MOUNT PLEASANT – Iowa Wesleyan College scored three times in the fifth inning to come from behind for a win in the second game of a doubleheader against Purdue University North Central (Ind.) Thursday evening at the Mapleleaf Community Complex.
TheTigers picked up a 6-4 win over the Panthers in the second game of the non-conference twinbill, coming back from a disappointing showing in the opener which resulted in an 8-2 loss. The win in the second game snapped a five-game losing streak and gave IWC (11-17) a satisfying win against PNC as well as the team’s win in the past nine days against a team with a winning record.
Wesleyan posted eight hits in the second game but scored the go-ahead runs with considerable help from the Panthers (19-14). After Jerri Fuentez (Sr.-Houston, Texas) singled with one out in the fifth, Haleigh Hempen (Jr.-Hamilton, Ill.) reached on a walk and Fuentez advanced to third after ball four got away from the catcher. Hempen then moved to second on a passed ball, and Kelley Bettag (Fr.-Dale, Ind.) followed with a grounder on the infield in which all runners were safe and Fuentez scored to tie the game.
The Tigers then took the lead when Hempen scored on a wild pitch, with Bettag moving all the way to third on the play. Bettag then took advantage of one more PNC mishap, scoring on a passed ball for the Tigers’ final run.
Rebecca Wilson (Fr.-Algonquin, Ill.) pitched the first five innings and left with a lead as Ashlee Winner (Sr.-Rushville, Ind.) came on in the sixth. Pitching for the Tigers after competing in a golf tourney for the IWC women’s golf team earlier in the day, Winner got the final six outs for her second save of the season.
Wilson allowed four hits and two earned runs for her second win of the year. Fuentez had three hits and scored three runs in the second game, while Hempen reached base three times and had two hits and two RBIs.
The winning performance was a turnaround from a rough opening game in which the Panthers hammered out 13 hits and dominated throughout. PNC jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back, as the Tigers mustered just two hits. Fuentez and Katie Iversen (Sr.-Earlville, Ill.) drove in the lone runs with RBI groundouts, while Kara Harris (Jr.-Liberty, Ill.) and Hannah Milligan (Fr.-West Burlington, Iowa) had the hits for IWC.
The Tigers and Panthers both will be participating in the IWC Betty Sammons Classic on Friday and Saturday, beginning at noon Friday at East Lake Park. Wesleyan opens at noon against Harris-Stowe (Mo.) State University and will also face Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) College at 1:45 p.m. on Friday. A total of ten teams will be on hand for the tourney, with all teams playing at least four games in a round-robin format.
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 Game 1 PNC 8 IWC 2
Box score Game 2 IWC 6 PNC 4
