FOND DU LAC, Wis. - Marian University softball (17-7, 5-3 NACC) swept Concordia Chicago at home with finals of 9-1, six innings, and 4-3.

The Marian offense took a while to start up in game one but behind the arm of senior Shannon Huray the Sabres were able to defeat the Cougars in six innings to open the day.

CUC opened the scoring in the top of the second but the lead didn't last long as sophomore Olivia Hartley drove a single down the right field line to bring senior Nicole LaBeck in the bottom half of the inning to knot the game at 1-1.

The Sabres then took their first lead of the game in the next inning starting with a double steal that allowed freshman Ally Fox to score.  Fellow freshman Gianna Esposito then drove in sophomore Lindsey Strainis before LaBeck brought in Esposito with an RBI ground out.

LaBeck once again put together a good at bat in the bottom of the fifth with a double to left center that brought around senior Sara Terrian and Esposito to give MU a 6-1 advantage.

A Strainis single that plated Fox and senior Tiffany Castillo was followed by a single from Esposito that induced the mercy rule and gave Marian the 9-1 win.

Huray (9-5) was dominant in the circle only allowing one run while scattering five hits and striking out five in her 6.0 innings of work.

The top five Sabres in the lineup combined to go 9-16 led by Strainis who finished 3-4 with two runs scored and two runs batted in.

The Cougars once again opened the scoring in game two with a pair of runs in the first inning but the Sabres were able to cut into the lead in the bottom of the third with a sacrifice fly from Fox that scored Castillo.

The Cougars responded, however, plating a run in the fourth to extend their lead back out to two at 3-1.

The Marian bats were then able to come up clutch in the bottom of the fifth scoring three runs to take their first lead of the game at 4-3.  A two-out single from Strainis brought in senior Charlotte Pegram, which was followed by a single to left field from Esposito scoring Hartley and Fox.

From there the Sabre defense was able to take over and seal the 4-3 come from behind win.

Freshman Paige Rauhut (7-2) bounced back after the slow start to have four three up three down innings.

Pegram was the only Sabre with multiple hits in the win going 2-3 with a run scored, while Esposito finished 1-3 with two runs batted in.

Marian closes out the homestand hosting Lakeland Wednesday, April 12 for a 5 p.m. doubleheader.

--FightBlueFight--