Contact: Brock Reisler, Assistant Executive Director, breisler@midwestconference.org
JACKSONVILLE, Illinois – For the first time since 2022 – and third time this decade – the Illinois College softball program has claimed the Midwest Conference Softball Tournament title, defeating Lake Forest College 9-1 in five innings in Saturday’s championship game.
2026 also marks the first time in school history that IC swept both the regular season and tournament titles (excluding the 2021 divisional season).
The Lady Blues wasted no time getting on the board in the final game of the tournament. The first two batters in the first inning reached, and a throwing error after a Gabby Miller single gave IC the 1-0 lead. Moments later, Kendall Cole doubled the lead with a one-out, RBI single. The onslaught continued the next at-bat after a two-run triple by Bella Thien. One more run crossed home in the five-run first on a single by Cambria Currie.
IC scored in the third on another Lake Forest throwing error following a fielder’s choice to make the score 6-0 Lady Blues. However, the Foresters scored their first run of the day in the fourth on a two-out, solo homer by Nicole Marceau.
Leading 6-1 in the fourth, Illinois College added another run on the fourth LFC error of the day. Two batters later, a Brooke Loveall two-run homer extended the margin to 9-1. Pitcher Jordan Closs shut down the Foresters in the fifth to cap off the title.
The first game of the day was a winners’ bracket contest between Illinois College and Lake Forest. Illinois College jumped out to a 3-0 lead through one inning, though the Foresters responded in the top of the fourth with two runs. That was all the offense on Saturday morning, as the Lady Blues advanced to the championship with a 3-2 victory.
Game two was Lake Forest against Cornell College in an elimination game. Lake Forest opened the scoring in the first inning with three runs before a solo homer by Cornell cut into the deficit in the third. However, the Foresters blew the game open in the bottom of the sixth, scoring five runs. Cornell was unable to score in the seventh as Lake Forest moved on with an 8-1 win.
The Foresters conclude their season with a 24-14 overall record.
Illinois College improves to 33-10 and will await its NCAA Tournament destination when the championship bracket is revealed on Monday (May 11) at 10:00 a.m.