The Illinois Wesleyan University softball team will play its last College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) regular season road games against Elmhurst University on April 18. The doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at the Plunkett Athletic Complex.
This matchup is important as Illinois Wesleyan holds a conference-leading record of 9-1 in the CCIW and an overall record of 19-11. According to the official website, the Titans compete at the NCAA Division III level and are members of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin according to the official website. The team operates from Bloomington, Illinois, where it hosts games at Inspiration Field according to the official website.
Illinois Wesleyan recently swept Millikin with scores of 5-0 and 10-1 on April 16. Elmhurst has played only four conference games so far, holding a record of 1-3 in CCIW play and standing at 7-14 overall after consecutive doubleheaders were postponed. The Bluejays most recently lost two games to Millikin on April 11.
Several players have contributed significantly during conference play for Illinois Wesleyan. Sophomore Kelsey Bartels leads with a .400 batting average, while senior Claire Post follows closely with a .384 average. Seniors Casey Wissmiller and Isabella Boskey each have driven in nineteen runs this season alongside Post. Grace Wilkens leads with thirty-three hits and shares seventeen stolen bases with Anna Beckman; both are hitting above .300 along with Wissmiller.
On the pitching side, Gianna Certa holds a team-best earned run average (ERA) of 2.04 over seventy-nine innings pitched, recording forty-eight strikeouts for a seven-win-two-loss record this year. Mallory Holland has posted an ERA of 2.13 over forty-two innings pitched, while Caroline Gatchell rounds out primary pitchers having thrown sixty innings across sixteen appearances.
Historically, since their series began in nineteen ninety-seven, Illinois Wesleyan has compiled forty-six wins against twelve losses versus Elmhurst. Since being swept by Elmhurst in twenty twenty-one, IWU has won eight straight meetings between these teams.
Saturday’s doubleheader will be available via live stream and live stats links found on iwusports.com’s softball schedule page.
