Bloomington, Ill. – The Wheaton softball team (31-12) earned three victories on Friday at the 2016 CCIW Softball Tournament as the program earned its first-ever CCIW Tournament championship. Wheaton opened with a 2-0 victory against top-seeded Illinois Wesleyan 2-0. The win was Wheaton's first victory over the Titans since 2011. The win against 14th-ranked IWU advanced Wheaton to the tournament's championship session for the first time since 1987. Wheaton defeated North Central 9-3 in the first game of the championship session to setup a winner-take-all championship game that saw Wheaton earn a 10-0 victory against the Cardinals.
Today's dramatic victories not only earned Wheaton its first CCIW Tournament title, but also the CCIW's automatic bid that is awarded to the tournament's champion. Wheaton will be making the program's first-ever CCIW Tournament appearance when tournament pairings and sites are announced on Monday
at noon on NCAA.com.
Today's wins improved the Thunder to 31-12 on the season. This year's record-breaking effort marks the first time in program history that Wheaton has accomplished a 30-win season.
GAME ONE RECAP: Wheaton def. Illinois Wesleyan, 2-0
Wheaton shut out the Titans 2-0 in the opening matchup on Friday as the Thunder scored two runs, on seven hits, with four errors and Illinois Wesleyan tallied no runs, on four hits with zero errors. Thunder starting pitcher
Katie Thornton (22-8) earned the win in seven innings of work. Thornton held the 14
th-ranked Titans scoreless, on four hits, with one walk and eight strikeouts.
Wheaton scattered its seven hits in the game around seven different batters.
Katie Yergler (PICTURED LEFT) and
Megan Neuhaus each hit RBI-singles in the win.
Christina Sandstedt collected the lone extra-base hit for the Thunder with a double.
Illinois Wesleyan starter Jenna Noland (12-4) worked 4-1/3 innings, allowing six hits, with two earned runs and four strikeouts. Mackenzie Marquis pitched 1-2/3 innings of scoreless relief, allowing one hit. Julie Josten was 2-for-3 for the Titans.
Wheaton broke a scoreless tie with one run in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Katie Thornton hit a one-out single through the middle of the infield and
Abby Hancock pinch ran for her. Hancock moved to second base when senior
Ellen Radandt was hit by a pitch. Yergler hit a RBI-single down the rightfield line to bring Hancock home and give Wheaton the 1-0 advantage.
Wheaton added a key insurance run in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Hannah Clark led off the inning by bunting for a single and scored two batters later on a RBI-single to centerfield by Neuhaus (PICTURED RIGHT).
Illinois Wesleyan attempted a rally in the top of the seventh; however,
Katie Thornton pitched out of the rally. Josten and Laura Bonds opened the top of the seventh for the Titans with back-to-back singles. They advanced to second and third with one out thanks to a sacrifice bunt. The IWU runners were stranded in scoring position as Thornton struck out the final two batters looking at called third strikes to end the game and send Wheaton to its first CCIW Tournament championship session since 1987.
GAME TWO RECAP: Wheaton def. North Central, 9-3
Wheaton forced a winner-take-all championship game against North Central by winning the first game of the championship session, 9-3. The Thunder scored nine runs, on 12 hits with two errors and North Central tallied three runs, on nine hits with three errors.
Kendall Kehres (5-2) earned the win in four innings. Kehres (PICTURED LEFT) allowed two runs, on five hits, with two walks.
Jaclyn McLean pitched three innings of relief, allowing one unearned run, on four hits with two walks.
Kelly Thornton was 3-for-4 with a double as she scored three runs and drove in two runs.
Katie Thornton was 3-for-4 with a triple.
Hannah Clark was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a RBI.
Christina Sandstedt was 2-for-4, scoring a run.
The Thunder scored a run in the top of the first inning as Neuhaus drove in a run on a RBI-groundout. The Cardinals scored a run in the bottom of the first to tie the game at 1-1. The Thunder tallied two runs in the top of the second inning to gain a 3-1 lead as Clark hit a RBI-triple and she scored on a RBI-single by
Alyssa Leonard.
Wheaton added a run in the top of the third inning to increase its lead to 4-1 as
Kelly Thornton (PICTURED RIGHT) scored an unearned run off of a NCC error. The Thunder broke the game open with four runs in the top of the fourth inning to gain an 8-1 lead.
Kelly Thornton hit a two-run double in the fourth,
Katie Thornton added a RBI-single and
Ellen Radandt also drove in a run.
The Cardinals added a run in the bottom of the fourth for an 8-2 Wheaton lead. Radandt drove in an additional run in the top of the sixth inning to extend Wheaton's advantage to 9-2. The Cardinals added a run in the bottom of the seventh inning to account for the 9-3 final score.
GAME THREE RECAP: Wheaton def. North Central, 10-0
Wheaton secured its first-ever CCIW Tournament championship with a 10-0 victory in six innings in the winner-take-all championship game. The game was scoreless through the first four innings until Wheaton scored seven innings in the bottom of the fifth inning. The game ended in the bottom of the six on the eight-run rule thanks to a three-run homer by
Kelly Thornton.
The Thunder scored 10 runs, on eight hits, with no errors and North Central was scoreless, on four hits, with zero errors.
Katie Thornton (23-8) earned the win in six scoreless innings of work. Thornton (PICTURED LEFT) scattered four hits in the outing.
Kelly Thornton was 2-for-4 with five RBI and her three-run home run.
Wheaton snapped the scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth inning with seven runs.
Kelly Thornton hit a two-run single in the inning.
Emily Bonga, Leonard and
Katie Thornton each drove in a run with a RBI-single and Sandstedt drove in a run by drawing a bases loaded walk.
Kelly Thornton ended the matchup in the sixth with her three-run home run over the left field fence.
