TUCSON, Ariz. – Indiana Wesleyan Softball won big in both matchups on Thursday. The Wildcats played a morning game against College of Saint Mary (Neb.) and an afternoon game against familiar opponent, William Penn. IWU could not stop scoring in game 1, winning 16-1 in 5 innings. They continued over their hot streak with a win against WPU who had gotten the better of IWU earlier this season. The red and grey play two more games in Arizona before heading back home.
IWU dominated in all aspects of the game against CSM. The Wildcats would score in every inning and only allowed 1 run late in the match. Freshman
Avery Toole shut it down on the mound, collecting the win and nabbing 7 strikeouts. 8 different Wildcats registered an RBI, 5 of which had more than 1. Indiana Wesleyan alternated scoring 1 run and 4 runs for the first 4 innings, then trounced the Flame by pouring in 6 runs in the final frame.
Leah May,
Madisyn Tharpe, and
Alexis Thompson all hit doubles and collected 2 or more RBIs on each.
Maddie Martin closed out the game and recorded her first career pitching strikeout in the final inning.
Game 2 was close for 6 innings before IWU pulled away with 4 runs in the 7th to win 5-0. William Penn had won on a walk-off earlier this year against the Wildcats in Rosemont, Ill.
Courtney Thomas got the scoring started in the bottom of the first inning with a single that scored
Whitney Waddell. However, WPU kept the Wildcats off the scoreboard for the next 5 innings.
Isabelle Beidelschies continued her string of good pitching appearances with another complete game shutout. The sophomore recorded 3 strikeouts while only allowing 2 hits. The final frame is where the offense took over.
Alexis Thompson batted home
Leah May to get it going, Waddell brought another run home with a single, and then Martin scored the final two runs with a single that got through the infield. IWU looks to keep their momentum with two more games tomorrow.
THE ESSENTIALS
- Location: Tucson, Arizona / Lincoln Park
- Records: IWU 5-5 I CSM 3-8 | WPU 7-4
- Game One Score: IWU def. CSM 16-1
- Game Two Score: IWU def. WPU 5-0
GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS
- Morgan Yeater single scored Whitney Waddell for the first score of the game.
- Freshman Madisyn Tharpe hit her first career double for 2 RBIs in the second inning.
- A Yeater bases loaded single scored another run in the 2nd and a Maddie Martin SAC fly got the 4th run on the inning to cross.
- The lone run of the 3rd inning came by way of a wild pitch that brought Courtney Thomas home.
- Leah May and Sara Ruble both hit singles in the 4th inning to get a run scored each. Then Alexis Thompson hit yet another double to add 2 more runs to the IWU advantage.
- The bottom of 4th saw the only run for the Flame, making the score 10-1.
- Malayni Clemens registered her first RBI of the season in the 5th and Leah May hit a bases loaded double to cross 3 more. The last two runs came from a Ruble single and Ella Gearhart's first hit of the season to get IWU to 16 runs.
GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS
- IWU started strong again with a run in the bottom of the 1st when Courtney Thomas brought Whitney Waddell home with a single.
- Isabelle Beidelschies took the mound and started strong with two straight 1-2-3 innings.
- Both pitchers battled for the next 5 innings, stranding base runners and not allowing any runs.
- However, the Wildcats would produce 4 runs in the bottom of the 6th to secure the victory. An error allowed Leah May to advance home for the first run. Next, Whitney Waddell singled that scored another runner. The final runs came off the bat of Maddie Martin who hit a single through the right side to score Waddell and Yeater.
KEY WILDCATS
NEXT TIME OUT
- IWU plays Dakota Wesleyan tomorrow at 12 PM MT / 2 PM ET and then Providence (Mont.) at 2:00 PM MT / 4 PM ET.
FOLLOW THE WILDCATS
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