KENOSHA, WIS.—The Carthage College softball team will participate in the 2017 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Softball Tournament on Friday, May 5 – Saturday, May 6 at the Workman Family Softball Complex in Decatur, Ill. The #2 Lady Reds will open the four-team, double-elimination tournament against #3 Illinois Wesleyan on Friday, May 5 at 12:00 p.m. #1 Millikin University will open tournament play against #4 North Central College (Ill.) at 2:00 p.m.
Reigning CCIW Hitter of the Week
Darian Pelsor paces the Carthage hitters with a .388 batting average (47-121) and a CCIW-leading nine home runs this season.
Hailey Rothstein (.318) and
Emmily Zinkiewicz (.302) round out the .300+ hitters in Carthage's lineup.
Amy Goldsmith, who ranks 10
th in NCAA Division III with 0.60 walks allowed per seven innings, paces Carthage with a 2.21 ERA on 104.1 innings pitched this season.
Katie Herron owns a 2.23 ERA and 123 strikeouts on 116.1 innings pitched this season.
Carthage will enter the CCIW Tournament with a conference-leading 0.55 home runs per game.
ABOUT #3 ILLINOIS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY (28-12, 11-5 CCIW)
The Titans defeated Carthage in a 4-1, 12-inning marathon at the Carthage Softball Field on April 22. They utilized that momentum in an 8-4 win over the Lady Reds in game two of the doubleheader. Illinois Wesleyan will enter their meeting with Carthage having won eight of their last nine games, with their only loss coming in an 8-7 decision against Illinois College on May 2.
The Titans are in pursuit of their second-consecutive trip to the NCAA Division III World Series.
Jillian Runyon leads the Illinois Wesleyan hitters with a .414 batting average that includes four doubles and five triples. The Titans pitching staff carries a .358 ERA and 141 strikeouts on 272.2 innings pitched.
Tiffany Prager is in her first season as Illinois Wesleyan head softball coach. The Lady Reds carry a 22-55 all-time record against the Titans.
ABOUT #1 MILLIKIN UNIVERSITY (30-10, 15-2 CCIW)
The host Big Blue will enter Friday off a 12-day hiatus from competition. Millikin ended their campaign with a 4-0 loss, and 12-4 win over Carthage to secure the outright 2017 CCIW Regular Season Softball crown.
Kailey Lyons paces the Millikin hitters with a CCIW-leading .426 batting average (58-136). Four other Big Blue sluggers sport a .300+ batting average.
Gracie Brookens (118.1 IP) and Cathy Lebryk (119.0) have both logged a majority of the innings for Millikin's pitching staff. Brookens leads the way with a 1.89 ERA and 56 strikeouts.
Katie Tenboer is in her second season as Millikin head softball coach. Carthage is 37-28 all-time against the Big Blue.
ABOUT #4 NORTH CENTRAL COLLEGE (ILL.) (20-18, 9-7 CCIW)
The Lady Reds swept North Central 6-1 and 3-0 in their regular season matchup at the Shanower Family Field on April 18. Taylor Clugston paces the North Central (Ill.) hitters with a .397 batting average (54-136). Clugston's toughest-to-strikeout ratio (32.0) ranks second in the CCIW.
The Cardinals pitching staff carries a 3.53 ERA and 83 strikeouts on 254.0 innings of work this season. North Central (Ill.) will enter Friday with relatively the least amount of rest as they ended their season with a 6-5 win, and 6-1 loss to Augustana College (Ill.) on May 2.
Jim Kulawiak is in his 29
th season as North Central (Ill.) head softball coach. Carthage is 28-55 all-time against the Cardinals.
WHAT'S NEXT
A CCIW Tournament Championship will secure the Lady Reds an automatic berth (Pool A) into the 2017 NCAA Division III Softball Tournament. Otherwise, Carthage will see whether they've earned an at-large (Pool C) bid on the NCAA Division III Softball Tournament Selection Show on Monday, May 8 at 1:00 p.m. (ET).
