Top-seeded Aurora downs Softball in NACC Tournament game

MILWAUKEE – The Concordia University Wisconsin Softball team dropped a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament game against top-seeded Aurora University, 5-3, Thursday afternoon at the Alverno Softball Field.

The Falcons, who defeated No. 4 Dominican University by a 10-6 score earlier, will now play at 11 a.m. tomorrow morning against No. 6 MSOE in an elimination game. If CUW were to win that game they would play immediately after at 1 p.m. against the winner of Dominican and No. 2 Wisconsin Lutheran College.

Aurora scored two runs each in the third and fifth innings, the two in the fifth coming on a two-run home run from Sarah Clauser. Clauser's home run gave the Spartans a comfortable 5-2 lead at the time, with CUW scoring once in the top of the sixth. The two AU runs in the third were unearned.

Junior Jessica Liszka (Lindenhurst, Ill.) continued her strong NACC Tournament performance by going 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Liszka totaled six hits in two games on Thursday, pacing the Falcons from the top of the lineup.

NACC Pitcher of the Year Vanessa Hartzell picked up the win for the Spartans, finishing the game with nine strikeouts. CUW had its opportunities early to get to Hartzell but left five on base in the first two innings. The Falcons left 11 runners on base in the game.

Freshman Jennifer Reicher (Kewaskum, Wis.) added two hits for the Falcons and drove in a run. Senior Mariah Giesseman (Sturgeon Bay, Wis.) also drove in a run for CUW. AU (26-13) was led by Clauser as she totaled two hits and drove in a game-high three runs.

Sophomore Melissa Perkins (Park Forest, Ill.) took the loss for CUW, pitching six innings and allowing three earned. Perkins did not walk any and was efficient in needing just 64 pitches to get through her six innings.

Aurora advances to take on No. 3 Benedictine University tomorrow at 3 p.m. in a battle of the tournament's final two unbeaten teams.