NAPERVILLE, ILL. – In a battle for the ages, the Concordia University Chicago (CUC) Cougars took the trip down to North Central College (NCC) to face off against the Cardinals in a final tune-up doubleheader before the Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference (NACC) playoffs. The Cougars showed grit, pushing both games to extra innings, but lost both, 3-2 and 6-5, respectively.
Game One: 3-2 L
Box Score:
- Eden Pufahl (Laguna Hills, Calif.) put in some work in the circle and at the plate. At bat, she recorded her first hit and RBI of season. She also pitched 3.2 innings and recorded three strikeouts.
- Emily Garcia (Eastvale, Calif.) was the lone Cougar with multiple hits in the game, going two-for-four at the plate while tacking on a run.
- McKyler Morris (Belvidere, Ill.) and Eliza Auger (Littleton, Colo.) each recorded a hit while Morris picked up an RBI and Auger scored a run of her own.
What Happened:
- It was three up, three down for both teams in the first inning and again for the Cougars in the top of the second. In the second half of the inning, the Cardinals would get a runner on first and advance her to second on a sacrifice bunt. Another single would send home the runner to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead. Alyssa Campos (Eastvale, Calif.) would snag a strikeout for the second out. NCC would manage to load the bases but a line out to center field minimized the damage and the Cougars went back up to bat.
- The Cougars continued to struggle to gain some offensive momentum and quickly found themselves back in the field for the bottom of the third. With an NCC runner at first base, Melisa Hadzic (Westchester, Ill.) made a fantastic play from behind the plate to Auger to catch the runner stealing and secure the first out of the inning. A fielder's choice and a groundout would end the inning.
- CUC saw their bats come alive in the top of the fourth as Garcia rocketed a leadoff single. Morris then laid down a successful bunt to move Garcia to second and get herself on base. Campos was up next and put down a SAC bunt to move both runners to scoring position. With one out, Pufahl delivered on her at bat with an RBI single to tie the game at 1-1. Two quick outs would end the inning, but the Cougars felt rejuvenated. The bottom half the inning saw the Cougars get two quick outs while Pufahl got the third batter swinging to end the fourth.
- In the top of the fifth, Auger started the two-out rally with a single down the left field line. Garcia matched the energy and singled to the outfield, advancing Auger to third. Morris then stepped up to the plate and drove in Auger to put the Cougars up, 2-1. Pufahl and the defense continued to work their magic in the bottom of the fifth, with another two ground outs and one strikeout inning for the Cardinals.
- The Cardinals quickly shut down the Cougars in the top of the sixth, getting three quick outs. Pufahl started off the back half of the inning with a strikeout and a fly out. With two away, CUC made a pitching change and brought Katie Davis (Colorado Springs, Colo.) into the circle. Davis was tested early, giving up a double and then an RBI single to tie the game at 2-2. However, Davis found her groove and recorded a swinging strikeout to end the inning and keep the Cougars level.
- CUC struggled to regain offensive pressure, with another one-two-three inning. Garcia made a nice play to get the lead batter out in the bottom of the seventh before the Cardinals would get a runner on base. However, a catch by Auger and a strikeout from Davis would seal the end of regulation and force extra innings.
- In the eighth, CUC recorded three quick outs before heading to the field. Defensively, the Cougars continued to shine as Auger made the first out on a pop-up. The Cardinals' second batter would get on base and then advance to second on a SAC bunt, but a fly out to Linley Southern (Decatur, Ill.) in left field kept the game going.
- The ninth was the same story for the Cougars offensively, recording three outs before heading back out to the field. The Cardinals would immediately put pressure on the Cougars, getting a runner on base and then stealing second. A SAC bunt would put the runner at third. NCC would be able to score off the next play, taking the game, 3-2.
Highlights:
Game Two: 6-5 L
Box Score:
- Garcia and Morris led the charge, going three-for-five and three-for-four at the plate, respectively. Garcia would tack on a run and an RBI while Morris added a run.
- Campos went one-for-two with one RBI and one run scored.
- Arissa Santos (Moreno Valley, Calif.) also picked up a run and an RBI.
