RIVER FOREST, ILL. — A mixed forecast in the area did nothing to deter the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) softball team from bringing the energy. The Cougars played host to the Alverno College Inferno, scheduled for a doubleheader. Due to weather conditions, only the first game was able to be played, with a Cougar win of 8-0 in five innings.
Inside The Box Score:
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Becky Pieroni (Montgomery, Ill.) had an impressive game at the plate, going 1-for-1 with a home run and three walks
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Arissa Santos (Moreno Valley, Calif.) went 1-for-2 with a homerun and a walk. As well as Nikita Robbins (Lafayette, Ind.), who went 2-for-3 with another homerun and a double
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Picking up her seventh win was Ashley Shroll (Tampa, Fla.), she also tied her career-high of 11 strikeouts
Starting off the first inning hot, Shroll would be comfortable in the circle all game. The Cougars quickly went three-up, three-down without an Inferno getting on base. With the Cougars up to bat, Pieroni launched her fifth long ball of the year to quickly take the lead 1-0. Haley Gulsby (Englewood, Fla.) would then single to left and steal second to get into scoring position. She then scored off of a ball hit by Hailey Howard (Machesney Park, Ill.) to bring it to 2-0.
The action was far from over, as Santos shot off the second long ball of the inning to take the Cougar lead to 3-0. In the top of the second, Alverno would get a couple on base, but Shroll would strike out the last two Inferno and keep them off the scoreboard.
The homerun train was not stopping as Robbins launched her first home run of the season to take the CUC lead to 4-0. Keeping Alverno off the board, CUC crossed into the bottom of the third. Jessica Geng (Phoenix, Ariz.) would get a single through the left side, but would be stranded as the score remained the same. The action would pick up again in the bottom of the fifth as Pieroni would walk to start it off. Melisa Hadzic (Westchester, Ill.) singled past the shortstop and Pieroni snuck in with her speed 5-0.
In the top of the fifth, Shroll showed off her dominance in the circle as she struck out the side easily. With the bottom of the fifth in play, the Cougars had the opportunity to enact the run-rule.
Shroll would start it herself with a single shot up the middle to get on base. Robbins would then continue her hot streak and hit a double to the wall to put herself and Shroll in scoring position. Pieroni would earn a walk and Hadzic walked as well with the bases loaded and scored a Cougar 6-0 . To finish off the game, Howard singled up the middle for two more Cougars to cross the plate and finish off the score 8-0. The Cougars defeated the Inferno with a final score of 8-0.
Game two was suspended due to weather.
The Cougars will be traveling for a sister school match-up against Concordia University Wisconsin on Friday for 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. game time. Coverage for all of our sports can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
