March 6, 2015 – After time off from a five game in two days binge, the Concordia-Chicago softball team had a chance for their first outdoor practice of the season on Thursday and enjoy the warmth. On Friday it was back to the playing field for a doubleheader against another NAIA opponent in Southeastern University of Florida. It was a cloudy, breezy and cool day in Cocoa Beach as the first game began and turned into an overcast chilly day by the end.
 
Game 1 vs Southeastern (FL)
 
The first game of the day was a story of alternating innings with the runs for both teams only occurring during the odd innings of one, three, five and seven. The Cougars kept it close as, despite allowing multiple base runners in the first and third innings, they only gave up one run in each. In the fifth inning, Southeastern caused a bit more trouble. This necessitated a pitching change as three runs crossed the plate for a 5-0 lead to the opponents.
 
In the top of the seventh inning, leadoff hitter Allie Bochat (Crystal Lake, IL/Crystal Lake South) clubbed a home run to centerfield to try and spark a comeback, just like she did in her previous game on Tuesday. After two CUC batters struck out, Emily Owens (Naperville, IL/Neuqua Valley) singled to left and advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Unfortunately, another strikeout ended the inning and the game. The final result was Southeastern 5 and CUC 1.
 
Game 2 vs Southeastern (FL)
 
The second game of the day was a rematch with the game starting about 25 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. As in the first game, Southeastern got off to a quick start as they scored two runs on consecutive home runs. In the bottom of the inning Stefanie D'Anna (LaGrange Park, IL/Lyons Township) singled to the pitcher and made it to second base on a throwing error to put a runner in scoring position with only one out. Allie Bochat (Crystal Lake, IL/Crystal Lake South) doubled to left field driving in D'Anna for a 1-2 scoreline.
 
In the second inning, the Fire homered again. In the bottom of the inning, two Concordia-Chicago baserunners made it aboard through errors, but they were not able to capitalize on the gifts. In the third inning, Southeastern added two more runs and added four more in the top of the fifth to make it 9-1 and end the game on the mercy rule after the Cougars failed to score in the bottom of the inning.
 
The Cougars have completed the NAIA portion of the spring training schedule, and the next set of games will be Saturday, March 7 with a doubleheader against NCAA Division II Bloomfield College (NJ) with games at 3 and 5 p.m. The games will be available to follow along on the livestats link which can be found at www.cucougars.com.