Clermont, Fla. -- In a day filled with sunshine and rain clouds, the Cougars fought through to split after taking down Emmanuel College 5-0 and falling to Ursinus College 5-2.
 
GAME ONE
Senior Holly Bathje (Davis Junction, Ill.) stepped into the circle for the Cougars to start things off hot. A quick three up three down half-inning hinted at the success Bathje would have for the rest of the day. As both teams struggled to get the bats going, it was Concordia who would break the silence. In the bottom of the second, back to back doubles from Ashley Shroll (Tampa, Fla.) and Becky Pieroni (Montgomery, Ill.) would drive the first run of the game in. The 1-0 lead would hold stagnant for the Cougars until late in the fifth when things heated up quickly.
 
With a Sydney Sterrett (Lafayette, Ind.) on first, a Nikita Robbins (Lafayette, Ind.) single put her in scoring position on third base. Tegan Oas (Shingle Springs, Calif.) up to bat sent a straight shot to left field that would bring in Sterrett and put Robbins into scoring position. Continuing the trend, Carole Ross (Whittier, Calif.) stepped to the plate and singled up the middle, sending Robbins home and Oas to second. Both Ross and Oas stole bases, putting them both into position for the next few plays. As Jessica Geng (Phoenix, Ariz.) grounded out, it allowed Oas to score while Annabella Archuletta (Pueblo, Colo.) grounded out on the next play to allow Ross to score. The Cougars went up 5-0 off of three hits in the fifth inning, where they'd sit for the remainder of the game.
 
With Bathje still putting in work inside the circle, it was up to the Saints's defense to put a stop to the hot Cougar bats. With runners on second and third, the Cougars weren't able to convert offensively, sending it back to Bathje for one more inning where she closed the game with back to back strikeouts.

GAME TWO
Up to bat first the Cougars quickly got things started as a walk and a hit by pitch put two runners on base. Despite the single up the middle from Nia DeGeorge (Omaha, Neb.) to add to the runners on base, they weren't able to convert and went into the next inning scoreless.
It sat a scoreless game until the bottom of the second inning when the Bears found themselves grabbing two runs after the Cougars had two errors that allowed the unearned runs. Fighting their way back in, a single from Sydney Paulauskis-Lauher (Chatham, Ill.) gave her the jumpstart to work her way around the bases. After stealing second, she advanced to third on a hit from Geng, and found her way home after a sacrifice fly from DeGeorge.
With a series of changes to the lineup, the Cougars took the top of the fourth by storm, looking to tie things up. As Alexis Hilgert (Naperville, Ill.) found herself with a hit up the middle, she worked her way around the bases on a steal and a passed ball before scoring the tying run on a hit from Kallie Tierney (Corona, Calif.).
Hoping to keep the momentum on their side after their solid at bat, the Cougars took the field where they were unable to stop the Bear's bats as they scored three unearned runs off of two hits. The Cougars, fighting through errors, closed the inning out having to dig themselves out of a new deficit. In their next two innings at bat the Cougars were unable to convert offensively, as they didn't have a hit for the rest of the game. Holding the Bears where they stood, the game ended 5-2.
 
The Cougars sit at 3-4 on the seasons thus far, and 3-2 in the Florida games. They'll be back in action tomorrow against Ursinus College yet again at 8 am. Livestats are available at cucougars.com/coverage.