RIVER FOREST, Ill. - The Rockford University softball team had been on a roll as of late, winning six of its last eight games heading into Sunday's NACC doubleheader at Concordia University Chicago. The Regents and Cougars each hoped to improve their postseason chances on Sunday as both are within shouting distance of the final playoff spot. However, it was the Cougars who came out on top sweeping the Regents with victories of 3-1 and 12-5.
The opener turned out to be a bit of a heartbreaker for Rockford, as the Regents appeared to be in control for the majority of the game. After a pair of scoreless innings to start the game, Rockford got on the scoreboard first with a run in the top of the third inning. Freshman Mercedes Boykin (Belvidere, Ill./North) led off the inning with a single and then advanced into scoring position following an error. Boykin then advanced to third after a bunt, and scored one batter later when Stefaney Kenworthy (Veedersburg, Ind./Fountain Central) drove her in with a sacrifice fly. The Regents 1-0 lead evaporated quickly though as Cougars tied the game in bottom half of the inning with a run of their own. The back-and-forth affair continued in the top of the fourth inning as Rockford would once again regain the lead. Sarah Moritz (Heyworth, Ill./Heyworth) and Maranda Walker (Rockford, Ill./Boylan) strung together back-to-back one-out hits putting runners on the corners. Rockford then took a 2-1 advantage one batter later when Lynn Blakeley-Snyder (Rockford, Ill./Winnebago) drove in Moritz on an RBI groundout. The ladies seemed to be in control of the game as they cruised through the next 2.2 innings without allowing a single runner to reach second base. However the game turned in an instant when with two outs the Cougars drew a walk and then hit a 2-run home run to grab a 3-2 lead heading into the seventh inning. Rockford went down in order in the top of the seventh taking a tough 3-2 loss.
Junior Sarah Moritz pitched very well in defeat for Rockford. Moritz threw her team-leading tenth complete game of the season scattering 5 hits and allowing just 2 earned runs while striking out 3.
Game two was a near one-eighty from the previous game as Rockford fell behind early and was forced to play catch-up. Concordia Chicago scored a total of 6 runs, 4 of which were unearned, in the first two innings to jump out to an early 6-0 lead. Rockford temporarily cut into the lead in the fourth inning as the Regents used a trio of singles and a pair of Cougar errors to plate 2 runs. Stefaney Kenworthy, Brittany Bura (Chicago, Ill./Trinity) and Jessica Bjerning (Wauconda, Ill./Mundelein) strung together back-to-back-to-back singles with Bjerning driving in the first run of the inning. Rockford would later take advantage of dropped pop-up in the infield to score its second run of the inning and cut the Concordia Chicago lead to 6-2.
After the Cougars tacked on another run to increase their lead to 7-2, the Regents mounted one final rally attempt in the top of the sixth inning. Following a leadoff walk by Bura, Bjerning then calmly stepped up to the plate and crushed a 3-1 pitch over the left field wall for a 2-run home run to pull her team back within three runs. The Regents would manufacture one more run in the inning to close the gap once again making it a 7-5 game. However despite the Regents' best efforts, Concordia Chicago put the game away in the bottom half of the inning scoring 5 runs to seal the 12-5 win.
The softball team returns to action on Tuesday with a nonconference doubleheader at Lawrence University. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m.
