IRVINE, CA- The Cougars opened their season in California on Friday with a pair of matchups against Dominican and #17 Cal State East Bay at the Concordia Kickoff Classic. After shutting out the Penguins 3-0 in game one, CCU impressed in a statement 8-3 victory over the #17 nationally ranked Pioneers to start the season 2-0.
GAME ONE
After a pair of scoreless innings to start the regular season opener with Dominican, the Cougars broke through offensively in the third inning with a trio of runs.
Arriana Wright tallied the first RBI of the season with a double that scored
Kat Hanson, and
Leah Garcia followed with an RBI sac fly to make it 2-0.
Felesha LePenske made it 3-0 with a single through the right side to plate Wright as the third ended with a 3-0 lead for CCU.
The pitching and defense was stellar from there, as neither team was able to put any more runs across the plate as the Cougars closed out a season opening shutout win 3-0.
Grand Canyon transfer
Lisa Liddell was outstanding in her debut as a Cougar, picking up the complete game shutout victory by allowing just three hits and striking out two to quiet the Penguins. A balanced offensive effort and strong defense led the way in the victory.
GAME TWO
CCU had the chance to make a statement victory in their second contest of the day as they took on #17 Cal State East Bay. The Cougars did just that as they used effective offense and more stellar pitching to claim the victory.
After neither team scored in the first two innings, Hanson tripled in a run to make it 1-0.
Elyse McMullin then registered an RBI groundout, while Garcia picked up her teams' second triple of the inning to make it 3-0. The extra base hits continued as LePenske and
Paisley Williamson smacked doubles, with the latter being a two RBI knock as CCU led 6-0 after three innings of play.
The hitting onslaught continued as McMullin singled in another run in the fourth and Wright tallied a sacrifice fly in the sixth to make it 8-0. The Pioneers attempted a rally with three runs scored in the sixth, but a shutout seventh from
Hanna Espinoza sealed the impressive 8-3 victory.
LePenske was in the circle in game two for the Cougars, going six innings for the win with a pair of strikeouts in her CCU debut. The offense was excellent with six different players notching an RBI, led by Williamson and McMullin with two RBI apiece.
CCU will continue play at the Concordia Kickoff Classic on January 31 with a pair of games beginning with a tilt with Hawaii Pacific at 12 p.m. MST and closing the day with a matchup with Chaminade at 7 p.m. MST.
