- GAME ACTION 360
Sunday, April 14,2024 - The Cougars entered their final home series against the Maple Leafs (Goshen University) trying to improve their standings in the Crossroads League standings. They came into series fifth overall and they needed four wins to solidify a fourth place position. In their previous home series, they won the overall series 3-1 against the Marian University Knights, leaving the Cougars just behind the Knights in the conference. A series sweep would give the Cougars the upper hand for fourth and position them to possibly overtake Huntington University for third heading into the final conference games of the 2024 season.
In the first game, the Cougars’ offense pounced on the opportunity scoring 10 runs while the defense allowed only two runs. Eight Cougar batters participated in the onslaught each having at least one hit. Sam Pesa had a perfect day with 4 hits in as many at-bats and scoring 3 runs. Nick Parsons also had a great day having two hits, including a homerun. Perry Stow was the first game’s starting pitching, going 5 innings and allowing only 1 ER on 2 hits. The Cougar’s relief continued the pressure on the Leafs and secured the first win for the Cougars.
The Cougars continued scoring runs in the second game, but the Maple Leafs offense broke from their slump. The Leafs managed to come from behind and tie the game heading into the fifth inning at 5-5. The Cougars ultimately scored the winning run in the bottom of the 6th inning and shut out the Leafs to take the first two games of the series.
On Sunday, Goshen was eager to avenge the previous day’s losses and jumped to an early lead in the first game. But the Cougars offense continued to pour runs onto the scoreboard. Sam Pesa hit an opposite field homerun using the prevailing winds to help propel the laser beam off the scoreboard.
For the final game of the series, the offenses of both teams succumbed to the pitchers turning the game into a pitcher’s duel. The Cougar's Swanson dominated the Maple Leafs' offense, throwing a complete-game shut out and striking out 11 batters.