MELBOURNE, Fla. -- Head Coach Olivia Kincanon led her team to a personal milestone victory on Tuesday at the USSSA Space Coast Games. An 8-2 victory over Mount Mary was the first career coaching victory for the first-year coach. The Highlanders ended the day with a 9-1 loss to Concordia-Chicago to split the two games on the day.

In the opener, Kincanon got a strong all-around performance from sophomore Kareena Ulfig, who did her damage at the plate and on the mound. Ulfig went the full seven innings, allowing just two runs on five hits, while striking out four batters. Offensively, she turned in a 2 for 4 showing with four RBI. She got help from Kelley Burnett, who went 3 for 4 with three runs scored, and Danielle Nelson, who had two hits and two RBI in the contest. Sarah McArthur, Olivia Carr and Hannah Fish each had a hit, while Angelina Tantillo showed patience at the plate to earn four walks.

The Highlanders scored twice in the first inning, highlighted by run-scoring doubles from Nelson and Ulfig, After another run in the fourth, the Highlanders broke open the game with three runs in the sixth. 

"We came out aggressive right from the start. The girls were looking to bounce back after Monday's games and came out strong right off the bat, capitalizing offensively and putting runners in scoring position," said Kincanon. "We had no errors defensively; the girls looked confident and it translated on the field. Kareena had one of the best outings I have seen from her. She was shutting down Mount Mary and helped set the tone throughout the game."

The second game of the day was evenly played early as the teams were knotted at one run entering the fourth. However, Concordia scored once in the top of the fourth to gain the lead and added three runs in the fifth and four in the sixth to put the game away. Houghton's lone run came off a Danielle Nelson triple that drove home Sarah McArthur in the bottom of the third.

Houghton rapped out six hits, led by a double and triple from Nelson. Ulfig, Abigail Pitts, Hannah Fish and Olivia Carr also singled.

Carr started on the mound, allowing five runs on 10 hits and four walks. She also struck out three batters. Pitts came on for one inning of relief and allowed the final four runs on six hits.

"Olivia was very dominant on the mound. A very tough Concordia University of Chicago team had a hard time facing her," said Kincanon. "We worked their pitchers deep into their counts and made them throw a lot. I was very impressed with our discipline at the plate, and that over time will translate to more production and consistency. And Dani came through with a big bat."