McLean County Times

The Illinois Wesleyan University softball team, ranked 20th nationally, is set to compete in the NCAA Division III Super Regional against Linfield University. The games will take place on May 22-23 at Linfield's home field in McMinnville, Oregon. The winner of this best-of-three series will advance to the NCAA Division III World Series scheduled for May 28-June 4 at Inspiration Field in Bloomington, Illinois.

Illinois Wesleyan enters the competition with a 37-7 record after securing an automatic bid by winning both the regular season and tournament titles in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin. They recently emerged victorious from their regional matches held from May 15-17. Their opponent, Linfield University, holds a record of 41-5 and has won its last ten games.

Historically, Linfield leads the all-time series against Illinois Wesleyan with three wins out of four encounters. The two teams have not faced each other in Oregon before this event.

Illinois Wesleyan's journey to Oregon marks their first time playing in that state. Earlier this season, they played several matches in California, ending with a 4-2 record.

Five Illinois Wesleyan players were named to the Bloomington Regional All-Tournament team on May 17. Senior Ava Khoury was recognized as the Most Outstanding Player alongside teammates Gianna Certa, Claire Post, Casey Wissmiller, and Grace Wilkens.

The Titans have participated in five previous Super Regionals and hold a strong track record despite never winning their opening game. They aim to secure another appearance at the World Series where they have previously finished as runners-up in 2018.

Senior player Jen Kuhn has had an impressive season, setting career highs across various categories and breaking the program's career doubles record with her current tally standing at 48. She is also nearing another milestone for career hits.

Ava Khoury broke Illinois Wesleyan's career home run record during their conference championship game earlier this month.

The Titans' offense ranks among the top nationally within Division III softball with notable performances from players like Jen Kuhn and Ava Khoury who lead key statistics for batting averages and RBIs respectively.

Defensively, Illinois Wesleyan boasts one of Division III’s best fielding percentages at .970 while Linfield follows closely behind with .965.

Three Titans received NFCA All-Region honors recently: Jen Kuhn was named First Team All-Region while freshmen Ella Hermes and Bella Pinter made Second Team status.

Looking ahead beyond this weekend’s Super Regional matchups; whoever triumphs will move forward into competing at NCAA Division III Softball National Championship hosted by Illinois Wesleyan later this month.