Godfrey, IL - It was an afternoon of consistency at Glazebrook Park for the Illinois Central College Softball team (10-11), as the Cougars went down to Godfrey to face off against the Lewis & Clark Trailblazers in Region 24 action. The Cougars would cruise to a pair of wins with final scores of 9-1 and 11-1, and were able to push across at least one run in 10 of those 11 innings. 

GAME ONE | ILLINOIS CENTRAL 9, LEWIS & CLARK 1 (5 inn.)
The Cougars certainly didn't waste any time hitting the scoreboard. After Kelsey Bartels reached on a leadoff single, capitalizing on a 2-0 count, Kayleigh Harr lined an RBI double out to left to score Bartels for an early 1-0 lead. A sacrifice bunt from Courtney Campbell got Olivia Strawn to score after Strawn had reached on another Cougar leadoff single, with ICC now ahead 2-0. Strawn would manufacture a run herself with an RBI single on a 3-1 count to score Harr in the third. 

It would be the fourth inning that proved to be the 'dagger' inning. ICC got another leadoff baserunner, this time a Campbell double. A Bartels sacrifice put Campbell across home plate, and that was following by Nivarra Oredina winning a 6-pitch battle with a home run to center and swelling the lead to 5-0. 

After Bailey Herrick (error) and Cassidee Bauer (walk) had both reached base and both advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch, Marlee Brown sent them both home with a two-run single for a seven-run advantage. Icing on the cake was Strawn making it 8-0 on an RBI triple before the inning could come to an end. 

Broghan Hall and the ICC defense continued to limit the Trailblazers to no more than four-batter innings, and that enabled ICC to tack one more on in the fifth. After Bartels had reached on an error, Harr fought off a 13-pitch at bat for an RBI single and a nine-run margin, meaning, so long as the Cougars held Lewis & Clark to one run or fewer in the bottom half, this one was over. 

Over, it would be. After a pair of Hall strikeouts got the frame started, the Trailblazers did make a little noise with an error, single, and RBI single, but a fielder's choice to Nivarra Oredina shut the door for the eight-run victory. 

COUGAR HITTING
Kelsey Bartels (LF) | 1 single, 1 RBI, 1 stolen base
Nivarra Oredina (SS) | 1 home run, 1 RBI
Kayleigh Harr (3B) | 2 singles, 1 double, 2 RBI
Cassidee Bauer (C) | 3 walks
Marlee Brown (1B) | 1 single, 2 RBI
Olivia Strawn (RF) | 2 singles, 1 triple, 2 RBI, 1 stolen base
Courtney Campbell (CF) | 1 single, 1 double, 1 RBI, 1 stolen base
Reagan Linder (2B) | 1 stolen base

COUGAR PITCHING
Broghan Hall (W) | 5 innings, 4 hits, 0 earned runs, 0 walks, 4 strikeouts

GAME TWO | ILLINOIS CENTRAL 11, LEWIS & CLARK 1 (6 inn.)
If any of those in the blue and gold were concerned that the offense had been used up in the first game, rest assured, that would not be the case, as it would be more of the same in game two. 

Nivarra Oredina would score on an error for the first run of the game before Lewis & Clark would get their run in the bottom half, much earlier than their game one score. ICC would roar to the tune of 10 unanswered runs after that. 

There were eventually three three-run innings that would follow. In the second, after Marlee Brown and Reagan Linder reached on a pair of singles, Courtney Campbell took a 1-2 pitch over the right field fence for a 4-1 lead. 

The offenses took a brief break, with Emily Compton holding things down in the circle on part of the Cougars. Brown would end the small scoring drought with a solo home run to start the fourth to go ahead 5-1 after three and a half. 

The long ball appeared to be the theme of the day, as Kayleigh Harr joined the party with one of her own, and with Oredina on the basepaths after a single, made it 7-1. Graci Guenther would score on a passed ball for a seven-run lead after the top of the fifth. 

Oredina would set the final margin on, perhaps to no surprise, another home run, scoring both Campbell (single) and Bartels (single) to set the final score. 

Lewis & Clark would make things interesting in the bottom of the sixth with two singles and a walk to load the bases, but Compton would strike out one more Trailblazer to end the game early. 

COUGAR HITTING
Kelsey Bartels (LF) | 2 singles
Nivarra Oredina (SS) | 3 singles, 1 home run, 3 RBI, 2 stolen bases
Kayleigh Harr (3B) | 1 single, 1 home run, 2 RBI, 1 walk
Graci Guenther (C) | 2 doubles
Alaina Creamer (DP) | 1 single
Marlee Brown (1B) | 1 single, 1 home run, 1 RBI, 1 stolen base
Reagan Linder (2B) | 1 single
Courtney Campbell (CF) | 1 single, 1 home run, 3 RBI

COUGAR PITCHING
Emily Compton (W) | 6 innings, 5 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
@ Lincoln Land Loggers (9-11)
at LLCC Softball Field - Springfield, IL
2:00 PM First Pitch (DH)