East Peoria, Ill. - Opportunities to see the ICC softball team (25-15) are becoming few and far between, as Wednesday's doubleheader tilt with Parkland marked just the third home / mid-week doubleheader of the season. While the Cobras took an early advantage and stayed there in the opener, they simply were unable to find the run column in game two, getting shutout by the Cougars in the finale to secure the series split. 

Game One | (RV) Parkland Cobras 8, ICC COUGARS 2
What was once an early, but manageable 2-0 deficit ballooned in the fourth inning when the Parkland Cobras batted around, bringing 10 hitters to the plate, scoring five runs on two hits. That had ICC down 7-0. 

With the eight-run rule on the doorstep, the Cougar bats were able to push across runs in the fourth and fifth to extend the game, coming in the form of a home run from Olivia Drish and Kelsey Gillette scoring on an error. 

Parkland would counter with a home run of their own in the sixth to add some insurance and set the 8-2 final score. 

Game Two | ICC COUGARS 5, (RV) Parkland Cobras 0
Olivia Drish had the home run in game one. Naturally, she turned it into a quality start in the circle for game two. The freshman was perfect through three, and would retire 10 of the first 11 batters she faced. 

Yet before Drish could get too far into her outing, the ICC offense did a bit of scoreboard unloading themselves. It was six batters before the bottom of the first saw its first out. Add together a two-run double from Kiersten Manning, RBI single from Priscilla Peek, and an RBI sacrifice fly from Savanah Clifton, and the Cougars were already up 4-0 before they could even take the field a second time.

From there, however, the run opportunities for both sides were not near as frequent. 

In the fifth, Olivia Stirnaman would put the finishing touches on an eventual rivalry win with an RBI single to score Sydnee Usherwood and create the 5-0 final score. 

For her complete game shutout, Drish saw her final line go as follows: 7 innings, 5 hits, 0 earned runs, 1 strikeout, 1 walk. Drish also pitched a successful first pitch strike to all but seven of the batters she faced.

What's Next?
The Cougars are in the midst of a unique stretch to complete the regular season. Starting with Tuesday's road trip to John Wood, and ending with the upcoming Sunday regular season finale against Lewis & Clark, that all equals to 12 games in six days. The next stage of that stretch continues tomorrow, April 28th. The Cougars will once again hit the road, this time taking on Lewis & Clark. 

Last Time Out
This is the first time ICC and Lewis & Clark have squared off in 2022. The Cougars swept the two meetings in 2021 by scores of 8-7 and 12-3, respectively. 

Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score