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Wheaton Box Score
Illinois Wesleyan Box Score

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (May 5, 2016) – Featuring two very exciting finishes as they began 2016 College Conference of Illinois & Wiscosnsin (CCIW) tournament play, the North Central College softball team defeated Wheaton College 3-2 before taking down Illinois Wesleyan University 2-1 in walk-off fashion Thursday evening.

Drawing the third seed in conference, North Central would face off against two seed Wheaton, an opponent who swept the Cardinals by scores of 7-0 and 8-0 in the regular season. That did not matter however as the Cardinals were able to always have the advantage, never being faced with a deficit the entire game.

North Central scored the game's first run in the third as Amanda Walker drove in Jenna Trojniar with a RBI-double to right field. That lead would not last long as a wild pitch in the bottom half of the inning allowed Emily Bonga to score from third. The Cardinals would retake the lead in the sixth as Walker was back at it again, launching her sixth homerun of the season, a solo shot over the left field fence. North Central would carry the lead into the bottom of the seventh but with two outs and a runner on second, Bonga was able to drive in the tying run with a single to center field. It would take extra innings to decide this one but both teams could not score in the eighth or ninth.

The Cardinals were able to finally score in the tenth, courtesy of Andrea Starr. Starr, who has gone back and forth matching her senior counterpart Walker, delivered a solo shot of her own over the left field fence, also her sixth of the season. Starr then shut the door on the Thunder offense going three-up three-down, securing the win for the Cardinals.

Starr and Walker delivered the RBI's for North Central, each going 2-for-4 from the plate. Trojniar, Taylor Clugston, and Sarah Esposito all added a hit each.

Game two would feature another formidable opponent in the Titans of Illinois Wesleyan. The Titans went the entirely regular season with a national ranking and split with the Cardinals in the regular season, with game one ending with an exhilarating 4-3 victory for North Central.

With a pitcher's dual through four innings, the Titans were able to get on the board first in the fifth. Maggie Graham doubled to right field, scoring Carissa Tarpey from first. North Central tallied their first hit in the fifth but logged three in the seventh, coming at a great time for the Cardinals.

Down 1-0 in the seventh, Rachele Belletini started the inning with a single down the left field line and advanced to second on the throw by the Titans left fielder. After a sacrifice bunt by Brooke Kehoe, Esposito scored Belletini with a single to second base. Bri Floyd then entered the game offensively by pinch running for Esposito and was able to take second on a wild pitch. Samantha Anderson then walked to give North Central the winning run on second base with one out. Clugston continued to
deliver as she has been all season and drove in Floyd with a RBI-single up the middle, giving North Central the dramatic 2-1 victory.

Starr earned two wins on the day, improving to 13-11 on the season. She is also now tied for third all-time in homeruns while Walker is one away from tying the record in homers.

With an all-around impressive team effort in both games, the Cardinals (20-16) proved they can play with the best in the conference and earned their way to day two of the CCIW tournament, where they will play in the championship game at 12 pm on Friday, May 6. North Central will face the winner of the Illinois Wesleyan, Wheaton elimination game. Live stats can be found HERE and live video can be found HERE.