BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan collected a stunning 3-0 win over No. 1 Saint Francis (Ill.) in the opening game of the 2017 NAIA National Championship Opening Round Bowling Green Bracket. IWU took advantage of five Saints errors and received stellar pitching from Kaisey Carson with a two-hit shutout.

GAME VITALS

• NAIA National Championship Opening Round - Bowling Green Bracket
• Score:  Indiana Wesleyan def. Saint Francis (Ill.), 3-0
• Records:  Indiana Wesleyan 42-13 (1-0 OR)   |   Saint Francis (Ill.) 41-6 (0-1 OR)
• Bowling Green Bracket Seed:  Indiana Wesleyan - No. 4   |   Saint Francis (Ill.) - No. 1
• NAIA Top- 25 Rank:  Indiana Wesleyan - Receiving votes   |   Saint Francis (Ill.) - No. 9
• Location:  Michael O’Buchanon Park   |   Hosted by Campbellsville   |   Bowling Green, Kentucky 

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

• Indiana Wesleyan took advantage of sloppy play by Saint Francis. The top-seed committed five errors which led to all three IWU runs being unearned.
• IWU knocked in a pair of runs in the 3rd inning for the 2-0 advantage. Kira Madl scored the first run on a throwing error by the USF catcher and Kristen Exposito followed with a RBI triple. USF committed two errors in the inning.
• The Wildcats extended their lead to 3-0 in the 6th inning without recording a hit. Kristen Exposito walked to lead off the inning and pinch runner Amber Roth reached third base on a sac bunt and throwing error. Victoria Boyer hit a sac fly to score Roth. The Saints once again committed two errors in the inning.
• Saint Francis only mounted one serious threat in the game which came in the 2nd inning. USF loaded the bases but IWU pitcher Kaisey Carson induced a ground ball to third to end the frame.
   

GAME STATS

• Kaisey Carson:  W (23-8), 7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K;  1-for-4, R, SB
• Lauren Buckley:  2-for-4
• Kristen Exposito:  1-for-3, BB, 3B, RBI
• Victoria Boyer:  0-for-2, SF, RBI
   

COACH BABINSKI SAYS...

• "I am so proud of my staff and players today. The combination of a great pitching performance backed up by a flawless defense and timely hitting led to the biggest win in IWU Softball history. It's the first win against a top-10 team. We will celebrate the win tonight and reset for another great test tomorrow."
   

NEXT TIME OUT

• Indiana Wesleyan battles No. 2-seed Campbellsville (Ky.) on Tuesday with the winner advancing to the Bowling Green Bracket championship game. It is the first game on the Tuesday docket with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.