Softball Season Ends with Pair of Losses

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (05/02/2026) — The Monmouth College softball team finished their season with a pair of 8-0 losses to MWC regular season champion Illinois College (30-10, 15-1) on Friday. The Fighting Scots (15-23, 8-8) stayed in the MWC race until the final day as they posted the most wins and runs scored per game in eight years and tied for the highest batting average since 2019.

GAME ONE

The Lady Blues got on the board in the top of the first against Monmouth starter Alyssa Hefflefinger (Olin, Iowa). A lead off single and a double put the visitors on top before Hefflefinger got out of the inning.

Ella Cunningham (Dunlap, Illinois) singled in the second but was left on base. Maddie Hepner (Alexis, Illinois) doubled in the second and Karliegh Ashby (Monmouth, Illinois) singled in the third but the Scots were unable to score.

Illinois College doubled the lead in the fourth. After a 1-out double and single, the Lady Blues made it 2-0 on a sacrifice fly.

Brooklyn Millhollin (Peoria, Illinois) doubled in the fourth but neither team scored as the game stayed 2-0 into the seventh. IC added six runs in the top of the seventh and won the game 8-0.

Hefflefinger (5-9) took the loss as she allowed seven runs on 12 hits and two walks while striking out five in six innings. Lydia Overcash (Farmington, Illinois) allowed one run on three hits in one inning of work.

GAME TWO

The Lady Blues scored an unearned run against Overcash in the top of the first. A walk, stolen base and throwing error put a runner on third with one out. Another walk put runners on the corners and IC scored a run on a double steal run down play.

IC added on in the third with two singles, two stolen bases and two Monmouth errors. Two singles and an error put runners on second and third in the fourth and a single made it 4-0. A groundout added a run and IC made it 7-0 with a RBI single and a steal of home.

Elizabeth Durfee (Arlington, Washington) took over in the circle with one on and nobody out in the fifth. After a groundout the Scots got an out at the plate and Durfee recorded a strikeout to strand two runners. A solo homer in the top of the sixth put IC up 8-0 and they finished off the game on the run rule in the bottom of the inning.

The Scots picked up singles from Graci Guenther (Pekin, Illinois) in the second and Savannah Powers (Volo, Illinois) in the sixth. Elizabeth Waymire (Havana, Illinois) was hit by a pitch in the third and reached second base but the Scots left two on.

Overcash (6-5) allowed four earned runs on eight hits over four innings. She walked two and struck out four. Durfee allowed one run on three hits in two innings while striking out one.

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Ashby, Millhollin, Cunningham and Hepner had hits in game one while Powers and Guenther had hits in game two ... The 15 wins are the most for a Monmouth softball team since the 2018 team went 20-16 ... Ashby, Waymire, Alexis Hardy (Rushville, Illinois), Powers, Mackenzie Gerard (Jacksonville, Illinois) and Hepner started all 38 games ... Ashby led the Scots in batting average (.403), slugging (.546), OBP (.497), hits (48), runs (34), doubles (14), walks (19), total bases (65) and stolen bases (13) ... Powers and Waymire tied for the team lead in homers with three and Powers led the team with 29 RBI ... Waymire lead the team with 10 HBP ... Gerard led the team with four sacrifice flies and Cunningham led with eight sacrifice bunts ... On the pitching side, Hefflefinger led the team with 14 starts, five complete games, 78.2 innings pitched and a 4.72 ERA ... Overcash led the team with six wins and 20 appearances ... Durfee led the team with two saves and 46 strikeouts ... Both Durfee and Hefflefinger had shutouts ... Ashby moved into 13th on the career hits list with 120 and Waymire is third with 15 career hit by pitches ... Durfee ranks eighth in pitching appearances with 57 and she moved past Skyler Johnson for ninth on the strikeouts list with 145 ... Monmouth leads the all-time series 54-44 but outside of a tie in 2022, the Lady Blues have won 11 in a row dating back to April 14, 2021.