Vernon Hills Cougars (Vernon Hills, IL) backers exited the stadium thrilled Thursday as they saw their softball squad nip the host Waukegan Bulldogs (Waukegan, IL), 9-4 in a non-league challenge.

The Cougars now own a 1-3 record. They take the field next when they travel to Lawrence County for a non-league challenge on Monday, March 27. Vernon Hills will battle a Red Devils squad coming off a 6-3 league loss to Russellville (Russellville, AL). The Red Devils record now stands at 15-9.

With the loss, Waukegan falls to 0-1 on the campaign. The Bulldogs travel to Lake Forest (Lake Forest, IL) to battle the Scouts in a North Suburban challenge on Monday, April 3. The Scouts enter the challenge with a record of 0-1. Lake Forest lost 14-1 in their recent non-league challenge against Lakes (Lake Villa, IL)