The Illinois Wesleyan University softball team will begin play in the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, May 14, as part of the Waverly Regional hosted by Wartburg College, according to a May 11 announcement. The regional features four teams: No. 23 Wartburg College, No. 4 University of Redlands, Dominican University, and Illinois Wesleyan.
The tournament is significant for Illinois Wesleyan as it marks the program’s 22nd appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Titans enter with a season record of 28-13 after winning both the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) Regular Season Championship with a 15-1 record and their third consecutive CCIW Tournament Title on May 9.
Games will begin with Redlands facing Dominican at 11 a.m., followed by Illinois Wesleyan playing Wartburg at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday. Winners from these games will meet Friday at 11 a.m., while an elimination game is scheduled for later that day at 2:30 p.m., followed by another contest at 4 p.m. The regional championship game is set for Saturday, May 16, at 11 a.m.
Illinois Wesleyan was the only school from its conference selected for this year’s tournament field of sixty-four teams. Throughout this season, the Titans have played against six other tournament teams and have recorded five wins and seven losses against opponents including Belhaven, Calvin, Illinois College, Simpson, UW-Oshkosh, and Wartburg.
Forty-two conferences received automatic qualification into the tournament while twenty-two additional teams were chosen on an at-large basis from automatic qualifying conferences. The winner of this weekend’s regional advances to the super regional scheduled for May 21-22; ultimately aiming for the Division III Softball Championship taking place from May 28 to June 3 in Salem, Virginia.
The Illinois Wesleyan Titans Women’s Softball team competes in intercollegiate athletics as part of NCAA Division III and holds membership in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin; they operate out of Bloomington where they host games at Inspiration Field,according to the official website.
