Friday, in her first appearance as an Eagle, freshman Callie Nunes closed out the game with a save for Concordia on three strikeouts. Saturday, against Western Oregon University, Nunes did one better. In her first start, she tossed a no-hitter through five innings before CUI claimed the 12-0 win.
Game 1: Eagles post a dozen: Concordia began the scoring brigade in the top of the third. Sarah Kretschmar singled to second base and Lauren Lopez singled to short. Amanda Gjertsen knocked her second home in two games to left field for the 3-0 lead. With one down, Mackenzie Graham and Ashley Balestreri singled and Kailey Palazzolo doubled to bring them around. In the fourth, the Eagles added four more on five hits and homers from Ryann Ferguson and Michelle Lieng. Concordia extended the lead to 12 on four singles; from Sydni Dix, McKinsey Thorpe, Kretschmar and Lieng. Nunes, backed by an Eagle defense who combined for 15 put outs, sealed the no-no with three outs on four batters.
Eye Eye: Nunes struck out eight of 18 batters faced and walked two. Palazzolo, Gjertsen and Lieng each had two hits and multiple RBI while the Eagles posted 16 hits as a team.
Game 2: Eagles drop close contest: In the second game of the day at the Desert Stinger Tournament, CUI fell to Colorado Christian 4-6. Both teams were scoreless through two, until Amy Eilefson singled up the middle and made her way to third on two CUI ground outs. With two down, Ferguson singled up the middle for the 1-0 lead. Colorado Christian retaliated in the bottom of third with three runs on an error, a hit and a home run. In the fourth, the Cougars tallied three more runs for the 6-1 advantage. Eilefson helped the Eagles cut down the deficit with a solo home run to center, but despite two players being hit at the plate, Concordia couldn't convert anymore runs until its final opportunity. The bottom of the seventh started with Lieng drawing a walk. Ferguson sent one over the fence for two additional Eagle runs, but two consecutive outs closed the game out in Colorado Christian's favor.
Eagles Eye: Grayson Harvey and Jordan Quinn each threw three innings and struck out two apiece. Ferguson was 3-3 with three RBI and Eilefson was 2-3 with one run and one RBI.
What's Next: Sunday, Concordia concludes the Desert Stinger with two games. First, the Eagles play Western Washington University beginning at 11:30 a.m. The final game is against Cal State Monterey Bay at 2 p.m.
