McLean County Times

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU) softball team is set to begin their College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play this Saturday, April 12. The Titans will face off against North Park University in a doubleheader in Chicago. The games are scheduled to start with a 1 p.m. first pitch.

The Titans hold a 15-7 overall record coming into the doubleheader. Recently, they won three out of four games in split doubleheaders against Wooster and UW-Eau Claire on April 5 and 6. Meanwhile, North Park's team stands at a balanced 10-10 for the season and 1-1 within the league. Before playing IWU, the Vikings will compete against Millikin. Their last matchups resulted in a split with Elmhurst on April 6.

Senior Jen Kuhn is a standout player for IWU, leading the team with a .493 batting average. Kuhn is also ahead in terms of hits, doubles, and RBIs. Senior Ava Khoury follows closely with a .373 batting average and 21 RBIs. Other notable players include junior Claire Post and freshman Bella Pinter, with batting averages of .365 and .355, respectively. They have also contributed significantly to the team's run production.

Among other players, junior Casey Wissmiller and freshman Grace Wilkens have maintained batting averages above .300. Wissmiller is batting .324, while Wilkens has an average of .311 for the year.

In pitching, the Titans have utilized various players throughout the season. Sophomore Mallory Holland boasts a 1.85 earned run average over 22.2 innings. She shares the lead with junior Gianna Certa with two saves. Certa has pitched 57.0 innings, achieving an 8-2 record with 37 strikeouts. Freshman Maddie Pool has delivered strong performances, with 36 strikeouts over 40.0 innings and holding opponents to a .192 batting average.

IWU holds a commanding 55-1 record against North Park in their previous meetings. They won the last three matchups against the Vikings, including last year's doubleheader by scores of 8-0 and 13-4 on April 21. As a point of interest, former IWU pitcher Natalie Grubczak, an all-conference player, is now part of North Park's coaching staff under Katie Anderson.

The first pitch of the matchup is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 12. Fans can follow the games through live stats and stream links available on the softball schedule page of iwusports.com.