Friday, May 23, 2025
Third time’s the charm. After the two previous times of trying to host the Abilene Cowgirls’ softball team got postponed due to weather, the Concordia High School softball team split the doubleheader against the rolling Cowgirls.
In game one, the Panthers won 2-0.
A pitching duel went on throughout the entire game. With a total of only five hits in the entire game, Concordia’s Jaylin Roush and Abilene’s Charlie Elliot were locked in from the first pitch.
The Cowgirls got three runners on base to start the game, but Roush was able to eliminate the threats. Camleigh Hake got the first hit for the Panthers, but was left on base.
Both teams would struggle to get on base until the bottom of the fourth inning. The Panthers scored two runs on two hits. A dropped third strike allowed Hake to get on base, which allowed Roush to get on base due to a fielder’s choice. A double by Kenlee Williams and a single by Alyssa Patterson allowed Roush and Williams to score, giving the Panthers a 2-0 lead.
Abilene finally got a hit in the sixth inning, their only of the game, before the pitchers closed the game as the Panthers took game one.
Roush had five strikeouts, two walks, and two hits by pitch in the win.
In game two, the Panthers lost 12-4.
Abilene got on the board in the first inning, after a hit by pitch and a single allowed the leadoff to score. The Panthers got three hits in the bottom of the inning but couldn’t get one across the plate. A Williams home run in the second inning would tie the game 1-1.
The Cowgirls took a one-run lead back in the third inning before exploding for four runs in the fourth and fifth innings to make it a 10-1 ball game. The Panthers would get a Morgan Lister score in the sixth, but two Abilene runs in the sixth closed the door to split the doubleheader.
Starting a six-game road stretch to close the regular season, the CHS softball team defeated Minneapolis 5-3 in both games, with game two requiring extra innings.
