AURORA, Ill. – The MSOE softball team earned the No. 5 seed as they opened the first round of the 2025 NACC Softball Tournament, in a single elimination bracket.  The Raiders would best the No. 8 Aurora Spartans and the No. 4 Concordia Chicago Cougars as the Red and White survived and advanced to the double elimination portion of the tournament.
 
RESULTS

No. 5 MSOE RAIDERS – 4
No. 8 Aurora University - 1

No. 5 MSOE RAIDERS– 6
No. 4 Concordia Chicago - 4

HOW IT HAPPENED

• vs Aurora
  • No. 5 MSOE (21-21, 15-9 NACC) leapt out in front of No. 8 Aurora (23-18, 13-11 NACC) in the bottom of the first inning, wasting little time as Autumn Sadler led off with a double before advancing to third on a single from Jenna O'Donnell.  Alyssa Jacobson would step into the batter's box and crush a home run to left field for a 3-0 lead in favor of the Red and White as Jacobson continues to increase the single-season home run record for the Raiders.
  • The Raiders would add one more run in the first on an RBI single from Caroline Fouras, giving Katie Pollock four runs of support, double what she would need.  The sophomore would stifle the Spartans all afternoon, allowing just five hits while striking out two.  Pollock would go all seven innings for the Red and White, picking up her thirteenth win of the season as the Raiders survive and advance to the next game of the single elimination opening round.
• vs Concordia Chicago
  • In their second game of the afternoon, the Raiders clashed with the Cougars (23-16-1, 16-8 NACC) as MSOE broke through first in the top of the second inning. The Raiders took advantage of an error by the Cougars catcher, allowing Fouras to come across and give MSOE a 1-0 lead.  Concordia Chicago would go on to tie the game in the bottom of the inning, before taking a 2-1 lead after the third. 
  • The Raiders retired in order in the fourth, still trailing the Cougars 2-1.  With two outs in the fifth, the Red and White finally caught a spark on a single from Jayda Nelson, before an RBI ground-rule double from Carlee Emery tied the game up at 2-2.  Pollock followed up Emery with a base hit of her own, as MSOE regained the lead 3-2 heading to the bottom of the fifth.
  • The Raiders found themselves trailing once more in the bottom of the fifth after a double from the Cougars brought two around for a 4-3 CUC lead.  Olivia Beals reached first on an error, before advancing to third after a Raider bunt and groundout.  The Red and White would once again inflict two-out damage on the Cougars, as a single from O'Donnell tied the game up, before Nelson blasted a ball to the left center gap, bringing two across and giving MSOE a 6-4 lead.
  • After going the distance against the Spartans, Pollock would enter the game in the seventh looking to convert the save opportunity. The Griffith, Indiana native worked her way out of an early jam to allow no runs and lock-up the win for the Raiders in a clutch spot.

 
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES

• vs Aurora
  • Alyssa Jacobson – 1 for 3, Home Run, 3 RBI, Run
  • Katie Pollock – 7 IP, 2 Ks, 0 Earned Runs
• vs Concordia Chicago
  • Jayda Nelson – 2 for 4, Double, 2 RBI, Run
  • Jenna O'Donnell – 2 for 4, RBI, Run

WHO'S ON DECK
The Raiders have moved on to the double elimination stage of the NACC Tournament, and will face No. 1 Concordia Wisconsin tomorrow, May 9^th, at 4:00 P.M. in Aurora, Ill.

For up-to-the-minute MSOE Raiders news, visit us at MSOERaiders.com. You can also follow the Red & White on Twitter @MSOE_Raiders and @msoe_raiders on Instagram.