Fond du Lac, Wis. — The Concordia University Chicago softball team kicked off their road trip on Wednesday with a doubleheader against the Sabres of Marian University. Despite two very close games, the Cougars were unable to come away with a win on the day, falling 4-2 in game one and 6-5 in the finale. 

Game One
It took a while for the scoring to get going in game one, as no runners crossed the plate until the bottom of the third on a two-run single by the Sabres. 

The Cougars got these runs back immediately in the next half inning. Junior Becky Pieroni (Montgomery, Ill.) led the inning off with a double and advanced to third on a single by sophomore Annabella Archuletta (Pueblo, Colo.). 

Sophomore Gina Westphal (Elmhurst, Ill.) entered the game to pinch run for Archuletta and attempted to swipe second. An error ensued on the play, sending Westphal to third and Pieroni to home for CUC's first run of the afternoon. 

Westphal scored on a sac-fly by junior Hailey Howard (Machesney Park, Ill.) during the following at bat, and just like that the Cougars had evened things up at two apiece. 

Marian struck back in the home half of the fifth with two more runs of their own, retaking their two-run lead with just two trips to the plate remaining for CUC. 

A one-out double by freshman Jessica Geng (Phoenix, Ariz.) gave the Cougars hope in the seventh, especially after she was able to advance to third on a wild pitch. She would be left stranded, however, as the Cougars fell by a final of 4-2. 

Inside the Box Score

• Starting pitcher Holly Bathje (Davis Junction, Ill.) was a big reason for the low-scoring game. She allowed two earned on seven hits over five innings with four strikeouts and zero free passes. 

• Senior Nia DeGeorge (Omaha, Neb.) was the only Cougar to reach base twice, doing so with a hit and a walk. It was the lone walk of the game for either team. 

Game Two
Unlike game one, the scoring got started very early in the night cap. The Cougars exploded for a four-run first, beginning with a lead-off single from senior Sydney Sterrett (Lafayette, Ind.). 

Sterrett utilized her speed and put herself in scoring position by swiping second. From there she'd come around to score on an RBI double from Pieroni, giving CUC its first lead of the day. 

The Cougars continued to be aggressive on the basepaths as Pieroni stole third during the next at bat. That at bat resulted in a walk for Geng, and the Cougars were once again in business with runners on the corners. 

Pieroni scored the second run of the game on a fielding error, and a single from DeGeorge the following at bat loaded the bases with only one out. This is where they delivered their big blow of the inning, a two-run single from Howard to right that gave the team a 4-0 lead in the first. 

Marian got two of those runs back in the bottom half before both offenses began to slow down like they had in game one. Another one wasn't scored until a sac-fly from Howard gave the Cougars a 5-2 lead in the fifth. 

This was answered with a big inning from the Sabres, who scored four in the bottom half to take their first lead of game two at 6-5. The Cougars threatened in a big way in the sixth, loading the bases with only one out, but came up empty following a pitching change by Marian. 

Unfortunately for the Cougars, this opportunity did not repeat itself in the seventh, and they fell by the final of 6-5. 

Inside the Box Score

• Sterrett led the team with three hits out of the leadoff spot. 

• Howard had a team-high three RBIs in game two, bringing her daily total to four. 

• Westphal had a hit, an RBI, and two runs scored. 

It'll be a quick turnaround for the team, as they'll stay up north to take on Lakeland University for another doubleheader tomorrow. First pitch for game one is once again scheduled for 3 p.m., and coverage will be available on cucougars.com/coverage.