McLean County Times

For the third consecutive week, a member of the Illinois Wesleyan University softball team has been honored with a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) weekly award. On March 25, sophomore Anna Beckman was named the CCIW's Hitter of the Week for the first time in her career. She follows teammates Hailey Milgazo, who received the same honor on March 18, and Gianna Certa, who was recognized as Pitcher of the Week on March 11.

Beckman's performance stood out during Illinois Wesleyan's home opener against Monmouth on March 21. She went 6-for-7 at bat, including a double and her first career home run. Her impressive statistics included a slash line of .857/1.429/.889 as the Titans swept Monmouth.

In a decisive 21-2 victory over Monmouth, Beckman hit her first career homer in the bottom of the first inning. This game marked one of the highest-scoring games in program history for Illinois Wesleyan, with their 21 runs being second only to a record set in 2006 against North Park. In addition to her home run, Beckman scored three runs, walked once, was hit by a pitch, and stole a base.

The victories extended IWU's winning streak to six games. Beckman's batting average improved significantly from .350 to .481 following these performances. In game one against Monmouth, she went 3-for-3 and narrowly missed hitting for the cycle; she followed this with a 3-for-4 effort in game two.

Illinois Wesleyan is scheduled to host Illinois College for a doubleheader on March 26 at Inspiration Field, with the first pitch set for 3 p.m.