Lady Blues Set New Program Record in Split with Illinois Wesleyan

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College softball team made history on Tuesday, picking up its 24th win of the season to set a new single-season record. Previously, the 2007 team had the most wins in a season with 23. The Lady Blues and Illinois Wesleyan University split a doubleheader, with each nabbing an 8-7 win. IC is now 24-11 on the season, while the Titans move to 28-12 in advance of the CCIW Tournament on May 5-6 at Millikin University in Decatur, Ill.

Illinois College will take the No. 3 seed into the Midwest Conference Tournament on May 5 and 6 at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis. The Lady Blues face Cornell College on Friday morning at 10 a.m. Pending the result of that game, IC will play in either the winner's bracket game that afternoon at 4 p.m. or in an elimination game at 2 p.m. St. Norbert and Lake Forest College meet in the other semifinal that day at 12 p.m.

Game One: Illinois Wesleyan 8, Illinois College 7 (8 innings)
The offenses had their way in both games and it started early on. Sloppy play by the IC defense led to an opening run for the Titans. A bunt single and an error put Jillian Runyon on second base and she came home on a one-out single by Sam Berghoff. In the second inning, Illinois Wesleyan added onto its lead when the ball glanced off Shelby Koehler's glove in right field and Brittany Murphy was able to race in on an unearned run. Later, a single by Runyon scored Amanda Lack to make it 3-0.

Illinois College got back in it in the bottom of the second. Frankie Sikora led off with a walk and Katie Prizer doubled deep to left to bring her in for a 3-1 game. With two outs and two on, Hailey Lesser tripled to the gap in right-center, tying the game up at 3-3. With Jackie Reilly up next, a wild pitch made it to the backstop and Lesser sprinted home to give IC a 4-3 advantage.

The Lady Blues maintained their 4-3 lead until Illinois Wesleyan scored an unearned run in the top of the fifth to knot the score at 4-4. In the bottom of the fifth, Lesser reached on a single back to the pitcher and went to second on a wild pitch. Following a sacrifice bunt by Reilly, Lesser scored on a sacrifice fly by Koehler to give the lead back to the Lady Blues at 5-4.

Though IC was only six outs away from the win, Runyon almost single-handedly swung the game in IWU's favor. Following a single that went just out in front of home plate, Runyon stole both second and third. With one away, Berghoff scored her on a single to center and Shelby Fulk came up next with a single through the right side of the infield to bring Sydney Alery in for a 6-5 lead for the Titans.

An error by Illinois Wesleyan in the bottom of the sixth opened the door for Illinois College and Elyce Trout came up big with a RBI single that scored Dakota Swingler from third and knotted the score at 6-6. Following a pitching change, Lesser again singled, bringing in DJ Troli for the go-ahead run at 7-6.

In the seventh, Illinois Wesleyan loaded the bases with one away and Alery singled in Murphy to make it 7-7. The Lady Blues were in trouble until Prizer fielded a grounder at first and threw home to Lea Hall for the force-out and Mikayla Greenwood ended the inning with an unassisted play at third.

Illinois College couldn't score the winning run in the bottom of the seventh, so the game went extras with teams putting runners on second base to start each frame. A wild pitch and a single by Maggie Graham scored Fulk to put the Titans up, 8-7. In the bottom of the eighth, IC had the bases loaded with no one out until Brea Walker got Greenwood swinging for the first out. From there, Prizer was called out on runner's interference and Lesser popped up to shortstop to end the game.

Lesser and Prizer each went 3-for-4 in the game for the Lady Blues. Lesser drove in three runs and scored two herself. Prizer had one RBI and one run scored. Mariah Hedges took the loss to fall momentarily to 12-3.

Game Two: Illinois College 8, Illinois Wesleyan 7
The record-setting win for the Lady Blues came in the nightcap. Hedges threw the final two innings and got the win to improve to 13-3 on the season.

Illinois Wesleyan started the scoring in the top of the first. Runyon was brought home on a sacrifice fly for a 1-0 lead. From there, the Titans had a runner on when Graham tripled to right-center. A throw to the infield got away from the IC defense and so Graham rushed in to make it 3-0.

The lead for the Titans wouldn't last long. Savanna Brady walked and Elyce Trout tripled her home in the bottom of the first to make it 3-1. Following a pair of walks, Hall lined a triple to right-center to clear the bases and put the Lady Blues up, 4-3.

The Titans tied the game in the top of the second and then went ahead in the top of the fourth on a double by Delaney Olinger. The Lady Blues went quietly in the bottom of the inning and IWU tacked on another run in the fifth when Olinger singled in Julie Josten just prior to Murphy being thrown out at third base to end the inning.

With runners at first and second and two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Koehler got the Lady Blues going again with a RBI single through the left side to bring Sikora in. With Prizer and Koehler on base, Hall doubled them home, her fourth and fifth RBIs of the game, to make it 7-6.

The lightning-quick Runyon tied the game in the sixth, scoring from second base on a sacrifice bunt to level the score again at 7-7. Brady made a couple of big defensive plays in the top of the seventh to keep the Titans from scoring again to take the lead.

In what was almost certainly the last turn at the plate regardless of the outcome due to darkness, Illinois College was able to come up with clutch hits in the bottom of the seventh to get the win. Trout led off the inning with a single and Sikora worked a walk, moving pinch-runner Mickalah York up to second. A Prizer sacrifice bunt moved each runner up a station with one out and Koehler then belted a fly ball to center that was hauled in for the second out, but gave the Titans no chance at getting York at the play at the plate.

Hall ended the game going 3-for-3. Trout was 3-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored. Koehler had the two other RBIs in the game for the Lady Blues.