Melbourne, FL - The 16th-ranked Illinois Central College Softball team played two more games in Florida on Sunday, taking on the Monroe Tribunes before battling the Bryant & Stratton (WI) Bobcats. The Cougars got some late sixth-inning fireworks to slip past the Tribunes 3-2 in the opener before the Bobcats brought the bats to the day's finale, out-scoring ICC 19-7. 

GAME 1 | #16 ILLINOIS CENTRAL 3, MONROE-NY 2
The Cougars got on the board first in the top of the third inning after a bit of a slow offensive start for both sides. After Laila Harris doubled on a 1-0 pitch, Bailey Herrick scored her after fending off a 3-1 pitch to give ICC a 1-0 lead. 

After the Tribunes answered the next half inning to tie the game up, both teams' pitchers did their work, keeping everyone off the scoreboard all the way until the bottom of the fifth. Monroe succeeded on a double steal, with the latter taking home and a 2-1 lead. 

It began to take shape as a game of runs, as the Cougars immediately countered. Danni Neppl drew a five-pitch walk and Meadow Terry doubled to put two runners in scoring position for Kaitlyn Atkinson, who won a seven-pitch at bat with a double to right, scoring both Neppl and Terry and setting what would turn into the final margin. 

In the bottom of the sixth, Monroe got the tying run on base, but Cassidee Bauer caught the runner stealing, and Terry shut the door with a strikeout to send it to the seventh. 

In the seventh, ICC got plenty of traffic, thanks to a Morgan Kessler single and Kayleigh Harr walk, but both were stranded in scoring position to keep the one-score game. 

Terry and the Cougar defense made quick work of the Tribunes in the bottom of the seventh, with Terry needing just 13 pitches to retire Monroe-NY 1-2-3 to end the game. 

GAME 2 | BRYANT & STRATTON-WI 19, #16 ILLINOIS CENTRAL 7
ICC got off to a great start in the day's finale, putting the Bobcats down 1-2-3 in the first and getting a Kayleigh Harr RBI double and Samantha Verstraete hit a two-run homer to take an early 3-0 lead. The Cougars even held the Bobcats scoreless again in the second. 

Fast forward to the third, with the game still 3-0 ICC. The flood gates would open, just not in favor of the Cougars. A two-run error, RBI single, RBI single, RBI double, and RBI single turned the game on its head, now a 6-3 Bobcat lead. 

The Cougars did fight back. After a Verstraete double, Meadow Terry homered to cut the game back to a one-run margin at 6-5 Bryant & Stratton-WI. 

The Bobcats, however, also answered, drawing an RBI walk and a 2-run single to pull ahead 9-5. As it would turn out, the 6-5 score in the third is the closest the game would be the rest of the way. 

Both teams went scoreless in the fifth before an RBI triple, RBI single, RBI sacrifice bunt, and RBI single allowed Bryant & Stratton to truly pull away, as they led 13-5 after the top of the sixth. 

ICC made one last push in the bottom of the sixth. Kaitlyn Atkinson doubled and Abbie Lohman singled to put two on with nobody out. A successful Morgan Kessler bunt scored Atkinson. Lohman scored after Kennedy Cleeton had reached on a fielder's choice to make it 13-7 Bobcats. 

Bryant & Stratton, however, wasn't done yet. In the top of the seventh, an RBI single, error, error, and three-run single set what would become the final margin at 19-7 Bobcats. 

The Cougars made chase in the bottom half with singles from Terry and Atkinson, plus a walk from Kessler, but the game ended with the bases stranded loaded.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE COUGARS
The Spring Games
vs. Williston State & Dakota County Tech
Monday, March 16th - 9:00 AM & 1:30 PM CST
Space Coast Complex - Melbourne, FL