ROCKFORD, ILL. — Spending a cold and windy afternoon at their last road game of the season, the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) softball team had their rescheduled doubleheader against Rockford University. The Cougars would split to the Regents with a loss of 7-2 and win of 4-3.
Game One: 7-2 L
Inside The Box Score:
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Annabella Archuletta (Pueblo, Colo.) provided the bulk of the offensive power, going two-for-three with two doubles and a run
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The only other Cougar to pick up a hit was Melisa Hadzic (Westchester, Ill.)
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Gina Westphal (Elmhurst, Ill.) would make the lone RBI of the game
This game would seek out to be a pitching duel with Ashley Shroll (Tampa, Fla.) working the Regent hitters. In the bottom of the second, she would end the inning with a strikeout to try and get the Cougars some momentum to score. However, it would be Rockford who struck first in the bottom of the third.
Rockford would take a lead of 3-0 after some timely hitting from the Regents. Hadzic would then single to try and start a rally, but would ultimately end up stranded on the bases. This score would stay the same until Becky Pieroni (Montgomery, Ill.) would line out to make movement for the Cougars, scoring 3-1.
However, Rockford would have a response as they quickly took their lead up to 7-1. The Cougars would struggle to give themselves a chance until the bottom of the seventh. Archuletta grabbed her second double of the day to put herself in scoring position. Westphal would then produce a sacrifice fly to score pinch runner, Alyssa Kontopoulos (Elmhurst, Ill.), 7-2. This is where the score would remain as Rockford took game one 7-2.
Game Two: 4-3 W
Inside The Box Score:
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Archuletta and Hadzic kept their bats hot in game two, both going 2-for-4. Hadzic would also grab a double in this game
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Haley Gulsby (Englewood, Fla.) and Jessica Geng (Phoenix, Ariz.) would plate one run each to secure the win
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Jaidyn Harris (Jurupa Valley, Calif.) started this game in shining fashion and grabbed her fourth win after 6 innings pitched. Shroll also grabbed her fifth save of the season
The Cougars would start off game two in a blaze of glory, as they quickly got on the board. Hadzic would single to left, then Gulsby would hit a triple and bring in the first run of the game 1-0. Pieroni then poked one through the left side and brought the CUC lead to 2-0.
With a response from Rockford 2-1, the Cougars would have to work to keep their lead moving forward. Thanks to Harris in the circle, she got in the groove and started to make moves on the Regents hitters. This game would become a pitchers duel as both teams began to hold off the offenses.
In the bottom of the fifth, Rockford would tie the game up at two apiece. The Cougars were unable to get on the bases to try and push themselves ahead. Then, the Regents took their first lead of the game at 3-2 and crossed into the top of the seventh. Geng singled to right field to start the Cougar rally, then Hadzic would take advantage of the wind to run out a double and score Geng 3-3.
With the game tied up, the Cougars had the Regents on the ropes. Gulsby legged it out to first and Hadzic wheeled herself around to score the go-ahead run 4-3. With Rockford in their last ditch effort, Shroll would come in to close out the game and pick up a save. Having the Cougars take game two with a final score of 4-3.
The Cougars stay busy this week, as they have nothing but home games to end the regular season. Tomorrow, they play host to Benedictine University at 4 p.m. for game two of their conference series. Coverage for all of our sports can be found at cucougars.com/coverage
