April 8, 2015 – The Concordia Cougars hosted a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference doubleheader on Wednesday against Dominican University in the Division Street Rivalry. It was a chilly overcast overcast day, but the CUC bats were hot as they belted four homeruns on the day, leading to a 6-4 win in game one and a 7-2 win to complete the sweep.
CUC head coach
Sarah O'Malley-Fisher said, "These two wins today were a complete team effort because of the hard work the team has put in on and off the field. The pitchers were outstanding in both games today and had great support from the defense behind them. We continue to stick with the hitting process, and our approach at the plate of having quality at-bats is coming together."
In game one,
Meghan Johnson (Glendale Heights, IL/Glenbard West) and
Alicia Salata (Bartlett, IL/H.S.) combined to allow four runs with four strikeouts and two walks. Run support came early as
Allie Bochat (Crystal Lake, IL/Crystal Lake South) hit a three-run homer to centerfield to give the Cougars an early 3-0 lead.
The Stars later tied up the game 3-3 but in the bottom of the fourth,
Michele Alexander (Tinley Park, IL/Andrew) hit a solo homer, her first of the year, to take the lead back. Dominican scored again in the top of the fifth, but Salata came in to get two clutch outs and keep the game tied at 4-4. .
The Cougars' first two batters in the bottom of the fifth went quietly, but Bochat walked with two outs to keep the inning alive.
Jenni Jensen (Chicago, IL/Luther North) then came up and hammered the ball over the fence for CUC's third homerun of the game. The 6-4 lead was sufficient as Salata closed down the Stars the rest of the way for the game one victory.
In game two, freshman
Courtney Pepper (South Bend, IN/Penn) pitched a complete game win, allowing six hits, striking out two and walking two. After a quiet first inning, the Stars took the early lead with a run in the top of the second. The Cougars came back in the bottom of the inning as
Emmy Vowell (Peotone, IL/H.S.) hit a two-run homer to claim a lead the team would not relinquish.
The Cougar defense and pitching shut down the Stars over the final five innings through some tough situations. The Cougar bats were dormant till the bottom of the fifth inning when they emerged to hang a five spot on the Stars – all after one out.
Bochat singled to left, and Jensen reached on an error moving Bochat to second. Alexander singled, loading the bases. Salata and
Adriana Cura (Romeoville, IL/Plainfield South) each singled, scoring Bochat and Jensen respectively. After a pitching change, Vowell walked to push Alexander across the plate. With two out,
Hannah Solyom (Lombard, IL/Walther Lutheran) hit the ball to third and reached on an error while two more runs scored for a 7-1 lead. The Stars added an unearned run in the top of the seventh for the final 7-2 margin.
The Cougars' next games are on Saturday as they host Edgewood College beginning at noon in River Forest. Sunday, CUC travels to Rockford for more NACC doubleheader action.
