Clermont, Fla. – In a dominating final day in Florida, the Concordia University Chicago softball team swept the day after a 17-0 win against Rivier and a 10-0 win against Westfield State.
 
GAME ONE
Starting off strong, a two run homer from Ashley Shroll (Tampa, Fla.) in the first inning put the Cougars on the board. An indicator of how the rest of the game would continue. Shroll stepped inside the circle shortly after her major hit and cleaned up the latter half of the inning in three batters. 
 
Inning number two would prove to be a big one for the Cougars as they scored six runs on six hits. Stepping up to the plate to start the inning, Annabella Archuletta (Pueblo, Colo.) sent a long ball to right field and found her way to second base. Following up, Sydney Sterrett (Lafayette, Ind.) took a walk to first, giving Tegan Oas (Shingle Springs, Calif.) the chance for a hit to center to load the bases. Carole Ross (Whittier, Calif.) sent a long shot to the right field corner, bringing in three runs on her triple. Off a wild pitch, Ross stole home to bring the score to 6-0. Not ready to end the inning, Shroll caught another long ball, this time to the right field corner for a triple followed by a hit to the exact same spot for a triple from Jessica Geng (Phoenix, Ariz.). A straight shot to center field from Becky Pieroni (Montgomery, Ill.) would give Geng the chance to head home, closing the inning 8-0.
 
On the defensive end, Shroll struck out two batters and allowing one hit. With a runner on first, Pieroni threw down to Sydney Paulauskis-Lauher (Chatham, Ill.) for the pick off at first to end the inning.
 
The top of the third continued business for the Cougars as a leadoff single from Paulauskis-Lauher kicked things off. Following a Sterrett walk, and a series of wild pitches advanced runners to second and third for Oas to send one through the right side to score both runners. A double play put two outs on the board before a Nia DeGeorge (Omaha, Neb.) double sent two runners home. With yet another Archuletta double, two more runs would score bringing the score to 14-0.
 
Switching things up defensively, the Cougars looked to keep up the intensity. Shroll knocked off two batters while throwing out the third off a ground ball hit directly to her. A quick turnaround back to the batting side, things continued to heat up for the Cougars.
 
Grabbing two runners on base early in the inning, a double to left field from Claire Urchell (Crown Point, Ind.) would be enough to send both home, increasing the lead to 16. Pieroni's hit to left field would be enough to score the final run of the game as Urchell headed home.
 
A fast paced final inning and a half of game consisted of no hits for either team as the game closed out in just five innings. Shroll grabbed her first win of the year, bringing her record to 1-3.
 
GAME TWO
Much like game one, the Cougars came out hot with Sterrett making her way around the bases one by one. Shortly after, a loose ball after a walk allowed for Oas to steal home and bring the score up to 2-0 after the first inning.
 
A quick three up three down brought the Cougars back up to bat with no signs of slowing down. Four hits translated into three runs, bringing their lead to 5-0. Another short defensive inning put them back in position to jump even further ahead. With runners on second and third, a hit to right field from DeGeorge would send Pieroni home to score while a sacrifice fly from Sterrett would be enough for Gina Westphal (Elmhurst, Ill.) to head home.
 
With Westfield State fighting back, Kate Roberts (Pontiac, Ill.) stepped inside the circle to close things out of the Cougars. Roberts grabbed three strikeouts and allowed three hits in her two innings pitched. To close out their at bats, an additional three hits would allow for three runs to come in during the bottom of the fourth, bringing the score to 10-0.
 
The Cougars end the Florida trip 5-2, bringing their overall record to 5-4. The last time this team took the field in Florida, their season came to an untimely end due to the pandemic. Two years later, after starting their first game back in the Southern sun on the same field they played at prior to the cancellation, they come home with a winning record before getting ready to start conference play. They'll be back in action back in Illinois where they take on Wheaton College on March 22^nd and kicking off conference on March 25^th against Marian University. All coverage for this team can be found at cucougars.com/coverage or on Twitter and Instagram @cucsoftball