Illinois Wesleyan hit a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to beat Central College in the championship game of this weekend’s simulated NCAA softball championship.  The project was the brainchild of Central statistics professor Russ Goodman.

In the event, which included the top eight teams in the computerized Massey Ratings, Goodman simulated the results based on mathematical algorithms.

The Titans took the opening game of yesterday’s best-of-three finals, 5-2, before the Dutch rallied with a two-out two-run double in the bottom of the seventh inning to win game two 3-2.  Then Illinois Wesleyan delivered the championship blow to win game three by an identical 3-2 score.

Central needed three victories on Saturday just to get to the championship series.  They started by beating Transylvania 6-0, a team they’d actually shut out on the field at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in March, 4-0.  The Dutch then pulled off an upset sweep of East Texas Baptist, winning both games in extra innings — 5-4 in 9 innings and 1-0 in 12.

Central was 6-1 this season and ranked eighth in the country when the NCAA cancelled all spring sports two months ago.  Now they add a 5-3 virtual record against the best teams in the country.  They are scheduled to start the 2021 season on March 21st at the Tucson Invitational Spring Games.