Softball pushes winning streak to eight with sweep of Mount Mary

MEQUON, Wis. – Thanks to another pair of strong offensive outbursts, the Concordia University Wisconsin Softball team pushed its winning streak to eight with a non-conference doubleheader sweep of Mount Mary. The Falcons won by scores of 23-1 and 16-3, winning both games in five innings.

Senior Cara Landherr (Waukesha, Wis.) and sophomore Jessica Liszka (Lindenhurst, Ill.) each hit home runs in the second game of Monday's twinbill as the Falcons roped 32 hits and scored 39 runs in just eight innings at the plate.

The opening game saw the Falcons jump on the board with a huge 12-run first inning. Both Cara and her sophomore sister Katie Landherr (Waukesha, Wis.) drove in three runs in the 12-run first, while junior Mariah Giesseman (Sturgeon Bay, Wis.) had a pair of runs driven in.

CUW (21-13)would go on to add three runs in the second, one in the third, and seven more in the fourth as they cruised to a 23-1 victory. Liszka, Giesseman, Katie Landherr, and sophomore Sara Skarda (Pleasant Prairie, Wis.) all finished the opener with three hits, while Giesseman and Cara Landherr each drove in four runs. The 23 runs scored in the opener marked the sixth time since 2007 that CUW has reached at least 20 runs.

Freshman Melissa Perkins (Park Forest, Ill.) was the beneficiary of the run support as she picked up her 11th win of the season. Perkins fanned six batters, while senior Jannelle Schroder (Colgate, Wis.) came on to pitch the fifth, striking out two in her first appearance of the season.

In game two the visiting Blue Angels (0-8) scored two runs in the top of the first but CUW answered back with eight in the bottom of inning one. Liszka had the big hit of the inning when she belted a two-run home run.

CUW would continue to add runs, scoring two in the second and six in the third. C. Landherr hit her team and conference leading 11th home run of the season in the second inning, while Skarda chipped in with a two-RBI double in the third inning. Nicole Ordway finished with a home run for Mount Mary.

Freshman Alyssa Wolf (Oconomowoc, Wis.) earned her first collegiate victory in the second game as she struck out four in four innings of work. Skarda pitched a scoreless fifth with one strikeout.

CUW returns to action Thursday as they host Edgewood College in a Northern Athletics Conference doubleheader. First pitch between the Eagles and Falcon is set for 3 p.m.