBIs. Wissmiller, who is hitting .347 on the year, leads the team with 25 driven in, while freshman Isabella Boskey (Huntley, Ill.-Huntley) follows with 20. Grace Wilkens tops the team with 35 hits and is second in both runs scored (25) and stolen bases (18). Beckman has a team-leading 19 stolen bases on the season alongside a .352 batting average. Her .449 on-base percentage also paces the team and is aided by her squad-best 17 free passes.

In the circle, Illinois Wesleyan is led by senior Gianna Certa (Third Lake, Ill.-Grayslake North). Certa has compiled an 8-2 record over 17 appearances with seven complete games and four shutouts. She holds a 1.94 earned run average over a team-high 83 innings with 56 strikeouts. Junior Mallory Holland (Shelbyville, Ill.-Shelbyville) and senior Caroline Gatchell (Grayslake, Ill.-Carmel Catholic) have combined for over 100 innings in the circle with both owning 5-4 records. Holland's ERA sits at 2.04 over 44 and two-thirds innings. Gatchell is second on the team with 52 strikeouts and 63 innings of work.

IWU and Carroll have met 26 times previously, having met just four times prior to CU rejoining the conference in 2016. The Titans lead the all-time tally, 23-3, against the Pios and have won the last seven straight dating back to the 2022 CCIW Tournament. Illinois Wesleyan and Carthage have a far more extensive history with 90 all-time games played against one another prior to this weekend's double dip. The Green and White owns a 64-22 advantage in the series since it began in 1997. IWU holds a seven-game win streak over CC, with Carthage's last win coming in Bloomington April 23, 2022.

The weekend kicks off with a 1 p.m. first pitch between the Titans and Pios Saturday, April 25. Links to live stats and the live streams of each game can be found on the softball schedule page of iwusports.com.

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