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2026 CCIW Softball Tournament Champions Team Photo
Kodiak Creative
4
Augustana (Ill.) AUGIE 28-15
5
Winner Ill. Wesleyan IWU 28-13
Augustana (Ill.) AUGIE
28-15
4
Final
5
Ill. Wesleyan IWU
28-13
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Augustana (Ill.) AUGIE 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 4 3 1
Ill. Wesleyan IWU 2 0 0 0 0 3 X 5 7 0

W: Gatchell, Caroline (7-4) L: Lauren Koster (5-1) S: Certa, Gianna (2)

Game Recap: Softball |

Three Peat Complete: Softball Downs Augie to Claim CCIW Tournament Championship

Titans punch ticket to NCAA Tournament

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - A sixth-inning comeback powered the Illinois Wesleyan University softball team past Augustana College, 5-4, in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament Championship Saturday, May 9. The victory secures the Titans' (28-13) third straight tournament title and the 18th in program history. 

With the win, IWU earns the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, making its third consecutive appearance and 22nd overall. The Titans will learn their postseason path as part of Monday's selection show on NCAA.com at 11 a.m. ET.

Sophomore Grace Wilkens (Bartlett, Ill.-Bartlett) was presented with the CCIW Elite 26 Award prior to the game. The award, which is modeled after the NCAA's Elite Scholar Athlete Award, is given to the student-athlete competing at the conference championship who holds the highest grade point average. In order to qualify, an individual must be a sophomore, junior, or senior academically and be in their second year of competition with their current team. Wilkens is the third Titan to win the award, joining Madison Moore (2022) and Kennady Estes (2023, 2024, 2025). Furthermore, IWU has taken home the distinction every year since the awards creation in 2022.

Junior Mallory Holland (Shelbyville, Ill.-Shelbyville) breezed through the first two batters before Augie's (28-15) three-hole hitter deposited a ball over the 200-marker in right field. The junior moved on quickly though, striking out the next Viking she faced to bring the Titans to the plate. 

Grace Wilkens opened the bottom of the first with a walk to get IWU's response started. Sophomore Kelsey Bartels (Downs, Ill.-Tri-Valley) laid down a sacrifice bunt, but with nobody covering first reached with a single. The speedy duo pulled off a double steal to solicit a throw which was airmailed down the left field line, allowing Wilkens to score. Senior Casey Wissmiller (Bloomington, Ill.-Olympia) put a ball in play with Bartels on third to push Illinois Wesleyan ahead, 2-1. The Titans went on to load the bases with one out, but a strikeout and a flyout halted the scoring opportunity.

Sophomores Jillian Bollard (Roselle, Ill.-Saint Viator) and Julia Wilkens (Bartlett, Ill.-Bartlett) reached successfully with two outs in the third. Bollard singled and Wilkens walked, but an Augie pitching change stalled the Titans with a foul ball flyout. 

The Vikings utilized a leadoff four-pitch walk to level the score in the fourth. After a sac bunt moved the runner into scoring position, a groundout drew the baserunner 60 feet closer. Augie's Emma Evans roped an RBI single to center to tie the game, 2-2. 

Illinois Wesleyan came right back in its half of the inning but an illegally batted ball wiped away a run and slowed the Green and White's momentum as the score held into the fifth.

Augustana used another two-out rally to plate a pair of runs, pushing across two on a hit and three walks to take the lead. Senior Caroline Gatchell (Grayslake, Ill.-Carmel Catholic) took the ball out of the pen and induced an inning-ending fly ball to center but not before Augie grabbed a 4-2 advantage.

The Titans put together a two-out rally of their own in the sixth. After Bollard singled to open the inning and was lifted for junior pinch runner Margo Geary (St. Charles, Ill.-St. Charles North), sophomore Riley McDoniel (Orland Park, Ill.-Carl Sandburg) laced a run-scoring double to the left-center gap. Sophomore Bella Pinter (LaMoille, Ill.-Saint Bed Academy) kept things moving with a pinch-hit walk and Bartels battled through a nine-pitch AB to drive in two on a knock to center. Bartels' beat-the-shift single reclaimed a 5-4 lead for the Green and White into the seventh. 

Gatchell kept momentum in favor of the Titans with a strikeout. After Augie put one on, senior Gianna Certa (Third Lake, Ill.-Grayslake North) checked in to close the game. Certa made quick work of the Vikings, as she left no doubt with back-to-back strikeouts to finalize the comeback win as IWU secured its third straight tournament title. 

The game was a fitting display of Illinois Wesleyan's strong veteran pitching staff as the trio of Holland, Gatchell, and Certa each came up huge in the circle to lead the Titans to victory. Holland fanned three over 4.2 innings of work. The junior scattered three hits and fanned three, while yielding four runs. Gatchell was credited with the win in the circle, going 1.2 innings and striking out two in a crucial relief spot. Certa earned her second save of the year, relieving Gatchell, striking out both batters she faced to boost her program record total to 10. 

Bartels tallied two hits and a pair of runs batted in with a run scored as IWU finished with seven hits to Augie's three. McDoniel recorded her third multi-hit game of the tournament with two more in the championship game to go with an RBI. Bollard notched her fourth multi-hit game of the season and added a walk. 

The Green and White will learn its fate for the NCAA Tournament Monday, May 11 with the selection show scheduled for 11 a.m. ET. 

 
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