The Concordia University Chicago softball team (10-19-1) completed a dominating sweep over Edgewood College (9-23) on Thursday by final scores of 9-0 and 15-5, respectively. Both games were completed in five innings. 

Game One
The Cougars wasted no time getting things rolling in game one, as sophomore Becky Pieroni (Montgomery, Ill.) reached with a lead-off single and scored on an error the very next at-bat. Ahead 1-0 and looking to break the inning open, junior Claire Urchell (Crown Point, Ind.) delivered a two-RBI double. 

With runners still on second and third, freshman Carol Ross (Whittier, Calif.) stepped to the plate and smacked the second consecutive two-RBI double for CUC, giving them a 5-0 lead in the first. 

Ahead 6-0 in the third, senior Sydney Sterrett (Lafayette, Ind.) laced a triple to left field that scored Urchell to extend the lead. Ross put the finishing touches on the game in the fourth, again coming up with a two-RBI hit to make it 9-0. 

Junior Holly Bathje (Davis Junction, Ill.) tossed her 10th complete game outing of the season in the shutout win. She allowed just four hits over her five innings of work and struck out five. There was never more than one Edgewood batter on base at a time. 

Game Two
After falling behind 3-0 in the top half of the first, the Cougars offense got right to work in game two. The team scored in all four trips to the plate, starting with a massive five-run first inning. 

Three unearned runs kicked off the scoring for the Cougars, the third of which came on an RBI single from sophomore Alexis Hilgert (Naperville, Ill.), tying the game at three. Senior Isabel Ortiz followed with an RBI groundout that put CUC ahead before Ross brought home the inning's fifth run with an RBI single. 

The offense got right back to work in the second, with a lead-off single from sophomore Hailey Howard (Machesney Park, Ill.) who later scored on a one-out single from freshman Gina Westphal (Elmhurst, Ill.). Hilgert delivered again two batters later with an RBI double and would score one batter later as Ortiz launched the first home run of her CUC career to give the Cougars a commanding 9-3 lead. 

With one on in the third, Howard ripped a ball down the left field line over the fence for her first collegiate homer, putting the Cougars ahead 11-3. The finishing touches were added in the fourth, with RBI singles from Pieroni, Howard and junior Sydney Paulauskis-Lauher (Chatham, Ill.) as well as an RBI groundout from senior Nia DeGeorge (Omaha, Neb.). 

Senior Kate Robers (Pontiac, Ill.) relieved fellow senior Karlee Knight (Lake Station, Ind.) to close things out in the fifth. Knight went 4.0 innings allowing zero earned and walked just one batter. 

The Cougars will be back in action on Saturday when they head to Benedictine for a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m., and coverage of the game will be available on the Benedictine website.