CLERMONT, Flor. -- Heading into their second day of the Spring Games tournament, the North Central University (NCU) took on the Chatham University (CU) Cougars first at 1:30 pm followed by a game with the Houghton College Highlanders at 4 pm. The Rams lost in a narrow game with the Cougars, 7-9, and took a tough loss to the Highlanders with a final score of 19-0.
Game One Recap
It was a quiet first inning as both teams warmed-up their arms and quickly got into some good hitting in the second inning. CU hit the scoreboard first with two runs quickly followed by NCU with a double to center field by
Lindsey DeJong (St. Charles, MO, St. Charles High School) to bring home
Aurora Prettyman (Portland, OR, ) followed by a triple down the right field line by
Sydney Harmon (Meno, OK, ) to bring in
DeJong and
Delaney Riddle (Lake Stevens, WA, ).
The Cougars tied it at 3-3 at the top of the third, but the Rams defense held CU from scoring for a couple innings. With
Harmon catching about everything in left field and
DeJong solid at first base, the fielding from NCU was hard to get past. Furthermore, the Rams had an explosive fourth inning on offense scoring four runs to CU's zero. A
Harmon walk first brought
Kali Kahalekomo (Muncie, IN, ) home, then a
Emma Cochran (Chewelah, WA, ) single to center field brought
Riddle home, and finally
Brooke McGlinchey (Belle Plaine, MN, ) single also to center field rounded up
Harmon and
DeJong putting up the Rams 7-3. The fifth inning was uneventful for both teams, but the last two innings were monumental for the Cougars as they scored six runs to give them the lead over NCU for a final score of 7-9.
Game Two Recap
Coming off a tight loss in their first matchup down in Florida, the Highlanders from Houghton College came out like they were shot out of a cannon. Houghton put a seven on the board in inning number one on the back of three hits in the inning and five total walks.
Looking to answer, the Rams threatened in the top half of the 2nd inning getting two runners on, but could not find a way to bring them across the plate. That was as much noise as the Rams would make on the offensive end the rest of the afternoon, while Houghton continued to find some rhythm at the plate. The Highlanders added eight more runs throughout the ball game in route to a 19-0 victory in 5 innings.
Key Performers
Looking Ahead
The Rams will continue their week in Florida with another double tomorrow, Tuesday the 1st. To start the day, NCU faces off neighboring school Concordia College of Minnesota at 12:15 pm and then will tough it out with Rose-Hullman at 3 pm. All fans are encouraged to tune into official Rams
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