Plymouth Wis. - The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) Cougars took a trip to Wisconsin to take on conference opponents, the Muskies of Lakeland University. In game one, it was a back and forth exchange of leads, but the Cougars remained strong and took game one 6-5. The Cougars struggled to get an offense going in game two, and fell 7-0, resulting in a split on the day. 

Game One

Inside the Box Score:

• Arissa Santos (Moreno Valley, Calif.) went one for two in game one, where she also added two RBIs.
• Jessica Geng (Phoenix, Ariz.) went two for four and ran in two runs. 
• Alyssa Campos (Eastvale, Calif.) and Emily Garcia (Eastvale, Calif.) each went one for three, but Garcia also ran in two runs.
• Megan Bouska (Plainfield, Ill.) picked up her sixth win on the mound after allowing only one run and Morgan Houfek (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) picked up her second win of the season. They each pitched 2.1 and 2.2 innings respectively. 

Here's What Happened:

• Garcia was the right choice to lead off as she singled to left field to get the hitting going and then a sacrifice bunt by Katelyn Smith (Chatsworth, Ga.) would then advance Garcia to second.
• Garcia would make the most of what she could on her own, where she would go on to steal third base and then run home on a wild pitch to bring the Cougars up 1-0 early in the first inning. This would conclude the scoring in the opening inning.
• At the bottom of the first the Muskies would answer the Cougars with a singular run of their own, tying the score up at 1-1. 
• The Muskies would also score twice at the bottom of the second and take over the lead with the score at 3-1, favoring the Muskies.
• At the top of the third, Garcia was hit by a pitch, placing her on first and then advanced to second after Geng singled to the pitcher while operating with two outs. 
• With runners on first and second, McKyler Morris (Belvidere, Ill.)singled to left field which advanced Geng to second and Garcia scored, making the score 3-2, still favoring the Muskies. 
• Another single to left field, this time by Mayah Larenas (Chino, Calif.), would advance both Geng and Morris one base, which loaded up the bases, where Santos was then walked to bring in Geng for another run, tying the score up once again, but now at three apiece. 
• Campos rounded out the scoring in the inning with a single to center field, bringing home Larenas and Morris. A four run inning for the Cougars would allow them to regain the lead, and make the score 5-3.
• The Muskies would again tie up the score at the bottom of the third, after a walk and a few singles to center field, where the score was even at five. 
• Neither team would get anything going in the fourth, but in the fifth, the Cougars brought in another run. 
• Geng singled up the middle and then Larenas reached first on an error by the Muskies, allowing Geng to advance to second. A Santos single up the middle would bring home Geng and pull the Cougars back into the lead, where the score was a close, 6-5.

Each team would go on to get a hit in each remaining inning with the exception of the top of the seventh, but none of these hits would translate to runs and the Cougars would take game one, 6-5.

Game Two

Inside the Box Score:

• Garcia tried to get something going for the Cougars where she obtained two hits, going two for three in game two.
• Santos was the only other Cougar with a hit in game two where she singled to left field, going one for three in game two.

Here's What Happened:

• The Muskies were on the board first where they obtained two runs at the bottom of the first. 
• The Cougars struggled to get anything going as they had three up, three down, in the tops of the first, second, and third innings.
• The Muskies' came out swinging in the bottom of the third where they increased their lead to 3-0. 
• Garcia had a lead off single up the middle at the top of the fourth but would be left stranded as the following three batters popped up or flied out. 
• The Muskies' offense kept charging forward at the bottom half of the inning, where they would score two more runs, making the score 5-0.
• Garcia again singled, this time to the shortstop but was left stranded as the remaining at bats were ground outs for the Cougars.
• The Muskies would go on to score two more runs, one in the sixth, and one in the seventh, which were unanswered by the Cougars.
• At the top of the seventh, Santos singled to left field attempting to get something going for the Cougars but nothing would come of it, and the Cougars would fall 7-0.

What's Next

The Cougars will have tomorrow off to celebrate Easter with family, but will be back in action shortly on April 24th with a double-header against Lake Forest College for their final non-conference match-up of the season. Coverage for all things Cougar softball can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.