SXU Ahtletics
Tuesday
The #5 ranked Saint Xavier softball team played in a conference doubleheader against Calumet College of St. Joseph. The Cougars handled their opposition in both games thanks to their offense, which was led by their star shortstop Rebeka Ferguson.
The Cougars started the scoring in this game as they scored one run in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead over the Crimson Wave. The run was scored off of an RBI single by catcher Jessica Arebalo.
Neither team scored again until the top of the third inning, where the Cougars capitalized on two Calumet errors to score two more runs and extend their lead to 3-0.
It would not take the Cougars as long to score again though as they would quickly one up themselves by scoring three runs in the top of the fourth inning to make their lead grow to 6-0.
In the fifth and sixth inning, the Cougars added a run to their lead in each inning, resulting in a 8-0 win for the Cougars after six innings of play. The run in the fifth was scored off an RBI single by Ferguson, while an RBI double by first baseman Amanda Hainlen in the sixth inning was the final nail in the Crimson Wave’s coffin.
Despite not being mentioned a lot earlier, the pitching in this game was absolutely outstanding as pitcher Nicole Nonnemacher has made the spectacular look ordinary for the majority of the season whenever she has stepped onto the mound.
In this game, Nonnemacher pitched a complete game shutout and only allowed one hit while striking out 10 batters and walking zero batters. The win was her 17th win of the season.
The offense in game one was led by shortstop Rebeka Ferguson as she went 2-3 from the plate while driving in three runs and accounting for two of the team’s eight runs to become the catalyst of the offense from the lead-off spot in the lineup.
Saint Xavier rode the wave of momentum of their game one win into the first inning of game two as they scored two runs in the top of the first to take an early 2-0 lead thanks to a two-run homer by center fielder Shannon Lauret.
Unlike last game though, Calumet showed some grit when they scored a run in the bottom of the first to cut the Cougars’ lead to 2-1. Despite this grit, the Cougars’ offensive talent came through in the very next inning as they scored three runs in the top of the second to extend their lead to 5-1.
The inning started with a leadoff home run by third baseman Sarah Saunders to make the score 3-1. Later in the inning, left fielder Katie Sears would add to the lead with a two rbi single to make the score 5-1.
The Crimson Wave answered the Cougars again in the bottom of the second by scoring one run to close their gap to 5-2. This was the last inning we would see pitcher Callie Brown pitch in the game after allowing two runs on six hits and one walk.
In relief, the star pitcher of game one, Nicole Nonnemacher, would come into game two and pitch the rest of the game.
Even in relief and having pitched the prior game, Nonnemacher pitched well allowing only one run and giving up four hits while striking out 10 batters en route to her second win in as many games and her 18th win of the season.
The lone run that Nonnemacher gave up came in the bottom of the fifth inning and made the game close at 5-3. But a comeback was not in the cards for the opposition as the Cougars held them scoreless the rest of the way and add an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning to complete the sweep and win game two by the score of 6-3.
Sears and Lauret led the offense in game two as they combined to collect four of the team’s six rbis in game two. Shortstop Rebeka Ferguson also had another great game, going 4-4 from the plate and scoring two runs in the game.
With the sweep, the Cougars’ record stood at 36-4-2 with a conference record of 17-0-1.
Wednesday
The Saint Xavier softball team played in a doubleheader against conference foe Olivet Nazarene University. It took a blowout in game one and an extra inning win in game two to give the Cougars the CCAC Title.
Game one started out just how the Cougars wanted it to as they scored one run in the top of the first inning and two runs in the top of the second to take a 3-0 lead after two innings of play.
All three runs in the first two innings were driven in by center fielder Shannon Lauret. Neither team scored again until the fourth inning where shortstop Rebeka Ferguson would hit a solo home run for the Cougars and extend their lead to 4-0.
In the top of the fifth inning, the Cougars offense would put game one away as they went off and scored six runs and hit two, two run homers in the inning to give the Cougars a 10-0 win in a game that was shortened to just five innings thanks to the slaughter rule.
Pitcher Nicole Nonnemacher, once again, dominated her opponent pitching another complete game shutout and only giving up one hit and hitting one batter while walking none and striking out five batters en route to her 19th win of the season.
Ferguson had herself a fantastic game from the plate, going perfect from the plate and hitting two home runs, collecting three rbis, and scoring four of the team’s 10 runs.
Lauret also had a great game going 2-3 from the plate, with one of those hits being a home run, and collecting three rbis and scoring a run. Catcher Jessica Arebalo also hit a home run in the game as well.
Game two was a pitching duel from its beginning all the way up until its conclusion. The very first inning did not seem like it was a pitchers duel though, as the Cougars had base runners on third and second base with just one out.
However, the Cougars surprisingly squandered their opportunity and allow the game to remain tied at 0-0 after the first inning. There was no score in the game until the third inning, where the Cougars would strike first in the top half of the inning, thanks to an RBI single by Lauret, to give themselves a 1-0 lead.
Olivet would answer swiftly, scoring one run of their own in the bottom half of the third inning to tie the game at 1-1. From this point, the Cougars and the Tigers’ pitchers would lock in from there.
Neither teams’ pitchers allowed their opponents to score, let alone allow eventual base runners to get into a scoring position. Due to this style of play, the game would be forced to go into extra innings to determine the winner.
In the top of the ninth inning, the #5 ranked team in the NAIA came through in a big way, scoring five runs to bust the game open and give the Cougars a 6-1 win.
