WINTER HAVEN, FLA. — Day two of the Rebel Spring Games started early for the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) softball team. The Cougars dropped both games of the day against Roanoke College and Saint Vincent University. First, against the Maroons they lost 4-1 and against the Bearcats they lost 9-5.
Game One vs. Roanoke College
Inside the Box Score:
The Roanoke Maroons opened up their season against the Cougars after a trip to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Regionals last season. So with good competition at hand, the Cougars were ready for a tough opponent. The action started in the second inning as the Maroons scored their first run of the game. With the Cougars up to bat, both Hadzic and Santos picked up singles, but were not able to get around to score.
Both teams were locked in battle for the next couple of innings as no runs were scored until the top of the fourth. At this point, the Maroons scored two more runs to bring their lead ahead 3-0. Finally, Archuletta led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a monster shot to left center and brought in the only run of the game. However, the Cougars were not able to create enough momentum and fell to the Maroons 4-1.
Game Two vs. Saint Vincent University
Inside the Box Score:
-
Santos led the offense going 2-for-3 with one double, one run, and one RBI
-
Archuletta went 1-for-1 with a double and two RBIs
-
Other Cougars earning doubles in this game were Hadzic, Jessica Geng (Phoenix, Ariz.), and Gina Westphal (Elmhurst, Ill.)
CUC started off hot in the game as they got off to an early 2-0 lead. Pieroni singled to the left side to set up herself and Santos to score. Archuletta would knock a ball into left center and pick up those two runs. However, the Bearcats reacted almost immediately and scored four runs in the bottom of the first to lead 4-2. In the top of the second, Santos was able to score Westphal to break the lead in half to 4-3.
With an immediate response, the Bearcats began to pull away to a score of 6-3. With no runs scored for the Cougars in the next inning, Saint Vincent made a big splash with a three-run home run and led 9-3. After these runs, pitcher Ashley Shroll (Tampa, Fla.) settled on the mound and was able to hold off the Bearcats for the remainder of the game.
In the top of the sixth, Hailey Howard (Machesney Park, Ill.) was hit by a pitch and Geng doubled to right center to set them up in scoring position. Then, Nikita Robbins (Lafayette, Ind.) had a sacrifice fly out to center field to score Howard and bring the score to 9-4. The last run of the game was scored off of a Hadzic double that scored Pieroni, which would not be enough to defeat the Bearcats. CUC fell to Saint Vincent with a score of 9-5.
The Cougars will continue their action in the Florida Rebel Spring Games on Thursday. They will be playing Allegheny College and Russell Sage College at 9 a.m. (EST) and 11:30 a.m. (EST), respectively. Coverage for all of our sports can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
