April 6, 2013 - The Concordia-Chicago Cougars continued a busy stretch of seven softball games in four days with today's doubleheader against the host Concordia Wisconsin Falcons. The Cougars rode a fast start in game one to beat the Falcons 7-3 but saw a ferocious comeback in game two fall short in a 6-5 loss.

Olivia Hires (Denver, CO/Bear Creek) enjoyed a huge game one with 4-4 and three runs scored. She led off the game with a triple and scored on a single by Andrea Kelly (Elk Grove, CA/Laguna Creek). The Cougars kept up the pressure on the Falcons' pitcher and added two more runs in the inning when Sami DeFord's (South Bend, IN/Marian) hit-by-pitch and Sarah James' (Riverside, IL/Riverside-Brookfield) walk, both with the bases loaded, accounted for the scores.

Hires continued as the Cougars' catalyst, leading off the second and fourth innings with doubles and scoring in both instances. The senior's fourth hit, a single in the fifth inning, scored Alicia Salata (Bartlett, IL/H.S.) who had reached base on a double.

DeFord earned the win, allowing three runs on nine hits over her seven innings. She struck out three Falcons' batters and walked two.

In game two, the Falcons built a 6-1 lead after five innings but had to withstand a last-ditch Cougars' rally in the seventh. With one out, Salata singled. Caitlin Richards (Chicago, IL/Mother McAuley) and Hires walked to load the bases. Kelly singled home Salata, and Meghan Johnson (Glendale Heights, IL/Glenbard West) followed with a single down the leftfield line to score a pair of runs. Allie Bochat (Crystal Lake, IL/Crystal Lake South) was hit by a pitch to load the bases again, and Jenni Jensen (Chicago, IL/Luther North) drew a walk to make the score 6-5. Unfortunately, the rally ended there as a strikeout and grounder to first base stranded the runners and enabled the Falcons to salvage a split.

The Cougars (5-16, 2-6 NAC) return to action Sunday afternoon when they host the Milwaukee School of Engineering.