Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Playing a pair of tough road games at Hope International, Cougar softball earned a split.  CSUSM lost game one 4-1, but rallied to win game two 4-0.

The #21-ranked Cougars are now 13-10 on the year.

Game one was a tightly-played contest, with CSUSM holding a small lead for most of the game.  Lauren Nelson belted a one-out triple in the second inning, and Elizabeth Bush drove her in with a double, putting the Cougars up 1-0. 

On the mound, San Marcos starter Brenna Sandberg protected that lead well in her four innings of work.  Sandberg allowed just one hit and one walk while posting an impressive six strikeouts.

But things went south for the Cougars in the fifth.  RBI doubles by Renee Boiler and Sheyna Alarcon put Hope International up 4-1, and CSUSM was unable to rally in the seventh.

Despite the close loss, Coach Kelly Warren's squad bounced back nicely in game two.  Melissa Lerno, who stroke out 14 in her last start, went right back to work on Thursday, posting 11 K's this time around.  She went the distance, tossing a four-hit zero-walk shutout.

And Lerno got more than enough support at the plate.  The Cougars broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning, as Shannon Essig drew a walk, Marly Barth sacrificed her over, and Ashley Estepa knocked an RBI double to make it 1-0.  After an out, a pair of walks loaded the bases, and both Alicia Ingram and Elizabeth Bush patiently waited out walks of their own, pushing the lead to 3-0.

CSUSM got one more in the fifth, when Alyssa Dronenburg reached on an error, was doubled over to third by Ingram, and came in to score on a Nelson base hit.  Lerno shut down the opposition in the seventh to secure the victory and earn the split.

Cougar softball will be back at home on Saturday when they face Biola.