Contact: Sam Fretto, Athletics Communication Graduate Assistant, sjfretto@noctrl.edu

WHEATON, Ill. (April 14, 2026)- Returning to action after a week hiatus, the North Central College softball team swept the Wheaton College Thunder in midweek College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) action with a 2-0 win in game one and an 8-0 win in game two after five innings. The doubleheader was moved from Shanower Family Field to Ruth Leedy Field due to field conditions, but North Central remained the home team. 

Juliana Maude, the starting pitcher for game one, retired the first six batters of the game she faced. The Cardinals jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning, beginning with a Carley Creeth leadoff single. Sydney Nienhouse moved Creeth to third with a two-out single, and Gwen Shouse drove in the run with a base hit to left center field. Maude continued to mow down the Thunder, facing the minimum in the top of the third. 

North Central added a second run in the bottom of the fifth with three consecutive base hits. Hailey Morsovillo singled to right field, Lauren Bowmar followed with a liner to left field, and Emma Herder scored Morsovillo with a dribbler up the middle. After a Thunder pitching change, the Cardinals loaded the bases but left them stranded. 

Maude worked around a leadoff walk in the sixth inning and went out in the seventh looking for a complete-game shutout. Despite striking out the first batter, she reached safely on a wild pitch. A pair of flyouts put Maude one out away from going the distance, and she completed the game with a groundout to third base. 

North Central scored two runs on 12 hits and played a clean game defensively with no errors. Morsovillo had a three-hit game, and Creeth reached base safely three times with two hits and a walk. Maude got the win with a complete-game shutout, striking out five and letting just four base runners reach. 

The Cardinals kept the momentum rolling into game two, scoring their first time at the plate. Shouse worked a full-count walk, and Gracie Vlach hit a line drive off the third base bag to put runners on first and second. Bowmar singled home Shouse to give North Central a 1-0 lead. Sam Schilf punched out a pair of batters in the second inning after surrendering a leadoff single. 

In the third inning, the Cardinals took advantage of defensive miscues by the Thunder to expand the lead. Shouse led off with a single to right center field, and Vlach reached base after putting down a bunt that was thrown away by the pitcher. With runners on the corners, a pair of runners scored to give North Central a 3-0 lead. Morsovillo singled to right, driving in Shouse, but a throwing error by the right fielder scored Vlach and advanced Morsovillo to second base. Herder singled to put runners on the corners, and Kayla Lindberg reached after the Wheaton center fielder dropped a fly ball, scoring Alyssa Barowski, who came in to pinch run for Morsovillo. The Cardinals ended the third with a 4-0 lead.

Schilf continued to dominate in the circle with two more strikeouts and a ground out to keep the Thunder runners stranded on base. She then put up a 1-2-3 inning in the fifth and set the stage for the Cardinals to end the contest. Bowmar singled and Herder reached after a fourth Wheaton error. Creeth singled to load the bases as the runners went station-to-station. After making a pitching change, pinch hitter Tatum Yokley hit a roller to the pitcher, who threw the ball into right field, scoring Bowmar and Herder to extend the lead to 6-0. Bailey Miller gave the Cardinals a 7-0 lead with an RBI groundout, and Abby LaPlant ended the game with an RBI sacrifice fly to right field for the 8-0 final score. 

North Central scored eight runs on eight hits and committed no errors. Bowmar had a two-hit performance with an RBI, and Shouse scored both times she was on base. Schilf earned a win and a complete game shutout in five innings, punching out six batters and giving up just three hits and one walk. 

North Central (9-13, 3-5 CCIW) has moved to fourth place in the CCIW after the sweep of Wheaton. The Cardinals continue the CCIW gauntlet on Thursday, April 16, when they travel to Kenosha, Wis., for a doubleheader against Carthage College beginning at 3 p.m. from Wiers Family Stadium.