April 21, 2013 - The Concordia-Chicago softball team stands at 10-8 in the Northern Athletics Conference after today's split with Lakeland College. The Cougars blanked the Muskies 5-0 in game one, but Lakeland came back to take the nightcap by a 13-6 score.
Sami DeFord (South Bend, IN/Marian) tossed a five-hit shutout in the opener, and the Cougars used the long ball to take the game one win. DeFord allowed just five hits and struck out seven while lowering her season's earned run average to 2.25.
Andrea Kelly (Elk Grove, CA/Laguna Creek) doubled to lead off the fourth inning.
Meghan Johnson (Glendale Heights, IL/Glenbard West) then powered out her team-leading sixth homer of the year. The Cougars were not finished yet as DeFord came up one out later and helped her own cause by knocking out her second homer of the year for a 3-0 lead.
The Cougars added to their lead in the sixth. DeFord singled with one out and scored ahead of
Jenni Jensen's (Chicago, IL/Luther North) two-run homer, a shot to leftfield. The homer was the first of Jensen's career.
Prospects for a Cougars' sweep were looking good early in game two.
Hannah Solyom's (Lombard, IL/Walther Lutheran) double in the second inning scored DeFord and Jensen for a 2-0 lead. An error put Concordia's lead at three the following inning, and DeFord followed with her second homer of the day for a 5-0 lead.
Unfortunately, the Muskies turned the tables beginning with five runs in the bottom of the third. Lakeland then took the lead in the fourth with four runs, three coming in on Erin Henk's bases-loaded double.
Concordia got one back in the fifth as Johnson slugged her seventh homer. But the Cougars would not score again, and the hosts wrapped up the win with four runs in the sixth.
The Cougars (13-18 overall) return to action Wednesday when they host North Park University in non-conference action.
