CLERMONT, Fla. -- On day three of their annual spring break trip, the Concordia-Chicago Cougar softball team split a pair of games, falling 9-1 to Mount Union in game one before bouncing back with a late 7-5 win over Marywood.
After today's games, CUC improves to 3-3 on the season.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- The Cougars combined for six hits in game one, but were only able to plate one run against Mount Union.
- In game two, CUC's bats got red hot as the Cougars totaled 15 hits, led by Abbey Sloan who went 3-4 against the Pacers.
- Kate Roberts and Holly Bathje worked together to win game two, as Roberts earned the win off 4.2 innings of work. Bathje came in for 2.1 innings of relief and picked up the save.
GAME ONE vs. Mount Union:
The Purple Raiders busted the game open offensively and scored at least one run through the first four innings of the contest. Heading into the top of the fifth, Mount Union held a commanding 8-0 lead over the Cougars. In the top half of the inning, Bathje found her groove from inside the circle and shut down the Raiders' with three straight outs.
As the Cougars looked to plate a comeback in the bottom of the fifth, Bathje then led off the inning and sparked the offense with a single through the left side.
Shania Phillips kept the rally going with a double to the left field wall that placed her and Bathje in scoring position.
Melissa Balkema stepped up to the plate with one out, and hit a hard ground ball to Mount Union's shortstop. With a mishandled ball from the middle infielder, Balkema reached first safely and Bathje was able to reach home. Despite the late surge, CUC's comeback would end there as the Cougars hit into two more outs and dropped the game, 9-1 to Mount Union.
GAME TWO vs. Marywood:
The Cougars struck back with vengeance in game two, as Phillips led off the game with a shot to left center.
Sydney Getz followed suit and doubled to right field, scoring Phillips for her first RBI of the season and CUC's first run of the game. Concordia-Chicago's early rally did not stop there, with
Sydney Paulauskis-Lauher driving a ball through the right side, placing her and Getz on the corners.
Sydney Sterrett capped off the inning's scoring with a single of her own to plate Getz and give CUC the early 2-0 lead.
The Pacers answered back with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning. However, the close game wouldn't last long as
Nia DeGeorge and Sloan each reached safely on base hits and scored due to consequential throwing errors from the Marywood defense, in the top of the second. During the third, CUC tacked on one more run and held a comfortable lead going into the bottom of the inning.
Marywood led off the inning with a single, but three straight CUC errors and four total for the inning, allowed the Pacers to put up a four spot and tie the game, 5-5.
Down the stretch, the Cougars combined for two clutch hits from Sloan and Phillips, in addition to two costly Pacer errors in the fifth and were able to score the game's go ahead runs. With a 7-5 lead, Bathje re-entered the circle and went to work, fanning five batters in 2.1 innings of work to lead Concordia-Chicago to its third victory of the season.
The Cougars return to the diamond on Thursday, March 14 at 9 and 11:15 a.m. (EST). CUC will take on Ursinus College and Franklin & Marshall College in back-to-back contests.
