Wheaton, Ill. -- The conference announced its weekly softball awards on Monday afternoon, and Wheaton picked up its first recognitions of the 2026 season, as fellow juniors Shylah Dozeman and Abby Whitehead were named the CCIW Pitcher and Hitter of the Week, respectively. Today's honors mark the second accolade of each player's career after both collected the same recognition in April of last year. Wheaton is the first CCIW team to sweep the league's weekly awards this season. 

Dozeman played an integral role in the Thunder's 4-0 record last week as she went 2-0 in the circle with a 2.10 ERA in 13.1 innings of work. The Michigan native held opposition hitters to a .208 batting average last week and struck out 15 batters while conceding just four walks. On Friday afternoon, Dozeman earned a complete game shutout victory at Eureka College in Wheaton's 6-0 win over the Red Devils. In seven innings at Eureka, she struck out nine and scattered only three hits.

She then picked up her second victory of the week on Saturday as she worked 3.2 innings of relief in a dramatic 12-10 win against Blackburn College. Dozeman scattered four hits with one run allowed, four strikeouts, and no walks. Her strong outing in the circle allowed Wheaton to overcome a 9-5 deficit in the fifth inning and tie the game at 9-9 before winning the contest with a walk-off home run.
 
Fellow third-year player Abby Whitehead hit .583 (7-for-12) for the Thunder last week in helping lead the team to a 4-0 record and tallied two game-winning home runs in Wheaton's doubleheader sweep of Blackburn. Whitehead posted a 1.167 slugging percentage for the week with a .688 on-base percentage and added a double to go with the four walks she drew.

In Wheaton's game one victory against Blackburn on Saturday, she was 2-for-3 with a home run and a double as she scored three times with two RBI. In the bottom of the sixth inning with Wheaton trailing 7-6, Whitehead hit a two-run homer to give the Thunder an 8-7 lead as Wheaton went on to win the game, 10-8. In the second half of Saturday's doubleheader, the Texas native was 2-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBI. In the bottom of the seventh inning with the game tied at 10-10, Whitehead hit a two-run home run deep over the center field fence to win the game as her walk-off effort extended Wheaton's win streak to four.

Dozeman, Whitehead, and their teammates will play a third-straight home doubleheader on Wednesday when Wheaton hosts Wisconsin Lutheran College for a 2 PM & 4 PM twinbill.