River Forest, Ill. -- On a bright and sunny senior day for the Concordia University Chicago softball team, they fell to Concordia University Wisconsin in both games.
GAME ONE
Getting the start in game one on senior day, senior Kate Roberts (Pontiac, Ill.) stepped inside the circle on the sunny Saturday afternoon. With a feisty Falcon offense at bat, Roberts was relieved early by fellow senior Karlee Knight (Lake Station, Ind.) to try to close out the first inning. As the Falcon's continued to swing heavily, Holly Bathje (Davis Junction, Ill.) found her way to the one spot where she finally closed the inning with the Cougars trailing 9-0.
As the Cougars headed into their first at bat of the day, they were quickly sent back to defense as they were unable to get anyone on base.
As the Falcons continued to bat well, the Cougars were unable to combat, only grabbing one hit throughout the entire game from Annabella Archuletta (Pueblo, Colo.). The Cougars fell in game one 11-0 in five innings.
GAME TWO
As the lineups changed in game two, the Cougars sent freshman Ashley Shroll (Tampa, Fla.) to pitch. With the Falcons still swinging well from the momentum in game one, CUC quickly fell behind 3-0 in the first.
With Bathje making an appearance in game two after closing out the previous game, she was able to subside the Falcons for the majority of the game allowing her team to go to work.
To start the Cougars off in the bottom of the fourth, Becky Pieroni (Montgomery, Ill.) sent a solo shot over the centerfield wall to give them their first run of the day. This homerun marks Pieroni's seventh of the season. Shortly after, senior Sydney Sterrett (Lafayette, Ind.) sent a ball up the middle and followed up by stealing second and putting herself in scoring position. With freshman Tegan Oas (Shingle Springs, Calif.) at the plate, a long ball sent to the right field corner would be enough to send Sterrett home and bring the Cougars within four.
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After their spurt of energy in the fourth, the Cougars couldn't overtake the Falcons and ultimately fell 7-2.Â
Following the conclusion of the second game, the Cougars honored their seven seniors, Knight, Bathje, Sterrett, Nia DeGeorge (Omaha, Neb.), Sydney Paulauskis-Lauher (Chatham, Ill.), Claire Urchell (Crown Point, Ind.), and Roberts. All seven seniors have greatly contributed to the softball program and Cougar softball will feel their absence after this season.Â
With a short turnaround, the Cougars will be back in action tomorrow as they head to Aurora to take on the Spartans at 12 and 2pm. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage as well as on Instagram and Twitter @cucsoftball.
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