BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Elmhurst University softball team put forth a gritty effort against Illinois Wesleyan but ultimately dropped both ends of a Saturday CCIW doubleheader at Inspiration Field.
In Game 1, a late rally gave the Bluejays a brief lead before the Titans answered with timely hits to walk off with a 4–3 win. Game 2 saw Elmhurst's offense stifled as Illinois Wesleyan completed the sweep with a 6–1 victory.
Elmhurst was led offensively in the first game by Danielle Hood and Gianna Amundsen, who each delivered key extra-base hits in a three-run fifth inning. Hood doubled home two runs, while Amundsen's RBI double got the Bluejays on the board. Clara Rice also added a double, and Bailey Proffitt swiped a base in a five-hit showing for Elmhurst. Hood, who started in the circle, pitched 6.2 solid innings, striking out five and walking only one, while allowing nine hits and three earned runs.
The opener began with Illinois Wesleyan taking a quick 1–0 lead in the bottom of the first on Ava Khoury's RBI single. Elmhurst starter Danielle Hood then settled in, keeping the Titans off the board until the fourth, when an unearned run gave IWU a 2–0 cushion. The Bluejays flipped the script in the fifth, capitalizing on a defensive miscue to ignite their three-run rally. Amundsen's double drove in Bailey Hodel, and Hood followed with a clutch two-run double to give Elmhurst a 3–2 lead. The Titans responded with a solo homer from Claire Post in the sixth to tie it, and a sacrifice fly from Khoury in the seventh sealed the 4–3 walk-off win for IWU.
Game 2 started with similar intensity, as both teams scored in the opening inning. Elmhurst evened the score immediately after Illinois Wesleyan plated a run, with Hood launching a solo home run to right field—her second extra-base hit of the day. That would be Elmhurst's only hit in the nightcap, however, as IWU's Mallory Holland delivered a dominant one-hit, complete-game performance, striking out three and walking none. Hood's home run was the lone bright spot offensively in a game where the Bluejays struggled to find momentum against sharp Titan pitching.
Illinois Wesleyan slowly built its lead, with Jen Kuhn's solo homer in the third reclaiming the lead, and Post's two-run blast in the fifth stretching the margin. Two more runs crossed in the sixth, helped along by a throwing error and a wild pitch, as the Titans padded their lead to 6–1. Elmhurst pitcher Emma Lenczewski worked all seven innings, allowing eight hits and five earned runs while striking out seven in a tough-luck loss.
With the pair of defeats, Elmhurst falls to 6–23-1 overall and 2–13 in CCIW play, while Illinois Wesleyan improves to 23–7 and remains unbeaten in conference action.
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