Falcons Break Even With Eagles

LISLE, Ill. - The Concordia Wisconsin softball team split its Friday doubleheader against the Benedictine Eagles, winning the second of two games that each saw a one-run differential. The day moved the Falcons' season record to ​7-7.

The first contest needed three additional innings to determine a victor, as the two squads left the seventh inning with the score knotted at two. The Eagles scored the first two runs of the game in the third, but the Falcons snagged a run back just half a frame later after freshman Katilyn Way (Blaine, Minn.) batted in senior Gabby Gaziano (Beloit, Wis.).

In the top of the seventh inning, senior Sydney Erdmann (Geneva, Ill.) began the Concordia rally with a single into center field before a wild pitch and stolen base left the tying run 60 feet away. Down to the team's final out of the game, junior Megan Bloyer (Oregon, Wis.) collected the tying RBI, sending Erdmann across the plate to even the game with a single up the middle.

Ultimately, Benedictine would go on to claim the victory, as Taylor Oppenhius scored the winning run in the 10th inning to put the contest away.

Freshman Gianna Carone (Crystal Lake, Ill.) tossed eight innings for the Falcons in the outing, striking out three batters in the process. In doing so, she became just the fourth different pitcher in program history to see through 24 outs on the mound.

The second half of the doubleheader saw all of its scoring take place in the middle innings, as Concordia struck the scoreboard twice in the fourth frame. A sacrifice fly by junior Adrianna Martinez (Chicago, Ill.) and an RBI single from Erdmann left the Falcons with a 2-0 lead entering the fifth, but the Eagles cut the deficit in half an inning later.

Benedictine aimed to take the lead in the sixth inning, but sophomore Jaylin Gremminger (Oakfield, Wis.) entered in relief to shut down the inning with the bases loaded, forcing a groundout to preserve the Concordia advantage. She would take credit for the save after putting the game away in the seventh, securing the Concordia win.

Freshman Emma Shellstrom (San Diego, Calif.) earned her second career win on the mound, allowing just one earned run in 5.2 innings.

The Falcons will look to build a winning streak in their next matchups, kicking off a doubleheader against the No. 22 Dominican Stars on March 30.