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Carolin gatchell hyped after securing a win
© AshtinElder
6
Winner Redlands REDLANDS
4
Ill. Wesleyan ILL. WES
Winner
Redlands REDLANDS
6
Final
4
Ill. Wesleyan ILL. WES
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Redlands REDLANDS 1 2 0 0 0 0 3 6 12 3
Ill. Wesleyan ILL. WES 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 8 2

W: Katlyn Gandara (20-1) L: Certa, Gianna (13-3) S: Caitlynn Griffith (5)

0
Wartburg WARTBURG
7
Winner Ill. Wesleyan ILL. WES
Wartburg WARTBURG
0
Final
7
Ill. Wesleyan ILL. WES
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Wartburg WARTBURG 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3
Ill. Wesleyan ILL. WES 5 0 2 0 0 0 X 7 10 2

W: Gatchell, Caroline (8-4) L: Hannah Hoefer (13-5)

Game Recap: Softball |

Gatchell Goes Distance, Titans Advance to Regional Championship

Titans set for rematch with No. 2 Redlands

Press Conference

WAVERLY, Iowa - A complete game shutout from senior Caroline Gatchell (Grayslake, Ill.-Carmel Catholic) in an elimination game against No. 23 Wartburg College lifted the Illinois Wesleyan University softball team into the Waverly Regional Championship. After dropping a morning game to No. 2 University of Redlands, 6-4, the Titans (30-14) bounced back with a 7-0 triumph over the host Knights (32-12). 

Game One: No. 2 Redlands 6, Illinois Wesleyan 4
The Green and White spotted the Bulldogs a six-run lead as runners were left stranded. Looking at a 6-0 deficit into their finals at bats, Illinois Wesleyan rallied. Freshman Isabella Boskey (Huntley, Ill.-Huntley) opened with a single and took second on an error. Back-to-back quality at bats by sophomores Ella Hermes (Peru, Ill.-St. Bede Academy) and Maddie Pool (Wheaton, Ill.-Wheaton Warrenville South) continued to build momentum for IWU. Hermes drew a walk and Pool won out with a full-count no-doubter to left field. Pool's three-run shot was followed by a solo homer off the bat of senior Casey Wissmiller (Bloomington, Ill.-Olympia) as Illinois Wesleyan pulled within two, 6-4. 

The run stalled there as a strikeout and lineout sealed the defeat and bounced the Titans into the other side of the bracket.

Senior Gianna Certa (Third Lake, Ill.-Grayslake North) threw the first four innings in the circle, allowing seven hits. She was tagged for three runs, two earned, and struck out one. Gatchell finished the game, tossing the final three innings. 

Offensively, IWU tagged the Redlands pitching staff for eight hits but saw seven runners left on base. Wissmiller went 3-for-4 with a run scored and one driven in, while Pool led the game with three RBIs. 

Game Two: No. 23 Wartburg 0, Illinois Wesleyan 7
With a game off in between, Illinois Wesleyan came back recharged and refocused with its 
season on the line against the weekend host. Gatchell got the Titans off on the right foot with a 1-2-3 first inning to send IWU to the plate.

Sophomore Grace Wilkens (Bartlett, Ill.-Bartlett) beat the shift with a single through the left side and classmate Kelsey Bartels (Downs, Ill.-Tri-Valley) sent a knock back up the middle. Wissmiller loaded the bases after reaching on an error and senior Anna Beckman (Bourbonnais, Ill.-Bishop McNamara) drew a bases loaded walk for the game's first run. After another base on balls, this one issued to senior Claire Post (Normal, Ill.-Normal West), Pool drove a double down the left field line to open up a 3-0 advantage. Boskey finished the inning with a two-run hit as IWU bolted out to a 5-0 cushion.

Gatchell cruised into the third, where the Titans tacked on two more runs to put the game on the edge of a run-rule. Beckman led off with a single and raced around the bases on Post's double to extend the lead. Moments later, Boskey delivered a two-out run-scoring double to push the score to 7-0.

Illinois Wesleyan nearly ended the game early, getting runners into scoring position in each of the next three innings, but Wartburg would not relent. 

Nevertheless, Gatchell provided a steady presence in the circle as the senior went the distance to preserve the win and extend the Titans' season. The veteran lefty went 7.0 innings with just four hits allowed and fanned four. She improved to 8-4 on the season with the victory and picked up the second shutout of her career.

The Titans tallied 10 hits in the contest with four notching two hits in the game. Beckman, Pool, and Boskey each went 2-for-3, while Post turned in a 2-for-2 showing. 

With the win, the Green and White earned itself a rematch with Redlands tomorrow, May 16 at 11 a.m. in the Regional Championship at Lynes Field. IWU will need to win two to advance to the Super Regional round for the second straight season as Redlands enters Saturday as the regional's lone unbeaten team on the weekend.
 


 

 
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