Lady Blues Win Twice to Move Within a Game of MWC Title

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Illinois College softball team won twice on Friday to move within a first-ever Midwest Conference title and bid to the NCAA Tournament after downing Grinnell College and Cornell College on the opening day of the MWC Tournament. The two wins by the Lady Blues pushed their record to 25-11 on the season, setting a single-season school record for victories, breaking the mark established just last year.

Illinois College will play at 12 p.m. tomorrow against the winner of the 10 a.m. elimination game between Cornell and Grinnell. If IC loses its first game, there will be a winner-take-all game to follow that at approximately 2 p.m.

Game One: Illinois College 4, Grinnell 1
A complete game from Mariah Hedges helped lead Illinois College to its first-ever MWC Tournament victory in the first game of the day. Hedges held a potent Grinnell offense to five hits, improving to 14-4 on the season. 

For the past two seasons, the Illinois College offense has been one of the most potent units in the MWC, only to go quiet once the MWC Tournament arrived. The Lady Blues made sure that the storyline changed this season, scoring two runs immediately in the bottom of the first inning against Grinnell pitcher Darice Wheeler. Jackie Reilly led off with a single up the middle and Hailey Lesser reached on an infield single before each stole a base to move into scoring position at second and third. A duck-snort single from Lea Hall into right field and a RBI groundout from Shelby Koehler brought the two home for a 2-0 lead after the first inning.

Illinois College added a run in the bottom of the third when Lesser led off the inning with a single through the left side, moving to second on a groundout from Savanna Brady and then to third on a passed ball. A sharp Hall grounder resulted in IC's second out, but Lesser came in for her second run of the game, making it 3-0.

An unforced Grinnell error added another run onto the scoreboard for the Lady Blues in the bottom of the fourth. With one down and runners on the corners, Brady lined a ball to right field for the second out. Lesser was moving on contact and would have been picked off of first to end the inning, but the throw back into the infield was off-target and Sam Seggerman was able to score from third.

The only real drama in the game came in the top of the sixth. A lead-off walk and a one-out single put two on for Grinnell, leading to a RBI double off the bat of Leila Bishop-Parise. Wheeler came around to score on the hit, making it 4-1. Still with just one out in the inning, the Pioneers twice brought the tying run to the plate, but Hedges got the next batters to pop out in foul territory, ending the inning and maintaining a three-run lead. Grinnell went down in order in the top of the seventh to bring the game to a close.

After nabbing the win in the first game of the day, the Lady Blues got to sit back and watch the next two matchups, knowing that they wouldn't take the field again until the 4 p.m. time slot. In an upset, the No. 4 seed Cornell College Rams knocked off the hosts, the No. 1 seed Lake Forest Foresters, by a score of 3-0 to move into the winner's bracket game along with IC. Grinnell then came back strong for a 2-0 victory over the hosts, providing the day's second upset and eliminating Lake Forest from the tournament.

Game Two: Illinois College 11, Cornell 1 (5 innings)
Illinois College didn't let a long layoff have any effect on the game, striking for five runs in its first turn at the plate and building the lead from there until the Lady Blues run-ruled Cornell for an 11-1 win in only five innings. Hedges went the whole way again and allowed just six hits to improve to 15-4 on the year.

Reilly doubled to start the game and the bases were loaded after walks to Lesser and Brady. Hall, coming in with no outs in the clean-up spot, singled to third base to drive Reilly in. Elyce Trout then drove a pitch through the right side of the infield for two more Illinois College runs. A wild pitch brought Hall home from third and Frankie Sikora made it 5-0 on a RBI groundout.

Hall extended the lead to 6-0 in the top of the second as the Lady Blues started a run-scoring rally with two outs and no one on. Lesser kept the inning alive before Brady drew her second walk of the game. A Hall single to left brought Lesser home.

Cornell got its only run of the game in the bottom of the second, but Illinois College answered immediately with three more in the top of the third. Following two walks to start the inning, the Cornell starter was lifted as the Rams went to their pen. Mikayla Greenwood gave the reliever a rude introduction to the game with a double down the line to score Jenna Wright. Reilly and Hall would add RBIs in the frame before Cornell could get the third out.

The cracks began to really show for Cornell in the top of the fourth as the Lady Blues plated two runs on four Ram errors, extending the lead to 11-1. Cornell produced three baserunners in the fourth and fifth innings, but Hedges kept them from coming home and the game ended on a fly out to Reilly in left.