(Ann Arbor, MI) – The Cardinals opened up WHAC play Sunday afternoon with a doubleheader against the rival Siena Heights Saints.
GAME 1 – CUAA 2, SHU 0
Game number one of the afternoon was a tight, low scoring battle, with both pitchers keeping the base runners to a minimal. Siena Heights threatened in the top of the 1st with runners on 1st and second and one out, but Paige Anderson would force a pair of pop outs to escape the danger. After the Cardinals would go down in 3 batters in each the bottom of the 1st and 2nd inning, Siena Heights once again would threaten with a pair of runners in the 3rd, but still could not convert.
Concordia picked up their first base runner of the game on a Dee Campbell single in the bottom of the 3rd, but it wouldn't be until the next inning that the stalemate would be broken. Koryn Playford opened the bottom of the 4th with a leadoff double, before Katie Tobias came up with one out and drilled a 2-run homer over the left field wall (her 3rd of the season), giving the Cardinals the lead just past the halfway point in the contest.
Paige Anderson would lock down on the mound the rest of the way, surrendering just two hits in the final 3 innings of play as the Cardinals secured a tight, 2-0 victory in their first conference contest of the season.
Anderson picked up her 8th win of the season (8-4), going all 7 innings on the mound and giving up just 6 hits, while striking out 6 batters in the victory.
GAME 2 – CUAA 5, SHU 0
Game two of the day looked to be more of the same early, as Elyse Brittain struck out a pair of batters and went 1-2-3 on the mound in the top of the 1st, but the Cardinal offense was on the attack early. Koryn Playford would pick up a one-out double and steal third, setting up Shannon McAlinden for an RBI-bunt single to bring home the first run of the contest. McAlinden would steal both 2nd and 3rd base, before a Dee Campbell walk allowed the Cardinals to use some base running trickery between 1st and 2nd to allow McAlinden to steal home uncontested with 2 outs.
Brittain continued to dominate on the mound, allowing just two base runners over the course of the next two innings before the CUAA offense struck again in the 3rd. Shannon McAlinden would single with one-out in the bottom of the 3rd and steal her 4th bag of the game as she took 2nd base with Dee Campbell back at the plate. Campbell would single to left center, bringing home McAlinden on a more conventional play this time around, extending the Cardinal lead to 3-0.
The Saints threatened with base runners on the corners and two outs in the top of the 4th, but Elyse Brittain struck out the SHU batter to end the inning and eliminate their best chance at runs in the second contest. In the bottom of the 4th, Sarah Tyrell would get to 3rd base following her own double and a sacrifice bunt by Payton Lewis, before a double by Koryn Playford brought Tyrell in to score. In the next at bat, Shannon McAlinden drove in Playford with a single, making it a 5 run Cardinal advantage at the end of the 4th.
Similarly to Anderson in game one, Brittain locked down on the mound for the final three innings of play, striking out a pair of batters and surrendering just one base runner the rest of the way to secure a 5-0 victory for Concordia.
Elyse Brittain (3-1) pitched a four-hit complete game shutout, picking up 5 strikeouts and allowing just 5 baserunners in the victory.
TOP PERFORMERS
Koryn Playford went 3-6 and drove in a run, with all 3 of her hits being doubles as she added 3 runs and a stolen base to an impressive offensive performance. Shannon McAlinden also had 3 hits from the batters box, tying for a team lead with 2 RBI's and stealing all 5 bases she attempted to take on the day (all in game two of the doubleheader). Katie Tobias drilled the only home run of the day for a pair of RBI's, while Dee Campbell and Sarah Tyrell both went 2-for-4 in the series.
Paige Anderson and Elyse Brittain were unstoppable on the mound for Concordia, combining for 14 scoreless innings as they surrendered just 10 hits combined between the two of them and struck out 11 batters.
UP NEXT
The Cardinals will be back in action this Wednesday, March 29th when they take on the Lawrence Tech Blue Devils. The doubleheader is set to start at 2pm at Farmington Hawk in Farmington Hills, MI.
