Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
RIVER FOREST, ILL. — It was a cold and windy day for the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) softball team to open up Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play. However, the Cougars did so in style as they hosted St. Norbert College (SNC). They won the first game 20-14 and were tied 13-13 in game two before it was suspended. The game one win ties the most runs scored since the March 10, 2016 game against Penn State Beaver and is the most runs scored since the 2009 season.
Game One
Inside the Box Score:
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Both picking up their first career home runs were Haley Gulsby (Englewood, Fla.) and Jessica Geng (Phoenix, Ariz.), Geng's being a grand slam
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Hailey Howard (Machesney Park, Ill.) went 4-for-5 with two RBIs and Arissa Santos (Moreno Valley, Calif.) went 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs and a double
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All four pitchers on staff came into the circle with Kallie Tierney (Corona, Calif.) picking up the win and Jaidyn Harris (Jurupa Valley, Calif.) leading in strikeouts with four
The first inning was hot for the Cougars as they wasted no time getting down to business. Becky Pieroni (Montgomery, Ill.) would hit a double to get herself into a great scoring position. Melisa Hadzic (Westchester, Ill.) hit a single through the right side to score the first run of the game 1-0. With the bases juiced, Santos and Geng were able to get a walk and hit by pitch, respectively, to bring the Cougar lead up to 3-0. Annabella Archuletta (Pueblo, Colo.) then singled through the right side to score Howard and make it 4-0. A Gulsby walk would plate another run and set up Gina Westphal (Elmhurst, Ill.) for a bases clearing triple to make it 8-0. Nikita Robbins (Lafayette, Ind.) would then get Westphal in and end the first inning with a CUC lead of 9-0.
St. Norbert got their opportunity to come back in the top of the first as they started chipping away at the lead 9-2. However, Harris came in and made quick work of the Green Knights to get CUC back to the plate. After taking advantage of some SNC miscues, both Geng and Archuletta would score to make it 11-2 for the Cougars. Opportunity presented itself again for the Green Knights in the top of the third as they found themselves at 11-5 still trailing.
The bottom of the third is when the floodgates truly opened for CUC. With Cougars at all corners, Geng would pick up her first career home run and a huge grand slam to smack down the score to 15-2. After an Alexis Hilgert (Naperville, Ill.) walk, Gulsby would then get a homer of her own and make the score 17-2 for CUC. Howard was then able to score Hadzic and Robbins with a single up the middle. Right after, Howard scored off of a Santos right field single and the Cougars led with a staggering 20-5 lead.
For SNC, they did not give up the fight as they entered the top of the fourth. With a pitching made change to give the Green Knights a different look, they brought the score to 20-10 to end this half inning. The Cougars would not score for the remainder of the game, but Ashley Shroll (Tampa, Fla.) would come in to close out the game and win it with a score of 20-14.
Game Two
Inside the Box Score:
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With her second home run of the day, Gulsby also went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and four RBIs
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Pieroni went a perfect 4-for-4 with four runs scored, one RBI, and one walk
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Also having impressive outings at the plate were Hadzic going 3-for-4, Howard going 4-for-5, and Santos going 4-for-5
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Howard also picked up her third home run in just four games
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Shroll would pitch majority of this game with six innings pitched and picking up three strikeouts
The Cougars struck first in the bottom of the first as Hadzic hit a single up the middle to score both Pieroni and Gulsby to make it 2-0. With Shroll looking sharp to start off the game, the Cougars were able to keep them scoreless in the second inning. Pieroni and Gulsby would pick up back-to-back doubles to score three Cougars and make it 5-0. Howard then picked up her third homerun in four games as she brought in herself and Gulsby to make it 7-0.
The Cougars would be able to keep the Green Knights off of the board until the top of the fourth when they scored five runs. However, the Cougars would strike back as Robbins was able to make some movement to allow Hadzic to score and make it 8-5. SNC would then score another run in the top of the fifth to make it 8-6.
With an interesting game on their hands, the Cougars began to find ways to change it up. Hadzic would double to score Pieroni and then Santos would score her right after to make it 10-6. However, SNC would respond in a big way as they were able to score seven runs in the sixth and seventh innings to keep the game alive. With the Green Knights leading 13-10, it was time for the Cougars to rev it up.
In the bottom of the seventh, Gulsby picked up her second homer on the day to score two runs and make it 13-12. With the game in striking distance, Santos would single up the middle to score Hadzic and make the score 13-13. However, the game was postponed due to a lack of light left in the day. As of now, the game is postponed, but any and all updates will be found at cucougars.com.
The Cougars travel to the Milwaukee School of Engineering tomorrow at 12 and 2 p.m. to continue their NACC battles. Coverage for all of our sports can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
