April 13, 2011 - The Concordia Cougar softball team faced the Northern Athletics Conference preseason favorite Benedictine University this afternoon. Benedictine entered the doubleheader with an 8-0 NAC record (18-4) and, despite a solid effort early, Concordia would not be the first to pin a defeat on the visitors in conference play. The Eagles took both games by scores of 2-0 and 11-3.
Concordia's Sami DeFord (South Bend, IN/Marian) and Benedictine's Brittany Adcox were on top of their games as the two hooked up in a classic pitchers' duel in game one. The Cougars had the first scoring chance of the game when Olivia Hires (Denver, CO/Bear Creek) led off the first with a base hit and advanced all the way to third when the ball skipped by the leftfielder. However, Hires was caught between third and home on Michelle Ciric's (DesPlaines, IL/Elk Grove) grounder to short, and Adcox was able to escape the inning unscathed.
DeFord was not so lucky moments later as Benedictine's Cassie Cappetto led off the second inning with a blast over the centerfield fence for a 1-0 lead. DeFord would recover from the homer as she went on to allow just two more hits through the end of the sixth inning.
The Eagles padded their lead in the seventh as a bit of miscommunication allowed the ball to fall between Hires and Megan White (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park-River Forest) by second base for a leadoff single. Moments later, Jess Fijolek's single scored the runner for a two-run cushion. Adcox closed things out retiring the Cougars in order (and the last eight batters overall) to end an exciting contest.
Game two was a different type of contest altogether as several defensive mistakes allowed the Eagles to score in all five innings of the abbreviated game. Benedictine scored two runs in the first and one in the second, all unearned, and added two in the third on Fijolek's two-run double.
The Cougars rallied for three runs in the third, and the spark came from an unexpected source. Felicity Woodson (Cathedral City, CA/H.S.), who came into today's games with just one prior plate appearance, got hold of a pitch and drove it over the fence in right-center for a leadoff homer. The rally continued as singles by Caitlin Richards (Chicago, IL/Mother McAuley) and Ciric and a walk to Taylor Golden (Chicago, IL/Trinity) loaded the bases with two out. Cassie Slechta (Berwyn, IL/Walther Lutheran) chopped a single that split the middle infielders. Richards and Ciric scored on the play, but Golden was tagged out on a very close play at third to end the inning with Benedictine leading 5-3.
Concordia would get no closer as Benedictine added three in the fourth and three in the fifth. The Cougars were unable to score any more, and the game ended on the eight-run mercy rule.
The Cougars (5-16, 3-7 NAC) will travel to Wisconsin this weekend for doubleheaders at Marian University and Lakeland College.
