CLERMONT, Fla. -- With two more wins to cap off their spring break trip, the Concordia-Chicago Cougars will return home to River Forest 7-3, the team's strongest start to a season since 2016 when CUC opened up 10-1.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- Holly Bathje picked up her second save in as many days, marking her third save of the season thus far against Coast Guard.
- Kate Roberts and Marita Van Dyke each picked up wins on the day, combining for eight hits allowed and one struck out on six innings of work.
- Melissa Balkema hit her fourth homer of the season in game one against Coast Guard along with Kacey Powers jacking a three-run bomb out of the park. In game two, Shania Phillips hit a grand slam to finish the day 2-for-5 from the batter's box.
GAME ONE vs. US Coast Guard Academy
The Cougars fell behind early this morning, as Coast Guard put up a quick two-spot in the top of the first. CUC responded right back however, tabbing six runs in the bottom of the second inning.
Sydney Sterrett got the rally going, as a defensive miscue allowed her to reach first safely and plate
Sydney Getz. As the inning went on,
Kristen Landon hit a two-run double and Balkema hit her fourth homer in two days to bring the Cougar run count up to six.
CUC's bats kept on the Coast Guard defense, as Powers found her way to the plate in the bottom of the third and collected three RBIs on her first home run of the season.
In the top of the fourth, CGA answered back with two runs of their own, but it was no match for the streaking CUC offense who put up two more runs to take off with the 11-4 early morning victory.
GAME TWO vs. Utica
The Cougars combined for three hits in the opening inning against the Pioneers, with singles from Sterrett, Landon and
Nia DeGeorge, to plate four early runs. With a comfortable 4-0 lead,
Kate Roberts went to work on the mound and, with help from CUC's defense, shut down Utica's bats, allowing just one run to score.
When Roberts returned to the circle in the bottom of the second, she once again collected three quick outs on a strike out, ground out and line drive back at her. As CUC returned to the plate, the Pioneers walked the first three Cougars to open up the third inning. Phillips stepped up to the plate with bases loaded and one out and slammed a ball out of the park to generate four more CUC runs.
With a commanding 8-1 lead, Concordia-Chicago still had work to do as the Cougars tacked on two more runs in the top of the third thanks to a two-RBI single from Kelly Tarasiewiecz.
Over the remaining 2.5 innings of play, no more runs would be scored for either team as CUC cruised to a 10-1, five-inning victory over Utica College.
The Cougars return to action in 12 days when CUC travels across town to take on North Park University on Wednesday, March 27.
