Playing on the road against #11 Concordia, Cougar softball picked up a pair of huge wins on Tuesday.  CSUSM won game 5-4, then got a run in extra innings of game two to pull out a 3-2 win.  Cougar softball is now 24-16 on the season.

In game one, the teams traded runs for the first few innings, and were tied 3-3 after the third.  For the Cougars, Tasha Stokes singled in Lauren Nelson in the second, and Alyssa Dronenburg blasted a two-run homer to center the following inning, her team-leading 8th of the season.

CSUSM would continue to push, and taking the lead once and for all in the fourth.  Tasha Stokes knocked a one-out single, and a base hit by Ciera Ashman and walk by Alicia Ingram loaded the bases for red-hot Ashley Estepa.  Estepa delivered, hitting an RBI single to third that was subsequently thrown away, allowing the second run to score.

That would be enough for starter Melissa Lerno, who battled through the early innings to finish off the game and pick up the win.  Lerno K'd an impressive 11 hitters, scattering 9 hits and 4 walks.

In game two, starting pitcher Brenna Sandberg allowed a pair of runs over the first two innings, and then was virtually untouchable for the rest of the game.  Sandberg, who has been oustanding this season, didn't walk a single hitter during her 8 innings of work, allowing just 6 hits while striking out 6. 

The Cougars started off the game with a run, as Estepa, Dronenburg, and Nelson strung together singles to put San Marcos up early. 

After Concordia got its two early runs, the 2-1 deficit would persist until CSUSM tied it up in the fifth inning.  Ingram ripped a one-out double to right center, and Estepa continued to come through in the clutch, scoring Ingram with an RBI base hit.  

The game would remain tied through the seventh inning, and came down to fundamentals and execution in the extras.  With Shanti Poston placed on second to start the Cougars' half of the inning, Ingram laid down a perfect bunt and was able to reach base.  That brought up Estepa, and she got the job done as Concordia was unable to cut down the runner at the plate.

That made it 3-2 CSUSM, and it was up to Sandberg to stop Concordia from getting its runner home.  After the runner was sacrificed to third to lead off the inning, Sandberg proved up to the task, inducing two groundouts to deny the run and close out the huge win for CSUSM.

The team will be back in action this Saturday at Azusa Pacific.