GRAYSLAKE, Ill. — MATC dropped its fifth straight game Monday in its first true road doubleheader of the season, falling 6–5 in eight innings and 12–4 in five innings at College of Lake County. The Stormers showed late fight in the opener and jumped ahead early in Game 2, but CLC's timely hitting and MATC's defensive miscues swung the momentum in both contests.

"The girls made me happy with how we battled in Game 1, scoring two runs in the bottom of the seventh with two outs and nobody on," MATC head softball coach Joe Kuntner said. "Unfortunately, we made too many mental mistakes in the field in Game 2, which caused us to lose momentum after taking a 3–0 lead in the first inning."

The Stormers slipped to 4–10 overall after the sweep.

Game 1: CLC 6, MATC 5 (8 innings)
MATC clawed back throughout the opener and forced extra innings with a two‑out rally in the seventh, but College of Lake County slipped four straight singles through the infield in the bottom of the eighth, and the final one brought home the winning run in a 6–5  walk-off loss.

The early innings stayed tight. Neither team scored in the first, and when CLC loaded the bases with one out in the second, MATC starter Maiya Tearney limited the damage to a steal of home that put the Stormers behind 1–0. MATC answered in the third. Jayden Moss led off with a single and Emma Roeper followed with a double to the gap that tied the game. CLC responded in the bottom half with an inside‑the‑park three-run home run that pushed the Lancers ahead 4–1.

The Stormers kept chipping away. Amira Baldon walked to open the fourth and scored on Rylyn Paulick's RBI double. Baldon doubled again in the sixth and came home when Aniesa Neave forced a defensive mistake, trimming the deficit to 4–3. CLC regained a two‑run lead in the bottom of the inning on an MATC error.

Down 5–3 and down to their final out in the seventh, the Stormers produced their best rally of the day. Two walks and a defensive error brought home a run, and Ava D'Acquisto stole home to tie the game at 5–5 before a strikeout ended the inning.

Tearney opened the eighth with a strikeout, but CLC followed with four consecutive singles that ended the game. Tearney fell to 2–4 after allowing six runs, five earned, on 16 hits with two walks and seven strikeouts.

Roeper led MATC at the plate, going 2‑for‑4 with a double and an RBI. Baldon added a hit, walk and two runs scored.  Paulick chipped in a double and an RBI.

Game 2: CLC 12, MATC 4 (5 innings)
MATC carried early momentum into the second game and looked ready to salvage a split, but College of Lake County answered immediately and used three straight multi‑run innings to pull away for a 12–4, five‑inning win.

The Stormers opened with their most efficient inning of the day. Emma Roeper and Mia Carani lined back‑to‑back singles to start the first, and Rylyn Paulick reached on an error to load the bases. Roeper scored on the play, Carani crossed on Amira Baldon's RBI single, and Aniesa Neave added a run with a sacrifice bunt to give MATC a 3–0 lead before CLC finally recorded an out.

The Lancers immediately erased the deficit. CLC attacked starter Chloe Lago with four straight hits to begin the bottom of the first, tying the game at 3–3. A steal of home and an RBI single later in the inning pushed the Lancers ahead 5–3.

MATC threatened again in the second, loading the bases with one out, but came away with only a single run on Paulick's RBI groundout to make it 5–4. It would be the Stormers' final run of the afternoon.

CLC seized control in the bottom of the second, scoring four times with two outs and taking advantage of two MATC defensive errors to extend the lead to 9–4. The Lancers added three more in the third on an error, an RBI single and an RBI groundout, stretching the margin to 12–4.

MATC went down in order in the fifth, and the eight‑run margin ended the game after five innings.

Carani led the Stormers with two singles and a run scored. Baldon and Neave each added a single and an RBI. Roeper finished 1‑for‑2 with a run scored, and Maiya Tearney added a single in two plate appearances.

Lago (0-1) took the loss, allowing nine runs, four earned, on eight hits and two walks over 1.2 innings. Ellie Brzek relieved and gave up three runs, one earned, on one hit and one walk with two strikeouts across 2.1 innings.

UP NEXT
MATC (4-10) returns home Wednesday for a Region 4 doubleheader against Triton College, with first pitch set for 3 p.m. in Oak Creek. Game 2 is scheduled for 5 p.m.