ROSEMONT, Ill. – A seventh-inning rally was extinguished too quickly as Roosevelt had to settle for a split on the final day of the NAIA Leadoff Tournament on Sunday at the Dome at Parkway Bank Sports Complex in Rosemont.

The Lakers (2-4) faced plenty of adversity from forces they could and could not control in the day's first game against Aquinas. No matter what was set in front of them, they continued to battle for a vital 4-3 win over the Saints before falling 7-4 to Concordia (Mich.) in the second game of the day.

Roosevelt's resolve was tested for the first time on the fourth batter against Aquinas when Kate Sisson dropped a pop fly near the circle, but the Saints runner seemingly turned back towards the dugout. After a consultation, the umpires still awarded Aquinas the base and left the bases loaded with one out in the first inning. Sisson proceeded to induce a grounder that Athena Pomele-Pen fired to home plate to force out the lead runner then struck out the next batter swinging to escape the jam.

Making matters better, the Lakers struck first in the bottom of the inning just two batters into their half of the frame. Scout Kram led off the game with a single then advanced to second when the pitcher's throw to first base sailed high. Emily Zuniga then drew an error from the second baseman that allowed her to scoot to second base and brought Kram around the base paths back to the plate.

In the third, Pomele-Pen led off with a single then advanced to second on a strong ground ball to third base from Kram. Zuniga then followed with a single to put runners on the corners for Anaisa Lozada, who hit a sacrifice groundout that scored Pomele-Pen and moved Zuniga to third. Brynn Dvoracek hit a sharp single up the middle to score Zuniga and put the Lakers in front 3-0.

Sisson ran into some trouble in the fifth inning after giving up a double and hitting a batter sandwiched around a flyout to left. She uncorked a wild pitch that advanced the runners to second and third, walked a hitter then missed high a second wild pitch that allowed a run to score. Samantha Norman came on in relief and induced a popout before Aquinas found the gap and singled in two runs to tie the game.

Roosevelt wasted no time in reclaiming the lead as Pomele-Pen led off the fifth with a single and advanced to second a perfect sacrifice bunt from Zuniga. The third baseman moved up 60 more feet on a wild pitch from the Aquinas pitcher, setting up Lozada to drive in her second run of the game with a beautifully-placed single into left field.

The Lakers came out swinging against Concordia as well as Lozada hit a single in the first inning then scored on the next batter when Dvoracek doubled. However, the Cardinals answered with a run in the bottom of the first then another one in the bottom of the second off freshman Seren Horton. The Lakers did tie the game in the third after Lozada started a rally with her second hit of the game. The shortstop, who went 3 for 4 in the game, singled in the top of the third then advanced to second on Dvoracek's groundout. Kirstin Fudge lined a single that allowed Lozada to score then advanced to second on the throw to try to nab Lozada as the senior expertly slid around the tag.

Horton showed plenty of potential in her 5.1 innings over the four-day tournament, but her second start unfortunately ended similar to her first with trouble finding her in the third inning. She allowed a leadoff single in the third inning, and the Concordia runner then stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. The Cardinals retook the lead on an RBI groundout before another single ended the day for Horton.

For the second game in a row, Norman came on in relief, but this time she was not as effective in slowing down the Concordia bats for long. The Cardinals did single in the final base runner credited to Horton then broke the game wide open in the fourth inning with three runs on four hits off Norman.

 In a final act of resistance against the adversity of the day, Roosevelt's bats came alive in the seventh inning when the Lakers needed five runs to extend the game. Madalyn Anderson came off the bench with a clutch pinch-hit single to start the frame then Kram followed with a single to put the first two runners on base. Both Kram and Emma Workurka, who re-entered to run for Anderson, stole bases to put runners on second and third for Pomele-Pen, who hit an RBI groundout.

Lozada then singled but Kram was forced to hold at third base, leaving runners on the corners with one out. Trying to apply more pressure on the Cardinals, Lozada broke for second base on a hit and run, but Dvoracek just fouled off the pitch. Lozada again tried to take second on the next pitch, but she was thrown out stealing. The throw did allow Kram to come home to score, but Dvoracek then was caught looking at a pitch just on the outer half of the plate for the final out.

The Lakers now have four weeks off before their season begins again in earnest on their annual spring break trip. Roosevelt will face Michigan-Dearborn on March 5 at the USSSA Space Coast Complex in Florida, the first of eight games in five days during the trip.