Softball Readies for CCIW Tournament

Titans to host six-team tournament at Inspiration Field

5/6/2026 4:36:00 PM

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University softball team begins postseason play as host to the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament Thursday-Saturday, May 7-9, at Inspiration Field. The three-day tournament kicks off with an elimination game at noon Thursday, May 7, with the winner of the game facing IWU in a 4 p.m. contest.

Illinois Wesleyan enters the league tournament with a 25-13 record and holds the No. 1 seed after a 15-1 run through the CCIW in the regular season. In addition to the top-seeded Titans, No. 2 seed Millikin, No. 3 seed Augustana, No. 4 seed North Central, No. 5 seed Carthage, and No. 6 seed North Park will vie for the CCIW Tournament Championship and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Softball Tournament.

The Green and White led the way as the conference unveiled its postseason awards Wednesday, May 6. IWU saw seven garner All-CCIW status, while senior Gianna Certa (Third Lake, Ill.-Grayslake North) was voted the CCIW Pitcher of the Year for the second time in her career. Certa was joined by seniors Casey Wissmiller (Bloomington, Ill.-Olympia) and Claire Post (Normal, Ill.-Normal West) as well as sophomore Jillian Bollard (Roselle, Ill.-Saint Viator) on the All-CCIW First Team. Sophomores Grace Wilkens (Bartlett, Ill.-Bartlett) and Kelsey Bartels (Downs, Ill.-Tri-Valley) along with senior Anna Beckman (Bourbonnais, Ill.-Bishop McNamara) grabbed second team honors.

Bartels boasts a team-best .393 batting average on the season as one of five Titans hitting better than .300 on the year. Post follows at .387 and Wissmiller carries a .383 clip. The team's hits and RBI leader, Wissmiller has 44 knocks on the year with 34 driven in. Beckman and Wilkens hold averages of .370 and .359, respectively. Beckman's 21 stolen bases top the team, with Wilkens following closely with 20. Wilkens paces the squad with 31 runs scored and Beckman's team-best 17 walks have aided her team-leading .454 on-base percentage.

The CCIW Pitcher of the Year, Certa leads a strong six-arm staff with a 1.77 earned run average over 99.0 innings of work. She has fanned a team-high 77 over 20 appearances. Certa has posted a 10-2 record with nine complete games, six shutouts, and one save. Junior Mallory Holland (Shelbyville, Ill.-Shelbyville) and senior Caroline Gatchell (Grayslake, Ill.-Carmel Catholic) have combined for more than 120 innings in the circle. Holland holds a 2.36 ERA over 17 appearances, while Gatchell has logged 72.1 innings with a career-high 55 strikeouts.

IWU has made a total of 28 appearances in the CCIW Tournament heading into the weekend, compiling a 70-31 record since making its first appearance in 1987. The Titans won the league's tournament 17 times, claiming the crown last season as well as in 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2024.

First pitch of Illinois Wesleyan's first game of the CCIW Tournament is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Inspiration Field. Fans can purchase tickets ahead of time at iwusports.com/tickets or at the gate. Ticket prices are included below. A full schedule, including links to the live streams and live stats for the week is listed below. The full tournament webpage can be found here.

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