McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University softball team achieved a clean sweep of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) weekly awards on Monday, April 15. Sophomore Gianna Certa from Third Lake, Illinois, and junior Ava Khoury from Columbia, Illinois, were named the CCIW's Pitcher and Hitter of the Week, respectively. This marks Certa's second weekly honor this year and Khoury's first for the season, adding to her career total of three.

Certa's performance was instrumental in leading IWU to a 3-1 start in conference play. The Titans split games with Millikin on April 10 before securing victories against Elmhurst on April 13. In her pitching role, Certa recorded a 2-0 win-loss record over two starts, pitching 16 innings with eight strikeouts while allowing only one run. She delivered a six-hit shutout against Millikin as IWU won 6-0 and followed up with a nine-inning complete game against Elmhurst, resulting in a 4-1 extra-inning victory. During this game, she struck out six Bluejays and conceded just five hits.

Khoury also made significant contributions at the start of conference play by hitting .417 with five hits in 12 at-bats. Her standout performance occurred during game two against Elmhurst where she went 2-for-2, hitting two home runs and driving in three runs. Additionally, she drew two walks throughout the week and extended her streak of reaching base to six consecutive games.

Looking ahead, Illinois Wesleyan is set to travel to Naperville, Illinois on Thursday, April 18 for a doubleheader against North Central College. The first pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.