st. Paul, minn. - the concordia university softball team is not one known for driving balls over the fence, but they certainly played power ball today against upper iowa university (18-16, 9-7 nsic), drilling four home runs in sweeping uiu 5-2 and 7-1. jamie lindboe had two of the homers, while concordia's defense and pitching continues to hold down their opponents. Cu has now won seven consecutive games and nine of their last ten to improve to 27-15 overall and 9-3 in the nsic.
lindboe had her bat going all afternoon, hitting .667 (4-6) against the peacocks with two home runs and a triple, as well as three rbi and three runs scored. anna bjorlin went 4-of-7 with two stolen bases in the combined games, while freshmen calli brennan and katie anderson each had two rbi. cassye mcmahon did not give up an earned run in her six innings of work.
the golden bears went to the long ball for a game 1 victory, launching it out of the yard twice in the game. tiff rodd gave the golden bears the go-ahead run with a solo homer in the fourth inning to set the score at 3-2. calli brennan answered with a two-run shot in the fifth inning to give concordia some breathing room and a 5-2 lead. The long ball was rodd's fourth of the season and brennan's third.
the peacocks started the game off with hits in three of their first four at-bats, scoring their first run on an rbi double and then walking in their second run to go up 2-0. After being knocked around in her first frame of work, stephanie schmikla allowed no more than one hit in each of the following six innings to keep the peacocks off the board.
jamie lindboe, brennan and rodd each had a multi-hit game in leading the golden bears to the 5-2 win. In her first game back from a foot injury, lindboe drove in a run at her first plate appearance, a single lined up the middle that put concordia on the board. Lindboe toured the bases with a leadoff triple in the fourth, tying the game at 2-2 following an abby brundidge sac fly. She matched brennan and rodd with two hits and a run scored each. Schmikla won her 14th game of the season in the decision.
the golden bears and the peacocks were matched evenly with eight hits each, although concordia had the advantage of the home run and bunched hits that gave them the advantage. Upper iowa received three hits from first baseman erin bennek, including two doubles and the first rbi of the game.
the peacocks again struck the first blow in the top of the first inning, getting two players on base and then receiving the gift of an extra out that kept the inning alive and allowed an unearned run to cross.
the golden bears also profited from first inning fielding woes, with anna bjorlin leading off with a single to right center field and then advancing into scoring position after the peacock right fielder over ran the ball. Bjorlin advanced a bag on a calli brennan ground ball and turned the corner to tie the game up 1-1 after uiu's first baseman launched a throw into the fencing behind third base.
the peacock offense continued to pressure concordia, putting runners on the paths in the second and third. Pitcher cassye mcmahon thanked her defense for ending the frames without damage, seeing catcher nikki scherr throwing out an attempted thief in the second inning to keep the batters faced to just three. sami mattson came up with a diving catch in the third inning that not only ended the inning, but saved a run from scoring.
jamie lindboe kept the good times rolling, launching out solo home runs in back-to-back plate appearances. Her knock over the fence in the fourth inning broke the game's tie and put concordia up 2-1. She finished her day of work with a sixth inning shot that set the score at 4-1.
the golden bears had several other extra base knocks that lead to the 7-1 downing of the peacocks. abby brundidge, mattson, katie anderson and bjorlin each took two bases, combining to drive in three runs and score three runs. Cu out-hit uiu 10-6 in the final game of the day. Mcmahon struck out four on her way to an 11-6 season record.
