CLERMONT, Fla. -- Thanks to a complete team effort on both ends of the ball, the Concordia-Chicago softball team improves to 5-3 on the year, defeating Ursinus College 6-2 in game one followed by a 1-0 shutout against Franklin & Marshall.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- Senior Melissa Balkema led the way offensively, hitting three homeruns and combining for four RBI's on the day. In game two, Balkema hit a solo shot that proved to be CUC's game-winning run.
- Marita Van Dyke and Kate Roberts collected wins from the circle, with Van Dyke and Holly Bathje also earning saves from each of today's games.
- Junior Abbey Sloan finished 2-for-3 on the day from the plate. From centerfield, she had two diving catches in game two, both of which saved the Cougars from at least two runs scored.
GAME ONE vs. Ursinus
Four of CUC's six runs came with two outs during the opening game this morning.
Shania Phillips and Balkema started off the day with back-to-back singles. Van Dyke was able to lay down the consequential sacrifice bunt and classmate
Sydney Getz hit a two-run double to left field that plated Phillips and Balkema safely.
Phillips found her way to the plate once again in inning two, when she singled to left and scored on Balkema's first homer of the day. The Cougars headed into the bottom of the fourth with a comfortable 4-0 lead, and Van Dyke continued to shut down Ursinus' offense with three straight outs.
Down the stretch, Van Dyke recorded her first hit of the day with an RBI double to the left field wall and Balkema hit a solo shot in the top of the sixth to pull ahead to 6-0 heading into the final inning of the game.
Despite allowing two runs in the bottom of the seventh, Bathje was solid and allowed just three hits over 3.0 innings of relief work to pick up the 6-2 save.
GAME TWO vs. Franklin & Marshall
Roberts and Van Dyke were near perfect in game two, as the two combined for just one hit and one walk during the shut out win. Roberts retired the side in order in the top of the first and allowed CUC to take to the plate and earn an early lead.
With that, Balkema sent her third shot of the day into orbit as the senior preseason All-American hit a solo homerun and gave her team the 1-0 advantage.
Over the next two innings, Roberts would shut down the Diplomats with one-two-three outs and allowed their only hit of the game in the top of the fourth. As Franklin & Marshall led off the fourth with a single, a sac bunt would move the Diplomat into scoring position, on third base. With two outs, F&M's Lexi Piccinich hit a liner to centerfield, but Sloan fully extended and laid out to rob the Diplomats and preserve the Cougar lead.
Concordia-Chicago would find its lead threatened once more, in the top of the sixth inning. Van Dyke entered the game and struck out the first batter she faced, but a defensive miscue allowed the next batter to reach first safely. With the following batter walked, Franklin & Marshall had runners on first and second with just one out on the board. Van Dyke answered back with another strike out and looked to take Piccinich down for the third out of the inning. Piccinich put a hard swing on the ball and sent a liner into the right center gap. With both runners taking off, Sloan once again came out of centerfield for the diving forehanded grab and saved the Cougars' lead.
Van Dyke and the CUC defense retired the side in the top of the seventh and recorded their fifth win of the season, 1-0.
Concordia-Chicago returns to action tomorrow morning to close out its spring break trip, taking on the US Coast Guard Academy and Utica College at 9 and 11:15 a.m., respectively.
