Wartburg College Athletics

WAVERLY, Iowa --- No. 23 softball fell to Illinois Wesleyan 8-3 on Thursday, May 14 in the opening round of regional play in the Division III Championships. The Knights will now face Dominican University (IL) in an elimination game set for 1:30 p.m. on Friday, May 15 at Lynes Field.


Game Summary

• First Inning
  • The Titans began the game with a three-hit top of the first that brought two runs across to take an early 2-0 lead
  • Wartburg responded with a three-run bottom half of opening inning to take a 3-2 lead
    • Following a leadoff walk from Carley Bredar, Reagan Hassel singled to left field and was able to bring in a run and reach third herself following an error in the outfield
    • Addy Wells scored Hassel from third with a groundout to shortstop to even the score at 2-2
    • The Knights broke the tie in their next at bat as Jenna Wiebenga skied a ball over the left center field fence for a solo shot home run
•  Third Inning
  • Illinois Wesleyan used back-to-back doubles to the gap to tie the game up at 3-3, before another base hit gave the Titans a 4-3 lead
• Sixth Inning
  • Katelyn Klever and Hannah Hoefer both kept the Titans off the board inside the circle after each stranding a runner in the fourth and fifth innings
  • IWU kept the Knights hitless in the sixth inning for a third-straight inning to keep the score at 4-3 headed into the seventh inning
• Seventh Inning
  • The Titans brought four runs across in the seventh inning after a leadoff triple led to a four-hit inning that made the score 8-3 headed to the final frame
  • Klever singled up the middle for the Knights in the seventh, but Wartburg was unable to close the deficit as IWU held off the Knights for an 8-3 win

 
 
Postgame Press Conference (Reagan Hassel, Jamie Mueller and Jenna Wiebenga)


Top Performers

• Reagan Hassel
  • 2/3 at the plate
  • Run scored
• Jenna Wiebenga
  • Home run
  • RBI
• Carley Bredar
  • Run scored
  • Walk

 
Notes/Streaks

• Third matchup this season against IWU this season
  • Knights now 2-1 against the Titans in 2026, but IWU leads the all-time series 7-3
• Fifth home run this season for Wiebenga
  • 14^th of her career
• Hassel is now eighth all-time in hits in a season at Wartburg with 58 (one away from tying sixth)
  • 17^th multi-hit game of the season for Hassel
• Now 3-8 when scoring four or less runs this season
  • 28-3 record this season when scoring five or more runs
• First time losing back-to-back games at home this season for Wartburg
  • First time since April of 2025
• The Knights finished without a stolen base for just the fifth time this season

 
Next Time Out
The Knights will continue regional play at home on Friday, May 15 at 1:30 p.m. against Dominican University in an elimination game.