NAPERVILLE — As the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) enters the final stretch of the softball regular season, the title race and tournament positioning remain in focus following competition from the previous week. 
 
Illinois Wesleyan continues to lead the standings, while several individual performances contributed to conference and national statistical rankings during the week.
 
Titans Pursue the Regular Season Crown
Illinois Wesleyan remained at the top of the CCIW standings after a pair of run-rule wins over Elmhurst last Saturday. Senior Casey Wissmiller led the Titans offensively, batting .600 with eight RBIs and two home runs during the week to earn CCIW Hitter of the Week honors.
 
Gianna Certa was selected as the CCIW Pitcher of the Week after allowing no earned runs over 11 innings. Certa pitched a two-hit complete-game shutout against Millikin on April 16, taking a no-hit bid into the sixth inning. Illinois Wesleyan’s magic number to clinch the outright regular-season title is four, which can be reached through any combination of Titan wins and Millikin losses. The Titans also lead the conference with a .972 fielding percentage, which ranks 12th nationally.
 
Firebirds Burning Up the National Leaderboards
Carthage outfielder Clare Rettler remains among the national leaders in several offensive categories. Rettler ranks second in Division III with a .609 batting average and third nationally with 57 runs scored. She also ranks second in the country with 1.50 stolen bases per game and third with 51 total stolen bases.
 
Gwen Hendrick has also been among the conference’s top run producers, ranking seventh nationally with 51 runs batted in. Carthage split its home finale against Elmhurst on Tuesday and remains third in the conference standings at 8-6. As a team, the Firebirds lead 393 ranked Division III teams with 321 total hits.
 
Big Blue’s Late-Inning Heroics
Millikin improved to 6-2 in conference play after sweeping Carthage last Sunday at the Workman Family Softball Field. Summer Wynn delivered a seventh-inning RBI single in the opener, scoring Abby Willis for a 5-4 walk-off win.
 
Ann Marie Meek contributed to the comeback with a two-run home run in game one and added a solo home run in the second game. Alyssa Dralle earned the win in the opener and recorded a save in game two, increasing her CCIW-leading win total to 11. Millikin ranks 75th nationally with a .472 slugging percentage and 63rd in doubles per game.
 
Cardinal Pitching Reaches Elite Status
North Central moved to 6-6 in CCIW play after a conference sweep of Carroll on Tuesday and a non-conference sweep of Lake Forest on Thursday. The Cardinals have been led in the circle by Sam Schilf, who owns a conference-best 1.87 ERA that ranks 91st nationally.
 
Schilf earned her eighth win of the season with a complete-game effort against Lake Forest. Juliana Maude also added a complete-game performance on Tuesday against Carroll, recording five strikeouts in her sixth win of the season. Hailey Morsovillo drove in five runs during the doubleheader against the Pioneers. North Central ranks 17th nationally in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 3.28.
 
Vikings Establishing New Milestones
North Park’s Eden Baker set a new program record for career stolen bases during the week. Baker tied the record last Sunday against Lawrence and broke it with her 41st career stolen base against Chicago on Thursday.
 
North Park dropped both games to Chicago and split its midweek series with Elmhurst. Defensively, catcher Katie Patton continues to lead Division III with 13 runners caught stealing. 
 
Augustana also moved to 4-4 in CCIW play after sweeping Carroll last Sunday. Mya Brown struck out 11 batters in a complete-game 4-2 win in the opener. The Vikings later swept Grinnell on Tuesday, outscoring the Pioneers 19-5.
 
Bluejay Breakthroughs in a Busy Week
Elmhurst played eight games in the previous week and remained in the conference tournament race. The Bluejays earned their first CCIW sweep of the season on Monday against Wheaton, winning 4-1 and 5-3.
 
Sophomore Bella Swift highlighted the week offensively with two home runs, including a grand slam against North Park on Wednesday. Kylie Hoyh recorded two pitching wins during the week, including a complete-game shutout against North Park in which she allowed two hits. Elmhurst is sixth in the CCIW standings at 5-7.
 
Thunder Snaps the Slide
Wheaton ended an eight-game losing streak on Tuesday with a 10-2 run-rule win over Rockford in non-conference play. Freshman Ava Hartnett had three hits and two RBIs, while Shylah Dozeman earned the win in the circle.
 
Hartnett ranks among the top 10 in the CCIW with a .495 on-base percentage. Wheaton also challenged Elmhurst in game two last Monday, nearly erasing a four-run deficit in the final inning before falling 5-3. The Thunder continue to lead the conference with 136 walks.
 
Upcoming Schedule
Conference and non-conference play continues Friday with Elmhurst at Wisconsin-Whitewater at 1 p.m. and Augustana at Wheaton at 3 p.m.
 
Saturday’s schedule includes North Park at Wheaton, Carroll at Illinois Wesleyan and Millikin at North Central, with all three doubleheaders scheduled for 1 p.m.
 
Sunday’s schedule includes Aurora at Elmhurst at noon, followed by Carthage at Illinois Wesleyan, Carroll at Millikin and Augustana at North Park at 1 p.m.