Illinois Wesleyan softball picked to win CCIW, Titan baseball 2nd

Posted on February 9, 2017
Illinois Wesleyan Titans
(WJBC file photo)

By WJBC Staff

NAPERVILLE – Defending conference co-champion North Central was picked to win the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin baseball title according to the conference’s annual preseason coaches’ poll announced Wednesday.

The Titan softball team was picked to defend the league title which has won the last three league titles.

Baseball

The Cardinals (30-14, 15-6) won the poll with 61 points and seven first place votes after the program won a share of the regular season title last year and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship.

Illinois Wesleyan (24-19, 13-8) tied for second with 51 points and two first place votes after the Titans qualified for the CCIW Tournament for the 13th-straight year in 2016. Augustana (30-14, 15-6) was also second with 51 points as the Vikings won a share of the CCIW title and won the conference tournament last season. Augustana earned the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship, its first NCAA postseason appearance since 2013. Carthage (19-22, 11-10) was fourth with 44 points, while Wheaton (23-17, 10-11) was fifth with 41 points and North Park (15-25, 6-15) was sixth with 25 points. Millikin (16-23, 5-16), Elmhurst (21-19, 9-12) and Carroll (17-19, 6-9 in the Midwest Conference) rounded out the poll with 21, 19 and 11 points respectively. The Pioneers are back in the CCIW for the first time since the 1992 season.

The Titans begn the season with a game on March 4 in Jacksonville, Ill., against Loras.

Softball

The Titans (35-13, 11-3) won the poll with 59 points and four first place votes. Illinois Wesleyan earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Softball Championship and advanced to the championship round for the first time since 2003. It was the Titans’ fifth-straight appearance in the NCAA’s postseason tournament.

Carthage (19-21, 7-7) placed second in the poll with 53 points and three first place votes after a CCIW Softball Tournament appearance in 2016. North Central (20-18, 8-6) and Wheaton (32-14, 10-4) each tied for third with 49 points and one first place vote apiece. Both teams qualified for the CCIW Softball Tournament last year as the Thunder earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Softball Championship with their first conference tournament title in program history. Augustana (16-22, 6-8) placed fifth with 39 points, while Elmhurst (18-20, 5-9) was sixth with 26 points and Millikin (18-20, 3-11) was seventh with 17 points. North Park (9-26, 6-8) and Carroll (24-15, 14-6 in the Midwest Conference) tied for eighth with 16 points apiece. The Pioneers are back in the CCIW for the first time since the 1992 season.

Illinois Wesleyan opens the season on March 12 with games against Lesley and Gustavus Adolphus at the Rebel Spring Games in Orlando, Fla.

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