BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Illinois Wesleyan and Augustana secured the final two spots in the 2026 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Softball Championship final after three games Friday at Inspiration Field. 
 
North Central opened the day by eliminating Millikin before the Titans and Vikings advanced to Saturday’s championship round. 
 
Saturday’s schedule in Bloomington begins at 11 a.m. with Illinois Wesleyan (2-0) facing Augustana (3-1) for the CCIW Championship. A second game will be played if necessary. IWU and Augustana will be meeting in the championship round for the second consecutive season and the seventh time overall since 2006.
 
Game 5: #4 North Central def. #2 Millikin, 10-9
North Central stayed alive in the tournament with a 10-9 win over Millikin in Friday’s first elimination game.
 
The Cardinals built an 8-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Gwen Shouse singled and later hit a two-run home run in the frame, while Lauren Bowmar, Emma Herder, Sydney Nienhouse and Bailey Miller also drove in runs.
 
Millikin began its comeback in the second inning on Ann Marie Meek’s two-run single. The Big Blue added three runs in the third behind RBI doubles from Brianna Denault and Ava Zukowski and an RBI single from Abby Willis.
 
Millikin tied the game in the seventh with four runs. Willis had a two-run single, and Summer Wynn followed with a two-run double to make the score 9-9.
 
North Central answered in the bottom of the seventh. Nienhouse led off with a single, Kayla Lindberg followed with a bunt single and Miller drove in pinch-runner Alyssa Barowski with the game-winning run.
 
Sam Schilf earned the win in relief for North Central, throwing 4.1 innings. Shayna Woolwine took the loss for Millikin.
 
Game 6: #1 Illinois Wesleyan def. #3 Augustana, 5-0
Illinois Wesleyan moved into the championship round with a 5-0 win over Augustana in Friday’s winners’ bracket game.
 
Gianna Certa earned the complete-game shutout for the Titans. She allowed seven hits, struck out four and worked out of several scoring opportunities, including a bases-loaded situation in the third inning.
 
Illinois Wesleyan took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Kelsey Bartels scored on Casey Wissmiller’s two-out RBI double to center field.
 
The Titans added four runs in the fifth. Bartels drove in Riley McDoniel with a single, Anna Beckman followed with an RBI triple and Claire Post hit a two-run home run to center field for a 5-0 lead.
 
Augustana left eight runners on base. The Vikings’ first scoring chance ended in the first inning when Illinois Wesleyan center fielder Grace Wilkens threw out Aubrey Gradin at the plate.
 
McDoniel finished 3-for-3 for Illinois Wesleyan. Addie Garr took the loss for Augustana, allowing five runs on seven hits in 4.2 innings.
 
Game 7: #3 Augustana def. #4 North Central, 4-3
Augustana bounced back to advance to Saturday’s championship round with a 4-3 win over North Central in Friday’s final game.
 
The Vikings scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning after entering the frame trailing 3-1.
 
Augustana took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Madi Bickell’s RBI single. North Central tied the game in the sixth when Emma Herder singled to right field to score Gracie Vlach.
 
The Cardinals moved in front in the seventh. Hailey Morsovillo drove in the go-ahead run with a single, and Herder added her second RBI single of the game for a 3-1 lead.
 
Augustana responded in the bottom half. Emma Schmidt singled to score the first run of the inning, and Emily Gad drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game. Garr followed with an RBI single to right-center, scoring Alexis Duke with the winning run.
 
Mya Brown earned the win for Augustana after pitching five innings. Lauren Koster worked the final two innings in relief.