FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Sports Information Director, 630-637-5302

Box Score

KENOSHA, Wis. (May 9, 2010)-- Foiled by a six-run first inning, the North Central College softball team fell 11-5 to Illinois Wesleyan University on Sunday, ending the Cardinals' bid at a third straight appearance in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament Finals.

Strephanie Polich set the tone for the Titans (28-14), blasting a lead off triple and setting up a six-run first inning for IWU. Christy Engel and Jen Monaco each belted RBI singles while a Jaci Forsythe double to center field cleared the bases, scoring three runs and upping the Titan advantage to 6-0.

The Cardinals (31-12) got on the board in the bottom of the first with Laura Whitfield driving in Mary Caron, who led off the inning by drawing a walk. The Titans tacked on two more runs in the second off of RBI singles from Allison Ward and Monaco before a Caron solo home run blast to left center field cut the Cardinal deficit to just six at 8-2.

IWU pushed across a run in the third, bumping its lead to seven before North Central responded in the bottom of the fourth, plating a pair of runs off back-to-back home runs from Kelli Lofgren and Laura Constantine. Whitfield belted the Cardinals' fourth home run of the day in the bottom of the fifth, clearing the left field fence and pulling North Central to within four at 9-5. Back-to-back singles by Ashley Barry and Justine Walker and a walk loaded the bases later in the inning with two outs before a strikeout ended the frame.

Kris Lee stretched IWU's lead back to six in the sixth inning, belting a two-run home run with two-outs, concluding the game's scoring.

Whitfield finished two-for-four with two RBis for the Cardinals while Walker was two-for-four. Lee paced the Titans, finishing three-for-four with three RBIs.

Lyndsey Payne (12-4) suffered the loss, pitching just 1/3 inning and yielding five earned runs. Brianna Nelson pitched the final 6 2/3 innings, allowing five earned runs and striking out three. Katie Bruins (8-3) picked up the victory for the Titans, allowing four runs in 3 2/3 innings of work. Lauren James tossed the final 2 1/3 innings, striking out four to pick up the save.

With the loss, North Central leaves its NCAA Division III Tournament fate in the hands of the selection committee, hoping to secure one of the 18 at-large bids to the 60 team field. The official field will be announced Monday at 12 p.m. (Eastern) and will be webcast live at NCAA.com.