RIVER FOREST, Ill. - St. Norbert College and Concordia University Wisconsin engaged in a pair of slugfests but only came to a decision in one of them in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference doubleheader at Cougar Field.
The Green Knights dropped the opener 20-14. St. Norbert then rallied late in the nightcap but a late Concordia rally knotted the game at 13-13, which then ended in a tie due to darkness.
St. Norbert fell behind early in the opener when the Cougars scored nine runs on five hits in the bottom of the first. The Green Knights got two runs back in the second inning on an RBI double by
Christina Paleka and a run-scoring single by
Zoe Zasada. The Cougars scored twice in the bottom of the second inning to take an 11-2 lead.
The Green Knights scored three times in the third inning on a
Paige Diercks RBI double and two runs came in on an outfield error. Concordia responded with nine runs in the bottom of the third to take a 20-5 lead.
St. Norbert kept chipping away with five runs in the fourth inning.
Ava Engwall had an RBI double and
Allison Ardito drove in two with a double. Diercks and Ardito both scored on a wild pitch. The Green Knights added three runs in the fifth to get to within 20-13, with
Nicole Condon getting an RBI double and later scoring on a wild pitch and Diercks posting an RBI single. The Green Knights got their last run in the seventh on a Paleka RBI groundout.
The Green Knights had 16 hits, including 10 doubles. Diercks was 4-for-4 with two doubles and three runs scored.
Addison Race was 3-for-3 with three doubles and two runs scored. Engwall was 2-for-4 with three runs scored, while Condon and Ardito each had two hits and two runs scored. Race took the loss in the circle.
In the nightcap, St. Norbert fell behind 7-0 after two innings. The Green Knights got back into the game with a five-run fourth inning.
Elizabeth Stuebs had a two-run single,
Grace Engwall an RBI single, Zasada a sacrifice fly and Condon an RBI single. The Cougars would get one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. St. Norbert scored a single run in the fifth on a Paleka RBI single. The Cougars scored two runs in the fifth to take a 10-7 lead.
St. Norbert scored a single run in the sixth on a Stuebs grounder. The Green Knights then fashioned a six-run uprising in the top of the seventh to take a 13-10 lead. Paleka had an RBI double and Race followed with a two-run home run. Condon had an RBI single and Stuebs cranked a two-run home run. The Cougars would respond with five straight hits to open the bottom of the seventh to tie the game. Concordia had the potential winning run at third base with one out but couldn't score.
Stuebs was 2-for-5 with two runs scored and five RBIs. Paleka was 2-for-3, while Race and Condon were both 2-for-4.
