Softball closes season with sweep over Edgewood

VERONA, Wis. – The Concordia University Wisconsin Softball team wrapped up its 2018 season with a doubleheader sweep over Edgewood Monday afternoon. The Falcons put together two strong showings Monday, winning the opener 5-1, before rolling in game two, 8-3.

CUW 5, EDGEWOOD 1
- Molly O'Connell (New London, Wis.) continued her impressive stretch in the circle with another complete-game effort. The sophomore allowed one unearned run in the fourth, otherwise kept the Eagles off the board. She struck out five and scattered five hits in her ninth win of the season. O'Connell allowed zero earned runs in four of her final five starts of the season.

- CUW did all of its scoring in the first three innings, jumping on Edgewood with a run in the first and two in both the second and third frames. Maddie Zazas (Mundelein, Ill.) put CUW on the board with an RBI double in the first, plating O'Connell.

- O'Connell helped her own cause in the second inning, launching a two-run home run over the center field wall. Lauren Christie (Oshkosh, Wis.) also scored on the O'Connell home run. The Falcons added two runs in the third, one on an RBI single by Kalli Roulette (Manitowoc, Wis.), plating Jamie Reiser (Ingleside, Ill.)

- CUW had seven hits in the opener, including two from Zazas. Allison Peters (Elk Grove, Ill.) joined Zazas with a double in the win. Edgewood was led by Grace Delleman who recorded a pair of hits.

CUW 8, EDGEWOOD 1
- Two big innings, a three-run first and a five-run sixth, led CUW to an 8-3 game two win. The big hit in the game came in the five-run sixth when Shelby Fischer (Joliet, Ill.) launched a grand slam on a 3-2, two-out pitch.

- CUW jumped out to a quick lead, with Zazas providing another first-inning RBI hit, this one a single plating Sara Rosenow (Kimberly, Wis.). A pair of RBI groundouts by Reiser and Emma Schimberg (Random Lake, Wis.) gave the Falcons a 3-0 advantage.

- Reiser concluded her career with a two-hit performance, driving in two runs, while fellow senior Allison Peters (Elk Grove, Ill.) scored twice in her final game.

- Nicole Lewis (Manhattan, Ill.) got the win in the circle by throwing four innings and allowing one run. Lewis struck out five and scattered six hits. Jenna Pozezinski (Lake Villa, Ill.) picked up the save by throwing the final three innings, allowing two runs and striking out two.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Falcons conclude the season with a 22-16 record and a 12-10 league mark. CUW finished tied for fifth in the league standings but lost out on a tiebreaker as MSOE and Wisconsin Lutheran secured the last two playoff spots.

- The tiebreaker for the NACC Tournament worked as follows: MSOE, Wisconsin Lutheran, CUW, and Dominican all tied at 12-10 and two spots were available for the four teams.

- The first tiebreaker was a mini-conference among the four teams with records against one another. MSOE went 4-2 those games, CUW and WLC 3-3, and Dominican. MSOE was award the No. 5 seed. Dominican was eliminated.

- The tiebreaker between CUW and WLC was first head-to-head, but the two teams split the regular season. You then go record against the team or teams at the top of the NACC standings and downward until the tie is broken, beginning with the two teams who tied for first (Marian and Benedictine). CUW and WLC both went 1-3 against Marian and Benedictine. WLC was award the No. 6 seed based on a split against No. 3 Aurora, while CUW dropped both games against Aurora.