In the opening game of the double header, the Lancers lost the lead late in a 15-5 defeat to the Braves of Black Hawk College on Sunday. The game was tied at three in the top of the fourth when Black Hawk's Emily Gamble doubled on a 2-1 count, scoring three runs.
CLC took an early lead in the first inning on a Haley Bibby double that scored two runs. CLC and Black Hawk traded early runs before Black Hawk broke the game open in fourth inning.
Gamble earned the victory on the rubber for the Braves surrendering five runs on five hits while striking out four over five innings of work. Brooke Behrens took the loss for the Lancers. The righthander allowed eight runs on nine hits over three and two-thirds innings, while striking out three.
Lindsay Stoltz added a long ball in the fourth inning while Olivia Joyce helped the offense with two hits in the contest.
In the nightcap, the Braves and Lancers traded big innings, but the Lancers bats prevailed in game two to earn the split on the day. The fourth inning featured an offensive explosion for both clubs, as the Braves scored seven runs to take control 9-3, but the Lancers answered back with a 10 run inning to earn the victory in Game 2, 13-10 on Sunday.
The bats were blistering hot in the fourth inning that featured 17 runs on 19 hits between the two teams. For the game, the Lancers collected 12 hits while Black Hawk tallied 14 of their own.
CLC's fourth inning was started off when the Braves' Malmstrom induced Haley Bibby to hit into a fielder's choice, but one run scored, Enedy Perez then singled on a 1-2 count, scoring one run, followed by a two run single off the bat of Peyton Gest. Malmstrom then found herself in trouble loading the bases on successive walks to Brooke Bennett and Lexi Koepke. Lindsay Stoltz provided the big strike for the Lancers when she doubled off the wall on a 3-2 pitch that scored three more runs in the inning.
Kourtney Mercer earned the victory for the Lancers on her complete game yielding ten runs on fourteen hits while striking out one on the day.
With the win, the Lancers moved to 3-17 on the early season, and will next go on the road to take on Illinois Skyway Conference foe Prairie State College on Tuesday with a 3:00pm scheduled first pitch.
