MWC Softball Tournament

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Grinnell College's softball team is preparing to extend an already great season when it competes at the 2018 Midwest Conference Tournament this weekend at Lake Forest College.
 
The Pioneers have tied the school record for wins in a season with a 23-12 mark and went 12-6 in league play, a Grinnell record for conference wins. They are the third seed and will play second-seeded Illinois College at 10 a.m. Friday in the double-elimination event. The Lady Blues are 23-9 overall and finished 15-3 in the conference.
 
Grinnell, making its first MWC Tourney appearance since 2006, is far and away the best hitting team in the event with a batting average of .348. Darice Wheeler '21 leads the conference in hitting with a .518 average and Kayla Morrissey '18 is sixth at .412. Others in the top 20 are Flynn Johnson '21 (.387), Leila Bishop-Parise '21 (.346) and Ashley Wehrenberg '19 (.341).
 
Pioneer pitchers have a team ERA of 3.80 with leaders including Maggie Remus '18 (6-4 record, 3.32 ERA), Melissa Anderson '18 (6-4, 3.78) and Wheeler (11-4, 4.11).
 
The Pioneers have shattered numerous MWC records this season. Morrissey is the career leader in hits with 193 and Wheeler ranks first in season home runs (18), RBIs (63) and total bases (128).
 
All told this season, Grinnell has established individual school records in 14 career, 11 season and five game categories as well as five team season marks and three team game records.
 
Illinois College ranks second in the league in pitching ERA at 2.53 and is third in hitting with a .313 average. The Lady Blues' top pitchers are Mariah Hedges (13-4, 1.49 ERA) and Jess Feig (8-5, 2.40).
 
The Lady Blues' top hitter is Jackie Reilly, who ranks second in the league in batting average at .439. Others in the top 20 are Hailey Lesser (.367) and Lea Hall (.366).
 
Grinnell and Illinois College split on April 5, with the Lady Blues taking the opener 4-2 and Grinnell bouncing back to win the second game 10-0. Hedges was the winning pitcher in the opener despite Grinnell out-hitting its opponent 9-8. Wheeler, Johnson and Andi Leff '18 all had two hits for Grinnell.
 
The second game, which went just five innings, saw Wheeler and Anderson combine on a four-hit pitching performance. Grinnell managed 11 hits, including two each by Morrissey, Bishop-Parise, Johnson and Leff.
 
The other first-round game Friday pits top-seeded Lake Forest and fourth-seeded Cornell College at noon.