Run support fails Cougars

It seemed as if seniors Monica Mueller and Kerri Gapka pitched for different teams on Thursday.

Mueller, an All-American, pitched the first game of Columbia College’s doubleheader against fellow Region 5 member Central Methodist and was supported with six runs.

Gapka didn’t have that benefit.

She started the second game against a reinvigorated Eagles lineup.

The Cougars (22-11) won the first game 6-1 and lost the second 5-1.

Coach Wendy Spratt said Mueller came out with the same intensity she had during her perfect game against Hannibal-LaGrange College on Tuesday. She held the Eagles to one hit Thursday.

“Monica had another great performance, and I felt really good about that,” Spratt said.

Doubles by Katie McMahon, a freshman third baseman, Ashley Perrigo, a sophomore shortstop, Heather Lang, a senior first baseman, and Sarah Moreau, a freshman catcher, led to three runs in the third inning. McMahon, Lang and Moreau were 2-for-3 in the first game.

Lang’s single to left field in the fifth scored Perrigo and Chris Schoonover, who had reached on errors. Lang then scored on an error by the Eagles’ catcher. “I felt like we played a pretty good game in the first game,” Spratt said. “We hit the ball well, had three doubles in one inning, scored a lot of runs, and manufactured a lot of runs. I feel really good about that performance.”

Manufacturing runs wasn’t as easy for the Cougars in the second game.

“Normally we’re a team that executes very well, we bunt well because we practice it a lot,” Spratt said. “Today we just didn’t get it done in the second game.”

Gapka (7-5) gave up six hits and five runs before McMahon replaced her in the fifth. McMahon said she was nervous but determined to get out of the inning.

“I knew the defense would make the plays we needed to get out of it,” she said.

McMahon held the Eagles (11-10) to two hits and no runs, but the Cougars were unable to score in the sixth or seventh.

“We talked a lot about effort level and really picking that up. I didn’t feel like we had the effort that we needed to have in the second game,” Spratt said. “We’re trying to get to the point where we’re consistent for 14 innings in a doubleheader. We weren’t there today.”

Spratt said she wants her team to make better decisions at the plate in regards to pitch selection and mechanics to avoid future losses to unranked teams.