MARION, Ind. - Indiana Wesleyan Softball celebrated their 2026 graduating class by taking down Huntington University in both games on Saturday afternoon to secure the 2026 Crossroads League Regular Season Champion title. The Wildcats won in walk-off fashion in the first game of the day and put up 7 runs in the second game to sweep the Foresters. With their wins, IWU finishes as the No. 1 seed going into the conference tournament next week. In the first year under the helm of head coach
Kelsey Kooistra, IWU has now earned its first outright regular season title since 2022.
The Wildcats started well in game one with a 1-0 lead after the 1st inning and kept the Foresters scoreless until the 3rd when 2 runs were walked in. Neither team was able to capitalize on base runners in the following innings, and it came down to the final half inning for IWU down 2-1.
Danica Fuller started the inning with a single as the tying runner and stole second base before getting moved over to third. Two batters later,
Morgan Yeater singled to score Fuller and tie the game.
Maddie Martin won the game in the ensuing at-bat with a double to left field that allowed Yeater to score and give the Wildcats the 3-2 victory.
Huntington took the early lead in game two with 2 in the 1st inning, but IWU responded with 5 in the bottom of the 2nd aided by defensive miscues to take the lead. The Foresters added another run in the 4th and then the Wildcats put up 2 more with a
Brylee Bilger home run in the 5th frame. Huntington would keep it close with a pair of runs in the following inning to make it 7-5. However, the Wildcats would close it out in the top of the 7th and walked away as the winners of both games and the Crossroads Regular Season champs.
THE ESSENTIALS
- Location: Marion, Indiana / Sue Bowman Field
- Records: IWU 37-11 (30-6) HU 26-22 (18-18)
- Game One Score: IWU def. HU 3-2
- Game Two Score: IWU def. HU 7-5
GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS
- Game 1's scoring started with a bases loaded single by Whitney Waddell in the bottom of the 1st inning to put IWU up 1-0.
- Huntington took the lead in the 3rd with 2 bases loaded walks.
- After three scoreless innings, IWU was down to their final three outs losing 2-1. Danica Fuller started the rally with a single and made her way to 3rd base before Morgan Yeater singled through the infield to bring home Fuller and tie the game. With the winning run now on base, Maddie Martin hit a deep shot to left field that hit the outfield fence and allowed Yeater to score, Martin's 60th RBI of the season.
GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS
- Huntington came back strong in game 2, beginning with 2 runs in the first frame.
- The Wildcats answered with 5 runs of their own in the bottom of the 2nd inning. The first run came on an error by the defense that allowed the runners to advance and Emma Wiberg scored. Malayni Clemens picked up an RBI in the next at-bat after getting Whitney Waddell to score from third base then a wild pitch brought Leah May home. The final two runs came on a Morgan Yeater single that was just out of the reach of the first baseman, giving IWU the 5-2 lead.
- The Foresters made it 3-5 in the 4th inning with another run.
- In the 5th, Brylee Bilger hit her 2nd home run in as many days that gave the Wildcats a 7-3 advantage.
- HU kept it within striking distance as they scored another couple of runs in the 6th to cut the lead down to two. Ultimately, the Wildcats stopped the comeback attempt and won 7-5.
KEY WILDCATS
KOOISTRA PERSPECTIVE
- "Today was just such a fun day being able to celebrate an incredible group of seniors and win some competitive games against a solid Huntington team. This week has been an absolute grind but this team just keeps showing up, finding ways to get it done, and laughing a lot along the way," said Head Coach Kelsey Kooistra. "To top off a day of celebrating by finding out we were league champs was just an absolute gift and core memory. We are so grateful for the opportunities God has placed in front of us this season and truly in awe of His presence and work in and through this team. Huge thank you to our incredible fans that showed up today and all season- the support and love we received from you all was incredible! Excited to continuing competing next week."
NEXT TIME OUT
- IWU has finished the regular season and look to the Crossroads League Tournament next week as the no. 1 seed.
FOLLOW THE WILDCATS
#
