In a match-up of ranked teams, #20 Cal State San Marcos suffered a pair of painful losses at home to #11 Concordia University (CA) on Saturday.  Game one was a 4-1 extra inning defeat, while game two was a 2-1 loss.

CSUSM is now 5-3 on the season, while Concordia is 4-0.

The theme of the day for the Cougars was missed opportunities.  In game one, the team loaded the bases with nobody out yet failed to produce a run, and that would continue throughout.  CSUSM left 12 runners on base in the contest.

The Cougars would take the game's first lead, thanks to a sac fly from Alyssa Dronenburg that scored Elizabeth Bush.  But Concordia would tie it up in the sixth, thanks to a two-out Shannon Walton RBI single off Cougar ace Brenna Sandberg.

The game would remain tied 1-1 into extras, but Concordia would string together four hits and score three in the 8^th.  CSUSM was unable to respond, as Sandberg, who pitched a better game than her final line indicates, fell to 4-1 on the season.  Concordia pitcher Jennifer Simons was dancing through a field of landmines all day, but managed to pull it off, throwing all eight innings to pick up the win.

In game two, opportunities for the Cougars would not be so readily available.  Concordia pitcher Morgan Reiter threw 7 innings of three-hit ball to earn the victory.

But once again, it would be CSUSM who took the game's first lead.  In the third inning, Ciera Ashman hit a deep sac fly to center that plated Tasha Stokes, putting the Cougars up 1-0.

Concordia would answer, however, this time in the fifth inning.  A leadoff walk by Ashman, who until that point had looked outstanding, set the table, and from there a base hit and double was all it took to put Concordia up 2-1.

CSUSM couldn't put together a rally in the late innings, putting Ashman on the hook for the loss.

Cougar softball will play at the So-Cal Smash, hosted by Cal Baptist, this upcoming Friday.