WAVERLY, Iowa – Illinois Wesleyan closed its 2026 softball season Saturday at the NCAA Division III Waverly Regional, finishing 31-15 after advancing to a winner-take-all regional championship game against second-ranked Redlands.
 
The Titans went 3-2 at the regional, earning two wins over No. 23 Wartburg and handing Redlands its first loss in more than two months before the Bulldogs responded in the final game of the tournament.
 
Illinois Wesleyan opened regional play Thursday with an 8-3 win over host Wartburg. The Titans totaled 14 hits in the victory, led by senior Claire Post, who went 4-for-4 with three RBI. Anna Beckman added two doubles, while Isabella Boskey delivered a two-run single in a four-run seventh inning. Gianna Certa earned the win in the circle, throwing a complete game and allowing only three hits over the final six innings.
 
IWU moved into the winner’s bracket Friday against Redlands, but the Bulldogs held off a late Titan push for a 6-4 victory. Maddie Pool hit a three-run home run and Casey Wissmiller followed with a solo shot as Illinois Wesleyan trimmed the deficit late, but Redlands remained unbeaten in the regional.
 
The Titans responded later Friday with a 7-0 elimination-game win over Wartburg. Caroline Gatchell threw a complete-game shutout, scattering four hits to earn her eighth win of the season. Illinois Wesleyan gave her early support with five runs in the first inning, receiving run-producing swings from Beckman, Post, Pool and Boskey.
 
Illinois Wesleyan carried that momentum into Saturday’s championship round, where the Titans needed two wins over Redlands to claim the regional title. IWU forced the decisive game with a 6-4 victory in the opener, ending Redlands’ 30-game winning streak. Wissmiller drove in three runs, Post added a solo home run and Mallory Holland earned the win in relief. Gatchell recorded the final outs, inducing a game-ending double play for her second save of the season.
 
Redlands took control early in the winner-take-all game, but Illinois Wesleyan again worked its way back. The Titans trailed 5-1 before scoring three times in the fifth inning, with Beckman, Post and Pool contributing hits in the rally. Redlands held on from there, closing out a 6-4 win and ending IWU’s postseason run.
 
Illinois Wesleyan’s 31 wins also marked the program’s third 30-win season in the last four years.