Contact: Sam Fretto, Athletic Communications Graduate Assistant, sjfretto@noctrl.edu

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (May 8, 2025)- Advancing to day two of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Softball Tournament, the North Central College softball team defeated the No. 4 seeded Carthage Firebirds 7-4 while falling in their second game of the day to the No. 1 seeded Illinois Wesleyan Titans, 6-1, at Inspiration Field on Thursday. 

The Cardinals trailed the Firebirds 1-0 through the first inning after Clare Rettler picked up a leadoff walk and came around to score on an Izzy Hernandez single to right field. North Central responded in the second with a Rachael Madsen leadoff double and a Lauren Bowmar RBI single to knot it up 1-1. 

A Talia Torosian two-run home run in the third inning scored herself and Gracie Vlach, who started the inning with a single, and gave the Cardinals the 3-1 advantage. Addison Simonson drove home Rettler in the bottom half of the third to make it a 3-2 game, but that is the closest the Firebirds would get. The Cardinals put up a four-run frame in the fourth after loading the bases with Kayla Crabtree, Bowmar, and Bailey Miller. Emma Herder singled home a run, and Vlach reached on a fielder's choice where everyone advanced safely one base to make it 5-2. With two outs, Hailey Morsovillo tacked on two more insurance runs with a single, putting the Cardinals ahead 7-2. 

Carthage added one in the fourth and one in the sixth but couldn't complete a comeback, and the Cardinals eliminated the Firebirds from the CCIW tournament with a 7-4 win. 

Torosian and Morsovillo combined to drive in four of the Cardinals' seven runs, while Juliana Maude picked up her 10th win of the season, pitching 5.1 innings, giving up four runs on nine hits and two walks, and striking out four. Sam Schilf came in to get the final five outs of the game, picking up her first save of the season. 

In their second game of the tournament, the Cardinals trailed the Titans the entire game, trailing 2-0 after the first inning with a pair of RBI singles by Jen Kuhn and Bella Pinter. Ava Kouhry added a third run in the third inning with an RBI groundout. The Cardinals showed fight in the fifth inning after Vlach cut the lead to 3-1 with a single to plate Miller but couldn't scratch any more runs across. The Titans added one in the fifth and two in the sixth for the 6-1 lead to put the Cardinals away. 

Schilf returned to the circle for game two and was charged with the loss as she pitched six innings, surrendering six runs, with five being earned. She struck out three and walked one in her start. North Central was limited to just one run with seven hits and two walks in their loss to the Titans. 

The Cardinals return to action as they look to keep their tournament run alive Friday, May 9. They look to keep their season alive as they face Augustana College with a 1 p.m. first pitch. 

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