RIVER FOREST, ILL. -- The Concordia University Chicago Cougars took their home field for the first time of the 2023 season as they split the day with the Carthage College Firebirds.
GAME ONE
INSIDE THE BOX
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Becky Pieroni (Montgomery, Ill.) and Hailey Howard (Machesney Park, Ill.) both went two-for-four at the plate while Howard picked up two RBIs.
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Ashley Shroll (Tampa, Fla.) dominated inside the circle for the Cougars pitching nine complete innings while giving up ten hits and picking up three strikeouts.
After a scoreless first inning and a half, the Cougars struck first. Howard picked up her first hit of the day with a single and quickly got into scoring position. A hit from sophomore Jessica Geng (Phoenix, Ariz.) would send Howard home and give the Cougars their first run of the day. As the Firebirds tied things up in the top of the third, the Cougars had to find their groove to jump back ahead. With Gina Westphal (Elmhurst, Ill.) on base, a single from Pieroni would move her into scoring position with Nikita Robbins (Lafayette, Ind.) at the plate. A double from Robbins would move the runners around and tack on another two runs for the Cougars.
The Cougar defense locked down as they tried to hold off the Firebird efforts and a handful of athletic plays from freshman outfielder Haley Gulsby (Englewood, Fla.) would keep things even and give the Cougars the momentum and home field advantage as the game extended to extra innings.
With the game reaching the bottom of the ninth inning, and a runner on base, a long ball to left field would give Howard her first home run of the day as the Cougars walked it off and secured the 5-3 win.
GAME TWO
INSIDE THE BOX
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Howard continued her hot streak as she went two-for-three from the plate with two RBIs.
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Pieroni went one-for-two at the plate and picked up one RBI.
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Three Cougars pitched in game two including freshman Emma Borrelli (Arlington Heights, Ill.), junior transfer Jaidyn Harris (Jurupa Valley, Calif.), and sophomore Kallie Tierney (Corona, Calif.).
After quickly falling behind in the first inning, the Cougars were forced to battle from a three-run deficit. Unable to pick up anything on the offensive side, the Cougars again found themselves in a deficit as the Firebirds jumped to a 5-0 lead heading to the bottom of the third.
With Pieroni on base, a single to right center from Robbins would move her into scoring position with Annabella Archuletta (Pueblo, Colo.) at the plate. On the contact from Archuletta, Pieroni found her way home and left Robbins still on base. With Howard back at the plate, a rocket back out to left field would bring in two runs and secure Howard's second home run of the day.
With the Cougar defense still struggling to shut down the Firebirds, the Cougars fell behind by as much as ten before a long ball directly out to center from Pieroni would give the Cougars their last run of the day, ultimately falling 13-4.
The Cougars will be back in action back on their home field on Saturday, April 1st as they officially start conference play taking on St. Norbert College with a 1:00 pm first pitch. Coverage can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
