Melbourne, Fla. - The Concordia University Chicago (CUC) Cougars softball team opened their season in the Florida Space Coast Games out in Florida where day one featured two match ups. The Cougars first took on the Baruch College Bearcats and then had a short break before taking on the Concordia College Cobbers later that afternoon. The Cougars grabbed their first win of the day and of the season over the Bearcats 5-1, but fell to Cobbers 13-5, resulting in a split on opening day.

Game One

Inside the Box Score

• Melisa Hadzic (Westchester, Ill.) and Arissa Santos (Moreno Valley, Calif.) both finished the game with one hit and two RBIs, one of which was a double for Santos.
• Emily Garcia (Eastvale, Calif.), Alyssa Campos (Eastvale, Calif.), Mayah Larenas (Chino, Calif.), and Linley Southern (Decatur, Ill.) all also added one hit.
• Katie Davis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) picked up her first career win in the circle in her collegiate debut.

Here's What Happened

• The opening inning saw no hits as both teams were a quick three up, three down.
• After the Cougars shut down the Bearcats once again at the top of the second before heading into the bottom half of the inning. McKyler Morris (Belvidere, Ill.) grounded out to third for the first out of the inning, but the first person to get on base of the game was Campos after being walked. The next Cougar up struck out swinging, but with Larenas up to the plate, a huge double to left center allowed Campos to advance to third, placing her in a comfortable scoring position. Unfortunately, the Bearcats were able to get the third out of the inning, ending the scoring potential for the Cougars.
• The third inning and top of the fourth saw no hits, where both teams showed fantastic defense.
• Morris was walked at the bottom of the fourth after the lead off batter flew out to right field. Campos followed with a deep double to center field, allowing Morris to score, and put the Cougars on the board first, leading 1-0.
• While the Bearcats thought about attempting to tag out Morris at home, Campos was able to steal third, placing her just 60 feet from home plate. To round out the scoring, Hadzic hit a sacrifice fly out to right field, bringing in Campos and the final run of the inning. The Cougars now led, 2-0.
• The Bearcats got their lone run in the top of the fifth when a runner on first was able to make it home after a slight collision between the Cougar first baseman and batter, taking advantage of the distraction. Both players were okay and continued to play. Heading into the bottom of the inning, the Cougars still led 2-1.
• Both Southern and Garcia singled to open the bottom of the fifth, placing runners on first and second early. An Eliza Auger (Littleton, Colo.) sacrifice bunt advanced both Southern and Garcia, placing both in scoring position. A well placed double to right center from Santos allowed both runners to make it home, increasing the Cougar lead to 4-1. Jazmine Gonzales (Riverside, Calif.) pinch ran for Santos and after advancing to third, a single to right field by Hadzic brought her home. Unfortunately, Hadzic attempted to steal second after the Bearcats attempted to get the third out at home, and was caught in the act. Nonetheless, the Cougars held a comfortable lead going into the sixth inning.
• Morgan Houfek (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) entered the circle and helped the Cougars get three outs after facing four batters. The Bearcats returned the favor with a quick three up, three down to close out the sixth inning.
• The Cougars were able to grab the first out of the inning quickly, but the Bearcats quickly answered with a single to right field. Houfek struck out the next batter, and was just one out away from victory. The Bearcats found a surge of energy late and tried to capitalize on a single and a walk, but even with the bases loaded, an easy pop-up to the first baseman secured the final out and season-opening victory for the Cougars, 5-1.

The Cougars had a few hours to cool off before heading into game two against the Cobbers.

Game Two

Inside the Box Score

• Garcia was a powerhouse at the plate going three for four.
• Auger also had a great showing where she went two for two and added one RBI.

Here's What Happened

• Garcia opened game two with a single to left field, but was out at second after Santos reached first by a fielder's choice. Santos then stole second, placing herself in scoring position. After Campos reached first on an error by the Cobbers, Santos was able to advance to third. However, a line out for Morris left both runners stranded on base leaving the opening inning score at zero apiece.
• The Cobbers opened the bottom of the inning with a single up the middle then stole second, but the next three batters were grounded or fouled out, keeping the runner at her base and the score at 0-0.
• At the top of the second, the Cobbers got a quick out before Emily Lucero (Chino, Calif.) reached first on an error by the second baseman. Charlize Gonzalez (Dallas, Texas) grounded out to the pitcher but it allowed Lucero to advance to second and get into scoring position. A perfect single up the middle by Haley Gulsby (Englewood, Fla.) was enough to bring Lucero home and put the Cougars on the board first. The final hit of the inning was a single by Garcia advancing Gulsby to second, but the Cobbers were able to get the final out, putting a halt to any potential Cougar scoring. Heading into the bottom half of the inning, the Cougars led 1-0.
• Each team would obtain a handful of hits off of singles, but neither would be able to tag on any runs until the bottom of the fourth when the Cobber offense came alive. 
• The Cougars were able to get a quick first out, but the Cobbers answered with three consecutive singles, loading the bases. One of the runs scored was off of a Cougar error, and the remaining were from a single to left field or from a fielder's choice. After a pitching change for the Cougars, the team was able to grab the remaining outs to get out of the inning. The Cobbers were now ahead 3-1.
• Opening the fifth inning, the Cobbers snagged the first out, but the Cougars wasted no time getting back on their feet. Gonzales and Auger each swung singles placing runners on first and second. However, in an ambitious attempt to get to third, Gonzales was caught stealing, but Auger was able to place herself on second which was perfect timing for a Campos double to bring her home. Following this, Morris had a deep triple to center field, easily bringing home Campos to tie the game at three apiece. The final run was thanks to pinch hitter Alaina Pilas (Chicago, Ill.) who hit a hard single to the shortstop, bringing home Morris. The Cougars regained the lead heading into the bottom half of the inning, 4-3. 
• Once again, the Cobbers had a powerful offensive inning where two early hits placed runners on second and third. Operating on just one out, a single to the right side brought in the tying run. Runners were able to advance to second and third after a Cobber stole home, and a final single to center field brought in one more run before the Cougars obtained the remaining outs. The Cobbers now led 6-4 heading into the top of the sixth.
• After a quick first out in the top of the sixth, Garcia singled to left field before being out at second from a fielder's choice which allowed Gonzales to reach first; Gonzales then stole second. Auger had a rocket single to the shortstop that brought Gonzales home. The Cobbers grabbed the third out with little damage done, where they still held the lead at 6-5.
• What would be the final inning of the game started with a Cobber placed on first after being hit by a pitch. With a runner on base, a Cobber smashed a home run to left field to increase their lead 8-5. A Cobber was walked causing a Cougar pitching change, but the next batter up was also walked, putting two runners on. The next Cobber up struck out, but was followed by a walk, loading the bases. After another batter walked, the Cobbers got an effortless run in to increase to a 9-5 lead. The Cougars tried for another pitching change, but the Cobbers were unfazed where the final batter hit a grand slam home run to rake in four more runs in the inning. With this grand slam, the Cobbers went up 13-5, making the run rule apply, finalizing the game.

What's Next

The Cougars will be back for two more games tomorrow, March 3rd, to take on the New England College Pilgrims and the Anna Maria College AMCats for 10:00 AM (EST) and 12:15 PM (EST) game times. Coverage for all things CUC softball can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.