2018 CCIW SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT PAGE
KENOSHA, WIS.—The 2018 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Softball Tournament is next for the Lady Reds, who will be making their 19th appearance at the event on Friday, May 4 – Saturday, May 5 at the Illinois Wesleyan Softball Field in Bloomington, Illinois.
Carthage is 14-37 all-time in the CCIW Tournament and are in pursuit of the podium's top spot at the event for the first time in school history. The double elimination 2018 CCIW Tournament will consist of the following four teams:
#1 Illinois Wesleyan
#2 North Central (Ill.)
#3 Carroll (Wis.)
#4 Carthage
The Lady Reds will square-off against Illinois Wesleyan in their opening game on Friday, May 4 at 2:00 p.m. Below is a complete schedule of the two-day event:
Friday, May 4
Game 1: #3 Carroll (Wis.) vs. #2 North Central (Ill.), 12 p.m.
Game 2: #4 Carthage vs. #1 Illinois Wesleyan, 2 p.m.
Game 3: Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 4 p.m.
Game 4: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 6 p.m.
Saturday, May 5
Game 5: Game 4 Loser vs. Game 3 Winner, 10 a.m.
Game 6: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 12 p.m.
Game 7: Necessary only if Game 5 Winner defeats Game 4 Winner in Game 6, 2 p.m.
The winner of the 2018 CCIW Tournament will receive one of the 42 automatic bids into the 2018 NCAA Division III Softball Tournament. The non-winners may qualify for one of the 19 at-large pool "C" bids into the 62-team field.
ABOUT ILLINOIS WESLEYAN (27-8-1, 14-2 CCIW)
Titans pitcher Ally Wiegnand is nationally ranked in nine categories, which includes an NCAA Division III-leading 73.50 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 0.16 walks allowed per seven innings. Wiegnand ranks second in the country with 11.6 strikeouts per seven innings. Sam Berghoff paces the Illinois Wesleyan offense with a .500 batting average, 58 hits, 10 home runs, 53 RBI's, four sacrifice flies, and a .957 slugging percentage, all of which rank among the top-25 in the country.
Five other Titans sport a .300+ batting average, which highlights their CCIW-leading .333 mark as a team. Illinois Wesleyan also leads the CCIW in earned run average (2.36), home runs per game (0.81), scoring (6.46), shutouts (10), slugging percentage (.493), stolen bases per game (1.73) and strikeouts-to-walk ratio (5.51).
Tiffany Prager is in her second season as Illinois Wesleyan head softball coach. The Lady Reds are 22-58 all-time against Illinois Wesleyan, who will pursue their fourth CCIW Tournament title over the past five seasons.
ABOUT CARROLL UNIVERSITY (WIS.) (22-14, 10-6 CCIW)
Amanda Osterhus commands the Pioneers pitching staff with a CCIW-leading 187 strikeouts and 12 victories over 121.2 innings of work. She ranks second in the conference with 4.55 hits allowed per game and 10.8 strikeouts per seven innings while her 1.78 ERA is fourth in the league. Annika Graves leads the Carroll (Wis.) pitching staff with a .372 (42-113) batting average. Lexy Kemnitzer's .313 (30-96) batting average with eight doubles and two home runs rounds out the notable Pioneers sluggers.
This marks Carroll's first appearance in the CCIW Softball Tournament since their return to the conference in 2016. Amy Gradecki is in her 10th season as Pioneers head softball coach. The Lady Reds are 29-7 all-time against Carroll (Wis.).
ABOUT NORTH CENTRAL COLLEGE (ILL.) (30-8, 12-4 CCIW)
The Cardinals, who eliminated Carthage from the 2017 CCIW Tournament with a 5-4 victory, lead the league with 2.18 doubles per game and a .402 on-base percentage. Emily Miller paces the Cardinals hitters with a CCIW-leading .507 batting average, 23 doubles, 68 hits and a .568 on-base percentage. Her 23 doubles leads all NCAA Division III softball players. Jenna Trojniar ranks second on the team with a .420 batting average, 58 hits and 31 runs batted in. Taylor Clugston (.321) paces North Central (Ill.) with 35 runs batted in.
Jennifer Yager carries the load in the pitching circle for North Central with a 2.43 ERA and 31 strikeouts over 101.0 innings pitched while Sarah Esposito leads the team with a 1.93 ERA over 72.2 innings of work.
North Central will pursue their eighth CCIW Tournament Championship in school history, with their last title coming in 2011. Jim Kulawiak (826-369-3) is in his 30th season as North Central head softball coach. Carthage is 28-58 all-time against the Cardinals.
