Offense Extends Win Streak To Four

WEST ST. PAUL, Minn. (3/19/15)—On Wednesday it was Concordia's pitching that stepped forward to guide the Cobbers to a pair of wins. On Thursday the offense took over and helped Concordia beat Finlandia 10-2 and Northwestern (Minn.) 9-3.

The Cobbers knocked out 11 hits in both games at the West St. Paul Dome and came away with a combined 19 runs on the day. Concordia had scored just eight runs and collected 12 hits in the three previous games before exploding on Lion and Eagle pitching.  

Concordia had five multiple-run innings on the day as they win for the fourth straight game and sixth in the last seven games. The four-game winning streak is the longest since the 2007 season. The Cobbers are now 6-3 on the season which is the best nine-game start to a season since the 2002 season.

A pair of home runs proved to be the catalyst for the winning runs in both games. In the first game win over Finlandia, freshman Mackee Hoffman connected on her first collegiate roundtripper to start the Concordia day-long scoring spree in the very first inning.

Staked to a 3-0 lead, the Cobbers would never trail as sophomore pitcher Abigail Haraldson plowed through the Lion batting order by striking out 10 in the seven innings and only allowing four hits and two earned runs. Haraldson went the distance for the second straight game and is now 3-1 for the season.

The other big inning for Concordia came in the seventh when they plated five runners on three hits. Kellie Morehouse had a triple in the inning and CC took advantage of three Finlandia fielding miscues.

Hoffman, Morehouse and leadoff hitter Madison Little all recorded multiple-hit games for the Cobbers. Hoffman was 2-for-4 with the three RBI. Morehouse went 2-for-4 with two runs scored while Little was 3-for-4 and had three runs batted in.

The second game was more dramatic for the Cobbers as they trailed Northwestern for the first four innings before exploding for five runs in the fifth.

The Eagles scored twice in the second and once more in the third to take a 3-1 lead heading into the top of the fifth.

The second big long ball of the day sparked the five-run fifth that put the Cobbers in the lead for good. Morehouse connected on a one-out pitch and hammered the ball over the fence for a two-run HR that put Concordia up 4-3. It was Morehouse's first home run of the season and second of her career.

The homer was a part of a four-hit, five-run inning. Sarah Nelsen also had an RBI in the inning when she singled home Ashley Tibbetts from second after Tibbetts had doubled.

Tibbetts finished off the scoring for Concordia in the second game when she doubled home a pair of runs in the seventh inning.

Tibbetts was one of four Cobber players in the middle of the batting order to have more than one hit for the game. Tibbetts was 3-for-4 with the two RBI. No.2 hitter Gabby Gardner went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a run batted in. Hoffman, hitting in the No.4 spot, was 2-for-4 and finished the day 4-for-8. She is now hitting .364 for the year. Morehouse, slotted in the No.3 spot in the order, also had her second multiple-hit game of the day. She was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI against Northwestern. She was also 4-for-8 on the day and now has a team-best .370 batting average.

Concordia split the pitching duties in the second game with freshman Mariah Dahl seeing her first collegiate action. Dahl started the game, pitched the first 3.0 innings and gave up six hits and just one earned run. Senior Hillary Rotunda entered the game in the fourth and did not allow a run in the final four innings. She gave up just two hits and struck out two to pick up her second win in as many days. Rotunda is now 3-2 on the season.

The Cobbers will take its four-game winning streak into the conference opener. The Cobbers will play at Hamline on Wednesday, Mar. 25 in the first two games of the MIAC season.