CHICAGO, Ill. -- North Park softball fell twice in a doubleheader against the Concordia-Chicago Cougars on Thursday afternoon, 7-4 and 10-3.
GAME 1 — Concordia–Chicago 7, North Park 4
The first three innings moved quickly as both teams traded scoreless frames. Concordia–Chicago broke it open in the top of the fourth, stringing together a five-run rally that began with an Arissa Santos double. Emily Lucero followed with a two-run triple, and additional runs came home on an infield error, a McKyler Morris RBI single, and a bases-loaded walk.
North Park got on the board in the bottom half when senior left fielder Eden Baker reached on a hit-by-pitch and later scored on a groundout, while another run was pushed across on freshman second baseman Miabella Collazo's RBI groundout. NPU struck again in the fifth, using an infield error and a Kayla Lorenz RBI single to pull within one at 5-4.
Concordia–Chicago added key insurance in the seventh with two more runs on an error and an RBI single from Alaina Pilas. North Park brought the tying run to the plate in the final inning but couldn't capitalize.
GAME 2 — Concordia–Chicago 10, North Park 3
After another set of scoreless early innings, Concordia–Chicago broke through in the fourth with three runs, highlighted by a Julia Pataluna RBI single and a two-run triple to center from Haley Gulsby.
North Park delivered its biggest swing of the day in the bottom half: after senior center fielder Kayla Sapolu singled, Baker ripped an inside-the-park home run to right field, closing the gap to 3-2.
Concordia–Chicago responded with a two-run fifth inning and then seized full control in the sixth with a five-run burst fueled by consecutive RBI hits from Pataluna, Gulsby, and Alyssa Campos. Baker again produced for NPU with an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth, but the Vikings were held scoreless the rest of the way.
What's Next?
North Park (7-7) stays out of conference action and heads to Kalamazoo, Michigan on Sunday, March 29, for a pair of games against the Hornets. First pitch for game one is slate for 1:00 PM ET.
