Bloomington, Ill.(4/10) – Illinois Wesleyan swept the Thunder softball team in a CCIW doubleheader on Tuesday afternoon. The Titans won the opener 5-1 as the hosts scored five runs, on 11 hits, with two errors and Wheaton plated one run, on three hits, with one error. Illinois Wesleyan was a 9-4 victor in the nightcap as the Titans scored nine runs, on 13 hits, with one error and Wheaton plated four runs, on seven hits, with four errors.
Wheaton is now 13-13 overall and 1-3 in the CCIW. Illinois Wesleyan, ranked 21st in Division III by the American Fastpitch Coaches Association (AFCA) is 16-5 on the year and 4-0 in the CCIW. The Thunder will resume conference play on Saturday at noon in a CCIW doubleheader at Carthage College.
Wheaton took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning when freshman Becky Redline drew a leadoff walk and scored on a RBI-double by junior Sarah Callicutt . The Titans scored two runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 2-1 lead and added three more runs in the sixth inning to account for the 5-1 final score.
The double by Callicut and singles by Lauren Hein and Amanda Grant accounted for Wheaton's three hits. Starting pitcher Sara Hoffman saw two shutout innings, scattering four hits, with one strikeout. Beth Miller (6-5) took the loss in two innings of relief. Miller allowed two runs, on four hits. Junior Kim Hegna pitched two innings of relief, allowing three runs, on three hits, with one walk and two strikeouts.
Illinois Wesleyan jumped out to an early lead in winning the nightcap 9-4. The Titans scored two runs in the top of the first inning, added a run in the second and scored two more in the top of the third inning to take an 5-0 lead after three innings. The hosts added another run in the top of the fourth to take a 6-0 lead. Wheaton cut the Titans' lead to 6-1 with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning as Callicutt hit a leadoff double and she scored on double by Alissa Sharp .
Wheaton added three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut the IWU lead to 6-4. Freshman Erica Casey hit a one-out double in the fifth and was followed by a walk to fellow rookie Emily Tuttle and a single by Callicutt to load the bases. Junior Trinity Pierce hit a two-RBI single to bring Casey and Tuttle home and then Callicut scored on a single by Sharp. The Titans added a run in the sixth inning and scored two more runs in the seventh to finish the game with a 9-4 victory.
Hoffman (2-5) took the loss in 2-1/3 innings as the Thunder starting pitcher. She allowed five runs, on two earned runs, with four hits, three walks and two strikeouts. Miller pitched 4-2/3 innings of relief, allowing four runs, with two earned runs, on nine hits, with three strikeouts and one walk.
Sharp was 2-for-3, with a double and two runs driven in. Callicutt went 2-for-4, with a double and two runs scored. Casey hit a double, while Pierce and Miller hit singles to account for Wheaton's seven hits.
