TUCSON, ARIZ. – Iowa Wesleyan College’s bats heated up and the team picked up its second win of the season on the final day of the Tucson Invitational Games.
The Tigers defeated Siena Heights (Mich.) 9-1 in five innings in its first game on Thursday, avenging a narrow loss to the Saints a few days earlier. IWC then faced powerful Simon Fraser University, one of the top teams in Canada, and hung with the Clan until a nine-run sixth inning resulted in a 16-4 loss.
Wesleyan finished its spring break trip to Arizona with a 2-10 overall record, including two wins in its last six games. After a 0-6 start to their season, the Tigers played much better over their last three days of competition with the two wins as well as a pair of one-run losses.
There were no worries about a close loss against Siena Heights on Thursday, as IWC jumped to a 4-0 lead after one-half inning and added two more runs in the third and three more in the fifth. Kara Harris (Jr.-Barry, Ill.) had a pair of hits and drove in four runs, and Haleigh Hempen (Jr.-Hamilton, Ill.) added three RBIs as Wesleyan had 10 hits in the game.
On the mound, senior Ashlee Winner (Rushville, Ill.) was in charge, allowing a solo home run in the third inning as the Saints’ only hit. Winner struck out seven and walked two for her first victory of the year.
The Tigers continued to hit the ball in the second game, rapping out eight hits in six innings and getting four RBIs from Kelley Bettag (Fr.-Dale, Ind.). Bettag hit a three-run single in the second inning to tie the game at 3-3, then added another RBI single in the fourth to make it 7-4.
Simon Fraser pounded out 12 hits of its own and also took advantage of five Wesleyan errors. The Clan then broke it open in the sixth with nine runs, with just one run earned because of three errors in the inning. All nine runs scored after two were out in the inning.
The Tigers now take a break for a few weeks before getting into Midwest Collegiate Conference play. IWC’s next games will be March 21, when the team travels to Clinton for a doubleheader at Ashford University.
For more information regarding the IWC softball program or any of the Tiger athletic teams, contact sports information director Adam Glatczak (319-385-6306 phone; 319-385-6384 FAX; aglatczak@iwc.edu e-mail) or log on to IWC's athletics web site at www.iwc.edu/athletics.
Box score IWC 9 SHU 1
Box score SFU 16 IWC 4
