May 5, 2011 - The Concordia Cougars rapped out 17 hits and scored in six of the seven innings in stunning the third-seeded Falcons of Concordia University Wisconsin 14-8 in the opening round of the 2011 Northern Athletics Conference tournament at Alverno College in Milwaukee.
As expected, the Falcons sent Danielle Burke to the pitching circle. Burke no-hit the Cougars through 6 2/3 innings last Saturday, but the Cougars ensured that there would be no repeat this time around. Olivia Hires (Denver, CO/Bear Creek) led off with a line shot over the centerfielder's head for a double. Burke retired the next two batters, but Megan White (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park-River Forest) brought Hires around with a single back up the middle.
Sami DeFord (South Bend, IN/Marian) got out of a mini-jam in the first by striking out the fourth and fifth-place hitters with two runners aboard. DeFord then doubled her lead when she led off the second with a shot over the fence in left for her second homer of the year. The Cougars added another run in the inning, loading the bases on a walk, infield hit and hit batter. With White at bat, Burke uncorked a wild pitch that scored Caitlin Richards (Chicago, IL/Mother McAuley).
The Falcons got on the board with two outs in the third when Cara Landherr went deep to left-center for a solo homer. DeFord walked the next batter but then wriggled out of trouble by getting Stephanie Kramer to look at a called third strike.
Taylor Golden (Chicago, IL/Trinity), named first-team all-conference earlier in the day, came up in the fourth inning with two runners on base and cranked out one of the Cougars' biggest hits of the season. Golden launched Burke's 2-2 pitch over the fence in left-center to make the score 6-1 and chase Burke from the game.
The Cougars manufactured a run in the fifth. Clarissa Gieseke (Roselle, IL/Lake Park) singled with one out. Pinch-runner Betsy Statza (Menomonee Falls, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran) took second on a wild pitch. DeFord lined to center for the second out, but the throw to the infield got away, allowing Statza to move to third. That would be an important play as Corinne Kuhn (Warrenville, IL/Wheaton-Warrenville South) looped a ball just behind second base. The second baseman dove for the ball, but the play was ruled a trap. Kuhn was credited with a hit as Statza scored.
Concordia Wisconsin came right back with their best inning of the game. The Falcons put together three doubles and a triple for three runs to close to within 7-4.
Each team scored a pair in the sixth. Michelle Ciric (DesPlaines, IL/Elk Grove) singled with one out. Golden hit into a fielder's choice and replaced Ciric on the basepaths with two out. White then singled off the fence in right, and Golden scored when the throw by the rightfielder got away momentarily.
With the Falcons still clinging to hopes of a comeback, the Cougars dashed those hopes with a five-run seventh. DeFord led off with her second homer of the game to leftfield. Kuhn walked and Richards singled to keep the pressure on the Falcons, and Hires followed with a double to center, brining home both runners.
Felicity Woodson (Cathedral City, CA/H.S.) was up next, and she made it 3-3 in a pinch-hitting role this season with a single to left that scored Hires. Woodson took second base on the throw to the plate, and she scored moments later on a single by Cassie Slechta (Berwyn, IL/Walther Lutheran).
Cougar head coach Alison Haehnel praised her hitters' approach going up against Burke for the second time in five days and getting the upper hand this time. "I thought that we had an aggressive approach but were more disciplined today. We did a lot of little things right like getting our bunts down and taking the extra base. We did very well in keeping the pressure on them and scoring right after they would score so that they would not sustain any momentum."
Concordia (16-20) will play a second-round game on Friday morning at 11:00 when they take on the number two seed, Aurora University.
