The softball team has hit a recent hot streak by winning eight of their last ten games and currently playing on a three-game winning streak.
This streak comes after losing four in a row earlier in the season. The Titans’ current record is 10-8 overall and 7-5 in conference play.
“I’m very proud of the way we have handled adversity and battled back in tough situations. There have been many close games that did not end in our favor and we are continuing to work on ways to turn those games our way and push runs across. We have a lot of power at the plate that we need to use and build off of,” senior Toni Tortorella said.
Even with these recent wins, the Titans are sitting at fifth in the conference standings behind No. 4 Elmhurst, No. 3 Wheaton, No. 2 Carthage and No. 1 Millikin.
“We need to come out to every game like it’s the national championship because every team brings their best foot forward when they play against us. Every school in the CCIW is very powerful this year and this season has been the most impressive conference play that I have seen in my four years,” Tortella said.
In addition to the team hitting a hot streak, first-year slugger Kristina Sherwin earned the title of CCIW Hitter of the Week for the week of March 31-April 3.
Sherwin hit for an average of .588 in six games which included three doubles, a triple and eight RBI’s. She had a clutch performance against North Park going 4-4 in the first game and 3-3 in the second of the April 3 doubleheader.
“I believe we are having a good offensive approach at the plate and picking each other up when someone might not come through. We are also able to string a lot of hits together and make sacrifices for the good of the team. We have been doing a great job producing hits with 2 strikes or two outs,” Sherwin said.
While there are still over 15 games left in the season and conference the team still has to play the top teams in the conference, Millikin and Carthage, a combined six more times.
“I am excited to see our games against Carthage as it has been neck and neck with them for multiple years. I am also excited to play against the teams we lost to thus far in the conference (Millikin, Wheaton, Elmhurst) to see how much we improved and that we can beat them. We are focusing on winning every pitch, at-bat and every inning against these conference rivals,” Sherwin said.
The Titans will be heading to Wheaton on April 10 for a doubleheader, will host Augustana for a doubleheader on April 11 and conference rival Carthage in a doubleheader on April 15.