Concord Downs UNC-Pembroke and FMU

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
The Mountain Lions (4-0) started its day by rallying from five runs down to defeat UNC-Pembroke, 9-7 before disposing of Francis Marion 2-1 in the nightcap.

Concord was paced on the afternoon by freshman outfielder Lauren Lewis and sophomore second baseman Kristen Rose. Lewis combined to go 3-for-7 with three runs scored, one home run and five RBI. Rose continued the strong start to her CU career by driving in three runs on 3-for-8 batting including one double.

Game 1: Concord 9 – UNC-Pembroke 7 (8 Innings) (Box Score)
The Braves jumped out to a 2-0 lead through two innings only to have Concord even the contest in the fourth off of RBI singles by Lewis and Rose with Lewis driving home junior Whitney Carrigan and later scoring on Rose's base knock.

However, the game appeared to quickly get out of reach for Concord after UNC-Pembroke seemingly broke the game open with five runs over the next two innings to take a 7-2 advantage heading into the sixth inning.

Not to be outdone, Concord rattled off five runs of its own in the top of the sixth. The rally started with a three-run home run by Lewis that scored freshman shortstop Alayna Furr and freshman catcher Carly DiVirgilio, who had led off the frame with a single and a walk respectively. The deep shot was Lewis' first collegiate home run.

The comeback continued over the next two at-bats with junior outfielder Jessica Seymour and Rose hitting back-to-back singles. After Seymour scored on a wild pitch, junior Lacey McDougall brought Rose home off of a single of her own to make it a 7-7 contest through six innings of play.

Concord was held in check in the seventh inning and it appeared as if the Braves would win with a walk-off after they put runners on second and third with no outs in the bottom of the seventh, but sophomore pitcher Allie Reid came through with consecutive strikeouts and a forced groundout to send the contest into extra innings.

The Mountain Lions wasted little time in the eighth inning, plating a pair of runs off of an RBI-triple from Seymour and a sacrifice fly by Rose that brought in Seymour to give CU its two-run edge. Reid secured the 9-7 win in the bottom of the frame by retiring the side in order.

Seven different Concord players registered multi-hit games in the opener with Lewis leading the way on a 2-for-4, three run, one home run, four-RBI effort. McDougall tallied a three-hit game to go with one RBI while Rose knocked in a pair of runners with two hits.

DiVirgilio, Furr, Seymour, freshman third baseman Kelsey Lineberger all totaled two hits as well.

In the circle, Reid improved to 2-0 on the season after going 5.1 innings, striking out three and allowing four runs. Freshman pitcher Sarah Herndon threw 2.2 innings in relief of Reid, allowing three runs on four hits in addition to two strikeouts. 

Game Two: Concord 2 – Francis Marion 1 (8 Innings) (Box Score)
Offense was at a premium in the nightcap as the Mountain Lions managed just three hits, but combined great pitching with timely hitting en route to the win over Francis Marion.

Both teams came away with runs in the second inning with Concord's coming on an RBI-single to right field from Lewis that scored Reid, who had led off the inning with a single before advancing to third on a stolen base and FMU throwing error.

The score remained deadlocked at 1-1 over the next five innings as McDougall and Patriot hurler Katie Carnes took turns silencing the opposition. Over the following six innings McDougall struck out five batters and scattered five hits while Carnes countered by surrendering one hit and fanning nine Mountain Lion hitters.

CU pushed through for the game-winning run in the eighth thanks to a double by Rose which scored sophomore outfielder Kristi Benvenuto, who started the inning placed on second due to international tiebreaker rules.

McDougall then ensured her second victory of the season with three consecutive outs in bottom of the eighth for the victory. McDougall struck out seven batters, just one off of her career-high, in the complete-game triumph. 

Concord will look to remain undefeated on the season when it wraps up its time at the UNC-Pembroke Invitational Friday against Kutztown and in a rematch vs. Francis Marion.