Lessons Learned, Tests Passed

COCOA, Fla. (3/03/14)—The lessons learned and tests passed keep adding up for the young Cobbers at the start of the 2014 season. Concordia recorded their first extra-inning victory in over a year as they beat Oakland City (Ind.) 4-3 in nine innings in the first of three games on Monday.

The Cobbers dropped a pair of games to Madonna University (Mich.) after their extra-inning triumph and leave Florida with a 3-6 record. The three wins is the most during a spring break trip since the 2009 season.     

Concordia's first game on Monday against Oakland City had the Cobbers and Lady Oaks trade identical-run innings until CC won it on a Jessica Speicher single in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Oakland City got on the board first with a pair of runs in the top of the second frame. Concordia would match that total in the bottom of the third when an error on a ground ball off the bat off freshman Dominique Giesen allowed the Cobbers to score a pair of runs.

The game would remain tied at 2-2 until the eighth inning when the tie-breaker procedure was put into play with each half inning starting with a runner on second base. The Lady Oaks scored their runner form second in the top half of the inning and then the Cobbers almost won the game in the bottom of the frame.  Speicher started the inning on second base and came home on the first at-bat of the inning when the Oakland City defense committed an error. CC then loaded the bases with two outs but couldn't come up with the game-winning hit.

That would come one inning later when the Cobbers once again loaded the bases. This time Speicher came through when she singled home Mackenzie Jensen with the game-winning run.

Concordia outhit Oakland City 7-4 in the first of three games on the day for the Cobbers. Kellie Morehouse led the Concordia offensive attack. She went 3-for-4 in the game. Speicher scored a pair of runs and had the game-winning RBI.

Hilary Rotunda continues to impress in the early going in 2014. The junior spent all nine innings inside the circle and allowed just two earned runs and four hits. She also struck out five while issuing just one free pass. At one point in the game she retired 12 straight Lady Oak batters. Rotunda picked up her second win of the season which matches her total in all of last season.

The Cobbers couldn't get any momentum in the two games against Madonna, gave up three big innings, and lost 13-2, 5-0 to the Crusaders.   

Despite being outscored in each game, Concordia came away with at least four hits in each contest. CC had five hits in the first game against Madonna and was led by Madison Little who went 2-for-3 from her leadoff spot in the batting order. Little and Speicher scored the two runs in the game for the Cobbers.

Morehouse, Ashley Tibbetts, Taylor Rasmussen and Jensen all had single hits in the second game against the Crusaders. Concordia was done in by a five-run second inning. Madonna scored all five of their runs in the second and had four of their seven total hits in the frame.   

Rotunda pitched all seven innings in the second game and did not give up an earned run. She finished the Florida trip with a 3.79 earned run average which is half her total from a year ago.

Paige Beseman led the team in the warm weather. She hit .320 for the nine games and had a .393 on-base average. Little carded a .310 average while fellow freshman Giesen had a team-best .364 slugging percentage.

Concordia will head north and have a two-week break before hosting the Cobber Round Robin on Mar. 18-19. The Cobbers will play two games each day in West St. Paul.