March 4, 2013 - The Concordia Cougar softball team stands at 2-2 after its first two days at the Rebel Games in Kissimmee, Florida. A 14-hit attack helped the Cougars notch win number two, an 11-0 rout of Beloit College.
Leadoff hitter
Olivia Hires (Denver, CO/Bear Creek) was the catalyst for the offense as she went 3-3 at the plate with four runs scored. Hires got the ball rolling in the top of the first as she was hit by a pitch.
Caitlin Richards (Chicago, IL/Mother McAuley) dropped a perfect bunt down the third base line for a hit. Both runners moved up a base on a groundout, and
Allison Bochat (Crystal Lake, IL/Crystal Lake South) drove home the pair with a single to rightfield. Bochat would score moments later as
Andrea Kelly (Elk Grove, CA/Laguna Creek) singled to center, the ball getting by the outfielder to allow the extra base.
A double by Hires and single by Richards extended the lead to four in the second inning. A couple more runs came across in the third. Singles by Jennie Jensen (Chicago, IL/Luther North) and Kelly, coupled with a couple of Buccaneer miscues, made the score 6-0 Cougars after three.
Hires led off the fourth with a single, and Richards followed with a run-scoring triple down the rightfield line.
Meghan Johnson (Glendale Heights, IL/Glenbard West) made it an eight-run lead with a single to score Richards.
The Cougars made it five scoring innings by plating their final three runs. One scored on a fielder's choice, and Johnson's two-run single put the lead at eleven. Kelly then closed out Concordia's second shutout win with three groundouts, wrapping up a three-hitter. Kelly struck out three batters and walked just one.
Concordia's bid for a third straight win was foiled in a 14-4 loss to Bluffton University of Ohio. The lone highlights for the Cougars came on their first two homers of the season, a two-run blast by Johnson in the first and a solo shot by Bochat leading off the fourth.
The team will have a day to relax in the sun before returning to action Wednesday with games against Alvernia College and Catholic University.
