RIVER FOREST, ILL. — A beautiful Easter Eve came across Concordia University Chicago's (CUC) campus for the Cougar softball team. Playing host to the Lakeland University Muskies, the Cougars split this double header with a win of 3-2 and loss of 7-5. After game one, Coach Sarah O'Malley Fisher surpassed her 400th career win as a head coach.
Game One
Inside The Box Score:
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Leading the offense was Hailey Howard (Machesney Park, Ill.) who went 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI
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Picking up the only extra base hit of the game was Melisa Hadzic (Westchester, Ill.) while going 1-for-3 with a double
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Ashley Shroll (Tampa, Fla.) picked up the win in the circle with 3.1 innings pitched, allowing three hits, no runs, and three strikeouts
The first three innings stayed relatively quiet as only Howard picked up a single in the second inning. So with the score 0-0 going into the top of the fourth, Lakeland found themselves striking first. They were able to go up 2-0 off of some Cougar mistakes and some timely hitting. Moving into the bottom of the fourth, Hadzic would double to the wall, but would be left on base.
As the two teams stayed locked in battle, Jessica Geng (Phoenix, Ariz.) was able to single to third base, but was also left stranded. On the defensive end, the Cougars and pitchers, Shroll and Kallie Tierney (Corona, Calif.), were holding off the Muskies from scoring any more runs. The true action started in the bottom of the sixth as Becky Pieroni (Montgomery, Ill.) got herself on with a single. A sacrifice bunt brought Pieroni to second and Howard would single down the left field line to score her 2-1.
Right after, Annabella Archuletta (Pueblo, Colo.) would hit a missile into right center to score Howard and tie the game up 2-2. The Cougar train would continue as Nikita Robbins (Lafayette, Ind.) singled to left field and scored Arissa Santos (Moreno Valley, Calif.) to take the lead 3-2. This late game surge of runs would give CUC all of the power they needed going into the last inning.
Shroll put the Muskies down and finished the game off with a strikeout to pick up their game one win over Lakeland, 3-2.
Game Two
Inside The Box Score:
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Howard, again, led the offense going 2-for-3 with one double and an RBI
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Also having a multi-hit game was Robbins, going 2-for-4 with an RBI
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Pitching majority of this game was Jaidyn Harris (Jurupa Valley, Calif.) with 5.1 innings pitched, two earned runs given up, and two strikeouts
The Cougars would relay their momentum from game one and score in the bottom of the first. Hadzic would walk to set up Howard for an RBI double and be the first team in front 1-0. In the second, the Muskies would stay off the board. Gina Westphal (Elmhurst, Ill.) hit a double in the bottom of the second, but never got the opportunity to score. This would give Lakeland the opportunity to tie the game up in the third 1-1.
With no answer to Lakeland's response, CUC would move into the top of the fourth still tied 1-1. The Muskies would then score off of a Cougar miscue and take the lead 2-1. However, an immediate punch back was queued up for the Cougars. Pieroni started some havoc and Westphal scored all the way from first to tie the game back up 2-2.
The defense battled back against Lakeland and held them off in the top of the fifth. In the bottom half of the inning, Santos would line out to center field to allow Hadzic to score, taking the lead 3-2. The tables would truly turn in the sixth inning as Lakeland brought out the hot bats and went up 5-3. The Cougars were unable to capitalize and the Muskies were able to score two more and get a hefty lead of 7-3.
In a last ditch effort, CUC would find themselves in the bottom of the seventh, fighting to stay alive. Santos and Archuletta both provided singles to set up the Cougars in a good spot. Robbins then singled to left field and Santos found her way across the plate 7-4. Geng would then walk and the Cougars would be found at every corner of the diamond. Lakeland then made the decision to intentionally walk Pieroni and add another run on 7-5. After this moment, CUC would not be able to take the lead back and fell to Lakeland 7-5.
The Cougars will be on the road after the Easter holiday as they travel to Wisconsin Lutheran College on Monday at 3 and 5 p.m. Coverage for all of our sports can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.