Once again, Nonnemacher came in relief of pitcher Callie Brown in the second game of a doubleheader, pitching 4 2/3 innings of shutout baseball, while giving up only one hit and one walk and striking out nine batters in order to collect her astounding 20th win of the season.
Lauret led the team offensively in this game collecting two hits in four at bats as well as scoring a run and driving in three runs.
With the sweep, the Cougars clinched the CCAC Conference Title for the regular season. The sweep also improved their record to 38-4-2 with a conference record of 19-0-1.
Thursday
The Saint Xavier softball team played in a doubleheader against the University of St. Francis. The Cougars swept their doubleheader with their conference rivals to finish their conference season without a loss.
Like most games that the Cougars played in this year, the Cougars took the lead first when they scored one run in the bottom of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. The run was scored off of a sacrifice fly by second baseman Savannah Kinsella.
From this point, both pitchers performed great in this game as they allowed neither team to do anything in the game. Both pitchers had some great stuff in this game and consistently showing that each pitcher had full control over their opponents offense.
The only other run of the game would once again come off the bat of Kinsella, hitting a lead-off solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead. The Cougars then held the Fighting Saints scoreless in the top of the seventh to end the game and hold on to their 2-0 lead to win game one.
Every time pitcher Nicole Nonnemacher takes the mound, she usually ends up being the star of the game and game one proved that statement to be true. She pitched another complete game shutout in this one and allowed only one hit and one walk while striking out 15 batters to pick up her 21st win of the season.
In game two, St. Francis took the first lead of the game, scoring one run in the top of the second inning to take an early 1-0 lead. The Cougars would wait until the bottom of the third inning to answer the Fighting Saints’ run with one of their own to tie the game at 1-1.
The run came off the bat of shortstop Rebeka Ferguson when she hit a solo home run. St. Francis was not rattled by the home run though, scoring another run in the very next inning to make the score 2-1 after the top of the fourth inning.
Fortunately for the Cougars, they would not wait as long to respond to their opponent’s score. The Cougars scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth courtesy of a two RBI double by first baseman Amanda Hainlen to give the Cougars their first lead of the game at 3-2.
In the fifth inning the Cougars’ offense surged, scoring a total of six runs in the inning to make their lead balloon to the score of 9-2. Their offensive surge was also helped by two Fighting Saints’ errors in the inning.
St. Francis would score two runs in the sixth inning to cut their deficit to 9-4, but that was all they could muster up for the rest of the game as the Cougars took this game by the final score of 9-4 to complete the sweep of their conference rivals.
Starting pitcher Callie Brown pitched well enough to collect her 17th win of the year, allowing only two runs in four innings of play. This game was won by the offense. The Cougars were led by Hainlen in this game as she would lead the game in RBIs with a total of three.
As a team, the offense went 12-29 from the plate to total a robust team batting average of .413. With the sweep, the Cougars finished their conference regular season with a near perfect record of 21-0-1. Their total record moved to 40-4-2.
Saturday
The #5 ranked Saint Xavier softball team battled in a doubleheader against another ranked team: the #24 ranked Davenport University Panthers. The Cougars took game one, but lost game two due to a missed opportunity.
Game one of the doubleheader started with Cougars jumping out to a 2-0 in the top of the first inning. The two runs were scored by a two RBI single by third baseman Sarah Saunders.
At the time, it did not seem as if those runs were the only two runs of the game, but that’s how the game ended up as both pitchers would shut down their opponents for the entire game with the exception of the top of the first inning.
Neither team was able to push across another run thanks to the dominant performance by each pitcher as both women showed why they are the aces of their respective pitching staff.
Both pitchers deserved the win in this one, but it was the Cougars early offensive output that allowed them to take game one by the score of 2-0. Per usual, Nicole Nonnemacher was the star of the game due to her utter domination of her opponent.
She recorded another completed game shutout, her 13th of the season to be exact, giving up only two hits and striking out nine batters while picking up her 22nd win of the season. She also held the Panthers to a party team batting average of .086.
Game two started out much differently as Davenport was the first team to score, scoring one run in the bottom of the second inning to take a 1-0 game lead. The Cougars looked like they answered right back in the top of the third, loading up the bases with two outs in the inning.
Unfortunately, they could not capitalize on their opportunity to put a crooked number into the scoreboard. This missed chance would eventually come back to haunt the Cougars.
The Cougars would not be shut out in this game, scoring two runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 2-1 lead. The first run of the inning was scored courtesy of an RBI double by Saunders, while the second run was scored off of an RBI single by designated player Megan James.
This lead would not last long though, as the Panthers came right back in the bottom of the fourth inning to score two runs of their own and re-take the lead at 3-2. Unlike other games that the Cougars have played this season, the Cougars could not come back in this game as their offense was shut down the rest of the game.
Davenport would add three more runs in the bottom of the sixth to put the game away and end the Cougars’ hopes of making a comeback as #24 Davenport took this game by the score of 6-2.
Pitcher Callie Brown struggled in this game, pitching 5 1/3 innings while giving up seven hits, three walks, and six runs in the game. With the split, the Cougars regular season has come to a close with a record of 41-5-2.
The next challenge for the Cougars to overcome is the 2015 CCAC Softball Tournament which begins on April 30, against the winner of the Calumet of St. Joseph and the University of St. Francis game.
John Romando
Senior Sports Editor
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