Melbourne, Fla. - It was the final day of the Florida Space Coast Games for the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) Cougars softball team. Game one of the day was against the John Carroll Blue Streaks at 3:45 PM (EST) and game two was against the Houghton Highlanders at 7:00 PM (EST). The Blue Streaks came out strong and never looked back, grabbing the win over the Cougars 13-2. The Cougars came out hot against the Highlanders and took a massive 12-3 win, to split on the closing game in Florida

Game One

Inside the Box Score

• Emily Garcia (Eastvale, Calif.), Julia Pataluna (Commerce City, Colo.), Emily Lucero (Chino, Calif.), and Charlize Gonzalez (Dallas, Texas) each had one hit in the game.
• Gonzalez's hit brought home Megan Bouska (Plainfield, Ill.) and Lucero to put up the two Cougar runs, contributing the two RBIs to Gonzalez.

Here's What Happened

• The Blue Streaks kicked off the game with seven runs between the top of the first and top of the second where the Cougars were unable to answer until the bottom of the second.
• Lucero got the hitting going for the Cougars in the bottom of the second after Megan Bouska reached first on a fielder's choice. Lucero's double to left field placed the two on second and third. A single by Gonzalez to center field brought home Bouska and Lucero to chip away at the Blue Streaks lead. This would conclude the scoring for the second inning and the Blue Streaks led 7-2 going into the third inning.
• The Blue Streak offense continued into the third and fourth, where two homeruns in the third and two runs on three hits in the fourth would increase their lead to 13-2 as the Cougars were unable to answer.
• In the bottom of the fourth Pataluna worked to get something going for the Cougars with a single to third base, but she would be left stranded.
• Each team added a hit or two in the fifth inning, featuring a double to left field by Garcia in the bottom of the fifth as a final attempt for the Cougars, unfortunately nothing would come from it and the game ended after five innings when the run rule was applied. The Cougars fell 13-2.

The Cougars had a short break before heading into their final game in Florida.

Game Two

Inside the Box Score

• Eden Pufahl (Laguna Hills, Calif.) was a commander in the circle, taking the win. Pufahl pitched the full seven innings, finishing with eight strikeouts on 32 batters faced
• Arissa Santos (Moreno Valley, Calif.) went a perfect four for four at the plate, and added one RBI and one run scored.
• Several Cougars grabbed at least one hit, but Southern and Alyssa Campos (Eastvale, Calif.) each had two hits, adding two and three RBIs, respectively.
• Pataluna led the Cougars in RBIs adding four.

Here's What Happened

• The first inning saw only one hit between both teams by Santos, but the second inning saw more action.
• McKyler Morris (Belvidere, Ill.) had a lead off double to center field which was followed by two back-to-back errors by the Highlanders allowing Morris to score, Campos to reach first then advance to third, and Melisa Hadzic (Westchester, Ill.) to reach first. A third error allowed Pataluna to reach first and both Campos and Hadzic to make it home, adding the second and third runs for the Cougars. The Highlanders got the next three Cougar batters out, but the Cougars left the inning on a high after being up 3-0.
• Defense by the Cougars was unbreakable as the Highlanders went three up, three down to put the Cougars back up to bat.
• To kick off the top of the third, Santos had a single to center field, and then reached second from a Highlander error that also allowed Mayah Larenas (Chino, Calif.) to reach first. A sacrifice bunt by Morris would advance both Santos and Larenas, placing runners on second and third. The lone run of the inning would be scored after a sacrifice fly by Campos to bring in Santos. Heading into bottom of the third, the Cougars grew their lead to 4-0.
• Pufahl was powerful in the circle striking out two batters to help the Cougars get out of the inning with no damage done.
• Two Cougars quickly grounded out to open the fourth innings, but after Garcia was hit by a pitch to place her on first, she stole second to be placed into comfortable scoring position. A deep single to left field by Southern would bring home Garcia to continue the Cougars lead, making the score 5-0. Santos would continue her hitting streak with a double to left field, but while Southern was trying to get home she was picked off and the top half of the inning ended there.
• Pufahl struckout the first Highlander batter and the others grounded out after one was walked to put the Cougars back at the plate.
• The only scoring in the fifth or sixth was a lone run by the Highlanders to make the score 5-1, but the Cougars still led heading into final inning.
• Emeralda Luevano (Chicago, Ill.) had a single to center field to open the seventh inning. Southern came in to pinch run for Luevano and a passed ball allowed her to advance to second. Santos singled to right field bringing Southern home, making the score 6-1. Gonzalez then pinch ran for Santos. Larenas had a double to center field which brought home Gonzalez and then Cougar lead grew once more, making the score 7-1. Eliza Auger (Littleton, Colo.) came in to pinch hit where a single up the middle advanced Larenas to third. Larenas tried to steal home but was caught in the act; however, Auger stole both second and third placing her just 60-feet from home. A single by Campos then brought Auger home. The score was now 8-1. Hadzic joined the action with a double putting runners on second and third. Pataluna kept the scoring going where a double to left field brought home Campos and Hadzic, 10-1. A passed ball then allowed Pataluna to advance to third and a single by Garcia brought her home, 11-1. A final single to left field by Southen would bring home Lucero and make the score 12-1, heading into the bottom of the seventh.
• The Highlanders put up two runs in the bottom of the seventh, but the Cougars remained victorious with a final score of 12-3.

What's Next

The Cougars conclude their time in Florida and will have nearly a two week break before their next competition against Carthage College, Wednesday, March 18th. The away double-header will feature start times of 2:30 PM and 4:30 PM. Coverage for all things CUC softball can be found at cucougars.com/coverage.