Concordia University Chicago softball (3-12-1) played their second doubleheader in a row on Wednesday, splitting a pair of games on the road against Wisconsin Lutheran College (7-9). 
 
After falling 17-6 in the opener, the Cougars responded in a big way with a 13-4 victory in the night cap.
 
Game One
The Cougars got on the board right away, with a two-run single from senior Nia DeGeorge in the top of the first (Omaha, Neb.) that scored sophomores Hailey Howard (Machesney Park, Ill.) and Becky Pieroni (Montgomery, Ill). However, WLC went on to score 13 runs over their first three at-bats to take a sizable lead. 
 
The Cougars weren't ready to roll over, with Pieroni hitting her team-leading fourth home run of the year in the fourth inning to cut the Warrior lead to 13-5. The Warriors were again able to respond, adding four more in the bottom half to take a 17-5 lead. 
 
With two hits in game one, DeGeorge now has six multi-hit games on the year, including each of her last three games. The senior also scored a run on an RBI single in the third by freshman Gina Westphal (Elmhurst, Ill.), who has five hits, two RBIs and two runs scored over her two starts this year. 
 
Game Two
It was the Warriors who struck first in game two, going up 3-0 in the bottom of the first. The Cougars got the runs back two innings later, thanks in large part to a two-RBI double from Howard. 
 
The offense was clicking at that point, with Pieroni smacking her second home run of the day the following inning to give the Cougars a 5-3 lead. The sophomore followed it up the very next inning with a two-RBI single before senior Sydney Sterrett (Lafayette, Ind.) capped off the inning with an RBI single that made it 8-3. 
 
Five more Cougars crossed the plate in the sixth, highlighted by Junior Claire Urchell (Crown Point, Ind.) launching her first collegiate home run. Pieroni, Sterrett and DeGeorge added the inning's other RBIs, and the Cougars took the 13-4 lead that would end the game after six innings.
 
Holly Bathje (Davis Junction, Ill.) went the distance for the second time in as many days on her way to her third victory of the season. The junior allowed just four earned runs and struck out seven in her six innings of work. 
 
Pieroni had five RBIs in game two, while Urchell, Sterrett and Howard each had two. Eight different players had hits for CUC, including five with multiple. 
 
Following the split, the Cougars will next be in action on Saturday, when they return home to welcome Rockford for a conference doubleheader. Game one is set to begin at noon, and a live stream will be available on the CUC Athletics Youtube channel.