River Forest, Ill. — The Concordia University softball team welcomed the Eagles of Edgewood College for a doubleheader conference clash on Saturday. After falling 3-2 in eight innings in game one, the Cougars battled back to earn a split with a 3-2 victory of their own in game two.
Game One
Edgewood scored the first run of the afternoon on a sac-fly in the second inning. They threatened to add to this lead the following inning after putting runners at second and third with one out. Heads up defense by the Cougars ended the inning, however, with an unconventional 5-3-2 double play.
Junior Becky Pieroni (Montgomery, Ill.) tied things up for CUC in the fourth with her fifth long ball of the year and second in as many games.
This run was answered quickly, as the Eagles regained the lead in the top half of the fifth. It was the second of three runs scored off freshman Ashley Shroll (Tampa, Fla.) over a season-high eight innings of work.
Pieroni once again tied the game with an RBI single in the sixth, her fifth RBI across the previous two games.
It was the final run of the game for the Cougars, who fell in extra innings following a one-out solo shot in the top half of the eighth. CUC put the tying run on base in the bottom half on a two-out single from senior Sydney Sterrett (Lafayette, Ind.), but that's as close as they came, falling 3-2.
In the longest outing of her young career, Shroll worked around trouble while striking out eight and issuing just two walks. Though she ended up the losing pitcher, her effectiveness in throwing 139 pitches left the team with more available pitchers in game two.
Inside the Box Score
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It's the fourth complete game for Shroll in six starts this season.
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Pieroni and sophomore Annabella Archuletta (Pueblo, Colo.) led the team with two hits apiece. They accounted for four of the team's six hits.
Game Two
The Cougars responded with a 3-2 victory of their own in game two. Pieroni got things started right away with a solo shot in the bottom of the first. It marks her third straight game with a homer, and brings her season total to six.
Edgewood tied things with a solo home run of their own two innings later, and added another run that same inning on a wild pitch to take their first lead of game two.
Senior Holly Bathje (Davis Junction, Ill.) was called upon in relief and kept the Eagle's bats in check for the remainder of the game. She allowed five hits over 4.1 scoreless innings of work on her way to her fifth win of the season.
The fourth inning was the biggest of the day for CUC. They came out attacking the first pitch in nearly every at bat. Pieroni started the inning with a first-pitch single to center that ended up skipping all the way to the wall. Making it all the way to third on the hit, Pieroni was then able to score on another first-pitch single from Archuletta.
Sophomore Carole Ross (Whittier, Calif.) followed Archuletta's clutch hit with a single of her own before junior Hailey Howard (Machesney Park, Ill.) put the Cougars ahead with a blast off the left field wall.
With Bathje in control on the mound, the Cougars held on for the 3-2 victory and the doubleheader split.
Inside the Box Score
After a brief pause for the Easter holiday, the team will be back in action on Monday when they visit Alverno College for a doubleheader. First pitch in game one is scheduled for 3 p.m., and coverage will be available on cucougars.com/coverage.
