Iowa Wesleyan softball drops doubleheader against Westminster

By ANDY KRUTSINGER

Mt. Pleasant News

The Iowa Wesleyan softball team was unable to figure out Westminster pitching Wednesday afternoon in a conference doubleheader at home. The Blue Jays held the Tigers to one run in two games, winning the first game 8-0 in five innings and the second game 5-1.

After a scoreless first inning in game one, Westminster shortstop Brittany Hodge lined a single to left field off of IWC starting pitcher Samantha McIlwain, scoring two runs and giving the Blue Jays an early lead.

The Tigers left two on base in the bottom of the second, and the Blue Jays got two more in the top of the third when starting pitcher Alyson Hahn helped her cause with a two-run single of her own.

IWC left two more runners on in the bottom of the third, and Westminster strung together four RBIs in the top of the fourth. Haleigh Cowan led off the bottom half of the fourth with a double to right center, but nobody was able to bring her in, and the Tigers were in danger of getting eight-run-ruled in the fifth.

McIlwain held the Blue Jays in the top of the fifth, but the Tigers went down on three groundouts in the bottom of the inning and game one was in the books.

IWC finished with only four hits in the first contest. Caitlin O?Neill had the best game offensively, going 1-1 with a single and a hit-by-pitch. McIlwain took the loss, giving up eight runs (six earned) on 12 hits and one walk. She moved to 5-5 on the year.

The Tigers made it a lot tougher in the second game. Stephanie Tillman was on the hill and pitched well for most of the game. The first two innings moved along harmlessly, but Tillman found herself in trouble in the top of the third.

A hit-by-pitch, an error in the infield and a passed ball highlighted a rough third inning defensively for IWC. Westminster left fielder Kim Morrison smacked a two-RBI double to score two unearned runs and then came around on an RBI single to make it 3-0 Blue Jays. Tillman, however, was able to slip out of the inning before any more damage was done.

The score was still 3-0 Westminster going into the bottom of the fourth, where the Tigers would threaten. Kristen Becks earned a leadoff walk and O?Neill followed with a walk of her own to put two on with no outs. A one-out walk by Andrea Bury loaded the bases, but IWC couldn?t push a run across.

Tillman struck out two in the top of the fifth to keep the Tigers within striking range, and they finally broke through in the bottom half of the inning. Kaitlyn Dirth led off with a single, Tillman followed with a double and IWC was in business.

However, Westminster?s Hahn, who worked in relief in game two, was able to get out of the inning with almost minimal damage. Becks brought Dirth home with the help of an error, but the Blue Jays escaped the fifth inning with a 3-1 lead.

That was as close as the Tigers would get. IWC wouldn?t score again in the game and Westminster got some breathing room with a two-run seventh inning to put the game away.

Becks led the Tigers offensively in game two, going 1-1 with two walks and an RBI. Tillman was tagged with the loss, falling to 3-3 this season, giving up five runs (three earned) on eight hits and one walk.

The Tigers fell to 4-4 in the SLIAC and 8-8 overall. They sit in sixth place in the conference. The Blue Jays moved to 5-1 in conference and 6-11 overall.