Falcons Finish Strong Against Edgewood

MEQUON, Wis. - The Concordia Wisconsin softball team broke even in its doubleheader against the Edgewood Eagles on Wednesday night, falling in the opening game by a 7-4 score before taking control of the second contest, winning 10-1. While the Falcons totaled 14 runs offensively across the pair of matches, the team's starting pitchers proved to have an immense hand in the squad's success, combining for just two total earned runs.

In the first game, junior Megan Bloyer (Oregon, Wis.) kicked off the scoring effort in the opening inning, sending junior Jess Pozezinski (Lake Villa, Ill.) and senior Sydney Erdmann (Geneva, Ill.) across the plate.

The Eagles would cut the lead in half in the fourth by way of a home run to left-center field, but the Falcons regained the two-run advantage in the bottom half of the inning, as Gabbi Gaziano (Beloit, Wis.) singled down the left field line to put another run on the scoreboard.

The later innings of the contest proved to be of benefit to Edgewood, as the Eagles plated three runs between the fifth and sixth frames. Another pair of runs was found in the top half of the seventh to assemble a 7-3 advantage for Edgewood.

Senior Claudia Utz (Lockport, Ill.) cut into the lead for Concordia in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI single, but the Eagles claimed the last out of the game before further damage could be done, winning by a 7-4 score.

Freshman Gianna Carone (Crystal Lake, Ill.) tossed five innings for the Falcons, allowing just one earned run to bring her season ERA to 2.60.

Concordia dominated the second half of the doubleheader from the jump, scoring five runs in the opening inning while batting through the team's order. Picking up the first three RBIs of the game were Utz, Bloyer, and junior Jasmine Freeze (Bolingbrook, Ill.), while sophomore Riley DuVal (Elgin, Ill.) closed the offensive stretch with a single up the middle that plated two additional runs.

The Falcons picked up where they left off in the second inning, bumping the advantage to seven runs after Bloyer and DuVal sent runners across home plate.

Concordia found three more runs in the fourth inning by way of a DuVal single to left field, an Erdmann sac fly, and a throwing error. DuVal's RBI marked her fourth of the game to set a career-high.

Edgewood picked up a run in the top of the fifth inning to spoil the shutout, but a quick final out in the ensuing at-bat left the Falcons with a 10-1 victory, marking the team's fourth conference win of the season.

Freshman Emma Shellstrom (San Diego, Calif.) pitched all five innings for Concordia, collecting her fourth career win in the process.

The Falcons will look to start a winning streak in their next set of games against the 16-5 Aurora Spartans on April 13.