April 17, 2017- The Concordia-Chicago softball team traveled to Rockford University in a key Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference double header. With the Cougars currently at .500 in the conference, CUC knew they had to earn a sweep against the Regents to keep up with the teams a head of them. The Cougars took care of business earning the sweep over Rockford winning by the final scores of 11-0 and 9-3.
The Cougars jumped on the Regents quickly in the second inning when
Marita Van Dyke led off things with a double down the left field line.
Katie Sullivan drove her in with a sharp single to right field to give Concordia-Chicago a 1-0 lead. Van Dyke delivered again in the third inning with a double down the right field line that scored
Stefanie D'Anna and
Allison Kruk, who both singled to start the inning. Sullivan continued the long third inning with a single to left that scored Van Dyke and extend the Cougars lead to 4-0. After a few more Cougars hits,
Melissa Balkema came up with the bases loaded and she delivered. Balkema hit a moon shot to left field for a grand slam to give Concordia-Chicago an 8-0 lead after three innings.
Concordia-Chicago continued the hitting clinic in the fourth inning with
Michele Alexander and Kruk leading off the inning with singles. Van Dyke came up again delivering her third hit of the game driving in a pair to give the Cougars a 10-0 lead. CUC added another insurance run in the fourth and
Courtney Pepper closed out the game for the Cougars to win game one by the final score of 11-0. Pepper pitched the complete game shutout, gave up two hits, walked four, and had one strikeout to improve her record to 4-3.
In game two, CUC didn't let the break from game one slow them down. Balkema started the game with a double to left center. D'Anna put down a beautiful bunt to put runners on the corners. Alexander hit a soft infield single to score Balkema to give the Cougars an early 1-0 lead.
Sydney Getz followed that up with a sharp single to left to score D'Anna and extend the Concordia-Chicago lead to 2-0. After two force outs at home, freshman
Reilly McGuire hit a clutch two RBI single through the left side to give the Cougars a four run first inning.
Concordia-Chicago added an insurance run in the second inning with a one out triple by D'Anna. Alexander followed that up with a single to extend the Cougars lead to 5-0. In the fourth, Balkema led off the inning with a walk. She later scored on yet another D'Anna triple to right center to give CUC a six run lead. Moments later, Alexander got another hit with runners in scoring position scoring D'Anna to extend the Cougar lead to seven.
Rockford added one run in the fifth and sixth innings, but proved to be not enough as the Cougars held off the Regents late to win by the final score of 9-3. Kruk and D'Anna both went 5-5 in game two. Alexander went 3-4 with 3 RBIs.
Julianne Nation went the complete game, gave up five hits, three earned runs, walked two, and struck out two to improve her record to 5-3.
After the game, head coach Sarah O-Malley-Fisher had this say about her team, "We came out and adjusted our approach after the first inning. I was really happy that as a team we were able to pitch the ball effectively, come up with the big hit in key situations, and take the extra base to put pressure on Rockford's defense. Overall, a good team effort in all facets of the games today heading into next weekend."
The Cougars (18-12, 8-6 NACC) return to action this Saturday as they host Alverno College on Senior Day. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00pm.