What Happened:
- CUC came to life in game two, starting with a leadoff triple from Garcia. While the next batter would get out, Santos followed up with an RBI single to go up, 1-0. The Cougars would pick up a second out, but Campos continued the two-out rally. A double into the outfield gap sent Santos home and doubled the lead. Morris followed with a single which saw Campos advance to third and an error by the Cardinals allowed Campos to score, giving the Cougars a 3-0 lead at the end of inning.
- In the bottom of the first, NCC started off with a single and a stolen base to put a runner in scoring position. A SAC bunt advanced the runner to third and a sacrifice fly put the Cardinals on the board. However, a fly out to Southern cut the Cardinals' rally short.
- CUC couldn't generate any offense in the top of the second and made their way back to the field. The Cougars recorded a quick out before back-to-back singles put Cardinals on first and second. Then next batter drove the ball to Auger who made the play at second and got the ball to first in time for an important double play to end the inning.
- The Cougars struggled at the plate at the top of third, quickly falling to three outs. In the bottom of the third, back-to-back singles for the Cardinals and a stolen base put both runners in scoring position with one out. CUC would get two quick outs to end the inning but not before NCC put another one on the board to make it 3-2.
- In the top of the fourth, Campos won her battle at the plate and walked to first. Morris made the sacrifice play to advance Campos to scoring position, but the Cougars were unable to take advantage of the opportunity. NCC started the back half of the inning with a walk and was able to get the runner all the way to third, but a ground out to Garcia ended the inning.
- Garcia tried to get things going in the fifth with a single to left field. She would advance to second on the next play and then third on a passed ball. However, the Cougars couldn't bring Garcia home. In the bottom of the fifth, the Cardinals capitalized on back-to-back singles and a Cougar error to tie up the game. Another single drove home another run. The Cougars took a breath to settle again and got out of the inning now down, 4-3.
- Hadzic led off the sixth with a single. She then advanced two bases off a SAC bunt from Campos and a single from Morris. With runners on the corners, the Cougars tried to get something going but ended up stranding the runners. CUC recorded two quick outs in the bottom of the sixth before the Cardinals picked up a single. The runner wouldn't last long as CUC made the play to catch her stealing second and end the inning.
- Auger reached first on a Cardinal error to start the seventh inning. Garcia laid down a SAC bunt to put Auger in scoring position. Haley Gulsby (Englewood, Fla.) stepped up with an RBI single to send Auger home and tie the game back up, 4-4. Gulsby would make it to third, but the Cougars did their job and kept themselves alive. A quick three up, three down from Alyssa Lopez (Corona, Calif.) and the CUC defense forced extra innings again.
- Morris kicked off extra innings with a double, but the bats of the Cougars would fizzle, leaving her stranded. In the bottom of the eighth, the Cougars didn't allow NCC past first and quickly turned it over to the ninth.
- CUC couldn't get anything going in the top half of the ninth inning. NCC was able to take advantage of a Cougar error and move runners to second and third but strong defensively play from CUC kept the game tied.
- Due to the NCAA tiebreaker rule, each team would start with a runner on second during their offensive half inning starting in the tenth inning. Charlize Gonzalez (Dallas, Texas) was the Cougars' lead runner and advanced to third off a SAC bunt from Hadzic. Campos then walked but a double play by the Cardinals ended the Cougars' chance to take the lead. NCC started the inning similarly to CUC, laying down a SAC but to advance the runner to third. However top defensive plays by Garcia and Auger forced another inning.
- This inning, Morris started on second for CUC and advanced to third using her speed as Mayah Larenas (Chino, Calif.) reached first. The Cougars would get two outs on the board but not before Larenas moved up to second. An RBI single from Garcia scored Morris and moved Larenas to third to break the stalemate, 5-4. Gulsby then walked to load up the bases, but NCC ended the Cougars' rally.
- With a runner starting on second, NCC laid down a SAC bunt to move the runner to third. The runner would then score on the next play, and the batter would reach first. The Cougars would secure the second out, but not before the runner advanced to second. A single to the outfield brought home the Cardinal runner and the game ended in heartbreaking defeat, 6-5.
Highlights:
What's Next:
The Cougars look ahead to the NACC Playoffs. As the seventh seed, they will face the sixth-seeded Marian University Sabres on Thursday, May 7. First pitch is at 1:30 pm in Aurora, Ill.
