RIVER FOREST, ILL. — Weather was not going to stop the Cougars today from causing some havoc in River Forest. With the original doubleheader changed to a single game due to weather, the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) softball team hosted the Benedictine University Eagles. In this single game fight, the Cougars defeated the Eagles for the first time since the 2019 season at a score of 4-0.
Inside The Box Score:
-
Charging the offense was Arissa Santos (Moreno Valley, Calif.), who was 2-for-3 on the day with two home runs, which scored three of the four runs
-
Annabella Archuletta (Pueblo, Colo.), Jessica Geng (Phoenix, Ariz.), and Nikita Robbins (Lafayette, Ind.) all had two hits on the day as well
-
Ashley Shroll (Tampa, Fla.) threw a complete seven innings in the circle for her ninth win of the season. She topped off this shutout with three strikeouts against the Eagles
Both of these teams had a lot at stake in order to find themselves within the conference tournament. Starting off hot, it quickly became a pitcher's duel between Shroll and the Eagles pitcher. The defense was adamant on keeping Benedictine off the base paths, as Gina Westphal (Elmhurst, Ill.) made a huge play in left field.
The bottom of the second is when Santos would begin her reign as she blasted a ball past the Cougar scoreboard to go up 1-0. With a huge wave of momentum behind the Cougars, Shroll began to settle in the circle as she picked up a strikeout and only allowed one Eagle on base.
Robbins and Haley Gulsby (Englewood, Fla.) would both single in the bottom of the third, but would be unable to score as the game stayed stagnant. Santos would then walk on her next at bat and back-to-back singles from Archuletta and Geng would score the second run of the game at 2-0.
Benedictine would start to knock on CUC's door as they ended up with two runners in scoring position, but a pop-up to Santos and a Shroll strikeout would keep them off the board. Hailey Howard (Machesney Park, Ill.) then singled to right field and Santos sent another long ball to make it two home runs on the day 4-0.
Both teams would have opportunities on the bases but would not be able to capitalize. The Eagles would, again, have runners on second and third, but the Cougars defense ended the game with a win of 4-0.
The Cougars stay busy this weekend as they travel to Rockford University tomorrow, April 30th for a 12 and 2 p.m. doubleheader. Coverage for all of our sports can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
