Falconer And Leitner Lead Cobbers In Conference Opener
ST. PETER, Minn. (4/04/24)---After a 28-day break between games, Concordia was finally able to open conference play as they squared off against Gustavus in St. Peter. It was all offense in Game 1 and then a pitcher's duel in Game 2 with the Cobbers falling 12-4 in six innings and then 2-1 in the finale.
Kailee Falconer and Mallory Leitner led Concordia in the team's first game since Mar. 7. Falconer was the only CC player to have a hit in both games and went 3-for-6 on the day with a pair of RBI and is now hitting .472 on the year, while Leitner pitched a pearl in the second game by only allowing four hits and faced the minimum number of batters in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.
Game 1: Concordia 4, Gustavus 12
The Cobbers showed signs of not playing for 28 days as they fell behind 8-0 after two innings. Concordia finally found their groove in the third inning and played Gustavus to a 4-4 tie through the final four innings of play.
Concordia cut into the Gusties' 8-run lead by scoring a pair of runs in the third frame. Falconer doubled home Jillian Martinez after Martinez walked and then stole second base. Falconer scored on the next at-bat when the Gustavus defense committed its only error of the game.
CC added single runs in the fourth and fifth to get to within five runs at 9-4 but then Gustavus countered with the final three scores of the game. Gabriella Castro hit a 1-out single to right field and then came home on a double from Karissa Finnigan to record the run in the fourth frame. Danielle Lyon was responsible for the run in the fifth when she singled to left field to plate Rosie Unglaub, who pinch ran for Gabby Brown after Brown came through with a 2-out walk.
The Cobbers had six hits in the opener with Falconer and Finnigan coming through with 2-hit games. Both players were 2-for-3 and combined for two of the team's four RBI.
Finnigan also got the call in the circle. She pitched all 5.1 innings, allowed nine earned runs and struck out one.
Game 2: Concordia 1, Gustavus 2
The second game featured three 1-run innings. Gustavus got on the board first with a score in the bottom of the second, Concordia tied the game in the top of the third before the Gusties claimed the game-winning run in the bottom of the third.
Falconer once again proved a clutch hit for CC. She hit a 1-out single up the middle that scored Castro from third base. Castro got on the bases with a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Martinez and then moved up to third on a passed ball.
The story of the finale for the Cobbers was the pitching of Leitner. She only gave up hits in two of the six innings and didn't allow a hit after the third inning. After the third frame, Leitner conceded a single walk with that runner quickly being erased on a double play ball.
She finished the game by giving up only four hits and a walk. Leitner didn't allow an extra-base knock in the 6.0 innings she pitched.
Falconer and Reese Hauck had the hits for CC. Falconer was 1-for-3 from the leadoff spot, while Hauck went 1-for-2 with a 2-out double in the second inning.
UP NEXT: Concordia will have a shorter break before their next game. CC will travel to St. Paul to take on Macalester on Saturday, Apr. 6 at 1 p.m.