Melbourne, Fla. - The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) Cougars softball team traveled to Melbourne, Florida for a 10-day trip highlighting eight games to open the 2025 season. The Cougars split on days one, two, and three, but looked to finish off their Florida play with a pair of wins. The final two games of the trip included competition against the Rivier University Raiders and the Misericordia University Cougars (MUC). The Cougars stayed consistent in Florida where the split on everyday, where on the fourth day they beat the Raiders 6-0 and fell to MUC 13-0.

Game One

Inside the Box Score

• Mayah Larenas (Chino, Calif.) went three for four at the plate as well as added an RBI. 
• Emily Garcia (Eastvale, Calif.) went one for three at the plate, added three RBIs, and one run. 

Here's What Happened

• Jessica Geng (Phoenix, Ariz.) started off the Cougar hitting with a single to third base. 
• A single by Katelyn Smith (Chatsworth, Ga.) allowed Geng to advance to third. 
• Garcia had a sacrifice fly which allowed Smith to advance to third and Geng to score. 
• Larenas doubled to center field and brought home Smith. At the bottom of the first the Cougars had an early 2-0 lead. 
• The Cougars did not score in the second inning but in the bottom of the third, Arissa Santos (Moreno Valley, Calif.) singled through the left side. 
• After advancing to third on an error, Santos ran another run in by stealing home. The Cougars now had a 3-0 lead heading into the fourth inning. 
• It wasn't until the bottom of the sixth that the Cougars increased their lead to 6-0. A single for Ashley Shroll (Tampa, Fla.) would be the hit that would later turn into the first run of the inning. 
• Linley Southern (Decatur, Ill.) entered the game to pinch run for Shroll. Southern advanced to second after Genesis Quijada (South Bend, Ind.) was walked. 
• A sacrifice bunt by Geng allowed both Southern and Quijada to advance to third and second base. 
• A single by Garcia ran in Southern and Quijada and a single by Melisa Hadzic (Westchester, Ill.) brought home Garcia to make the score 6-0. 
• The Raiders were unable to get any runs in the top of the seventh and the Cougars took their fourth win in Florida. 

The Cougars took a few hours off before heading into their second game of the day against Misericordia. 

Game Two

Inside the Box Score

• The only three hits of the game are thanks to Julia Pataluna (Commerce City, Colo.), Larenas, and Santos who each had one in the game. 
• Morgan Houfek (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) pitched for 1.2 innings and recorded two strikeouts. 

Here's What Happened

• MUC ran in three runs on four hits in the first inning taking an early 3-0 lead.
• Santos started off the hitting with a single to left field, but this would be the lone hit of the inning and the Cougars were unable to capitalize. 
• MUC continued their scoring in the second and third inning with one and two runs making the score 6-0 heading into the bottom of the third. 
• The second hit of the day was by a Pataluna single that allowed her to advance to second on an error by MUC. Unfortunately, again, the Cougars could not get any of the hits going and MUC still led 6-0. 
• The Cougars kept MUC out of scoring in the top of the fourth but the top of the fifth was where MUC scored the remainder of their runs. MUC would score seven total runs in the inning making the score 13-0. 
• The Cougars were unable to answer back at the bottom of the fifth and due to the run rule, the game was finalized after the fifth inning. 

The Cougars fell in their final game out in Florida 0-13. 

What's Next

That's a wrap on Cougar Softball in Florida. You can catch the next round of Cougar softball action back in River Forest where the Cougars will have their home-opener hosting the Wheaton College Thunder for a double-header on Tuesday, March 18th at 2:30 pm and 4:30 pm. Coverage for all things CUC softball can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.