Beseman And Rotunda Supply Heroics At Macalester

WEST ST. PAUL, Minn. (4/28/14)—Paige Beseman hit a three-run home run and Hillary Rotunda pitched a complete-game shutout to help Concordia split with Macalester and snap a 10-game losing skid.

Beseman and Rotunda produced their heroics in the first game of the doubleheader with the Scots which was pushed inside to West St. Paul Dome because of the inclement weather. The Cobbers won the opener 3-0 and then surrendered a 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning and lost the finale 8-3.

Rotunda scattered eight hits and pitched out of big jams in the first and second innings to record her first shutout of the season. It is also the first shutout by a Cobber pitcher since the start of the 2010 season. Rotunda had runners in scoring position in both the first and second frames but was able to come up with clutch two-out, inning-ending outs.

Rotunda finished the opener by stranding eight Scot runners and holding Macalester to a .111 average with two outs in the inning.

Beseman delivered the game-winning hit with one out in the top of the third inning. Jessica Speicher led off the inning with a single and then Madison Little reached on an error before Beseman knocked out her third long ball of the season. It was Beseman's only hit in the first game.

The Cobbers had six hits in game No.1 with six different CC players getting a base knock.

The second game was decided in the sixth inning. The Cobbers entered the inning trailing 2-0 and promptly scored three runs on three hits to take a 3-2 lead. The big hit of the frame was a single off the bat of catcher Ashley Tibbetts which plated two runs.

Macalester was able to score the go-ahead and insurance runs with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning. CC also had a costly error in the inning which led to six unearned runs.

Rotunda pitched the entire second game as well and only allowed two earned runs. Her performance of the doubleheader helped her lower her ERA to 5.31 on the year.

The Cobbers had four hits in the nightcap and once again four different CC players combined for the total. Beseman had a single hit in the second game and was 2-for-7 with two runs scored and four RBI on the day. Speicher also had a hit in each contest and was 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Tibbetts and freshman first baseman Sarah Nelsen also hit safely in both games. Tibbetts went 2-for-5 while Nelsen was 2-for-7.

Concordia will look to finish off the 2014 season when they host Hamline. No specific date and time has been made for the doubleheader which was scheduled for Sunday, Apr. 27 but postponed because of rain.