TUCSON, Ariz. – Day three marked the first perfect day of the Concordia University softball team’s stay at the Tucson Invitational. In games played at Lincoln Park in Tucson on Tuesday (March 5), the Bulldogs handled Bethel College (Ind.), 5-1, and then rallied late for a 6-4 win over Benedictine College (Kan.) to cap the evening.
The latest win may have been the most satisfying so far this young season for head coach Shawn Semler. After holding the lead for most of the game versus Benedictine, Concordia (3-3) gave it up and then regained it in the bottom of the sixth.
“Today was a great day as a team,” Semler said. “Grace Bernhardt threw really well (in the first game) and then we started hitting the ball well. Then in the second game, Benedictine is a team that’s been doing well down here and returned a lot from last year. Brittany Woolridge was lights out. She and (catcher) Allysia (Thayer) were really in sync. We brought Woolridge back in for the seventh and she shut them down.
“These first three days we’ve faced really good teams. Our kids are not quitting. We have been in these tight situations already and today they stepped up. They are picking each other up.”
Down 4-3 in the bottom of the sixth against Benedictine. Leah Kalkwarf scored the tying run on a strange play in which a pop up ruled an infield fly was dropped. MacKinsey Schmidt soon followed with a clutch two-run single to put the Bulldogs up for good. Jayden Lindgren was another key contributor with a two-run double earlier in the contest. Woolridge sealed the win with a quick seventh frame.
It took a while for the Concordia attack to get rolling in the first game. The game was knotted, 1-1, after the first inning and stayed that way until the Bulldogs put up two runs in the fifth and two in the sixth. In a winning effort, Hhana Haro, Kalkwarf and Kylee Nixon each had two hits. The top three hitters in the lineup (Tori Homolka, Schmidt and Haro) drove in a run apiece.
Bernhardt picked up the win in game one. She allowed one run on three hits and two walks while striking out three. Woolridge earned a save by tossing three shutout frames without allowing a hit to the Pilots. Freshman Camry Moore also worked in the circle in the second game.
After three-straight days with two games each, the Bulldogs will enjoy a Wednesday off day in Tucson. Concordia will then go three a similar stretch with six games on the slate Thursday through Saturday to close out the road trip. In Thursday’s action, the Bulldogs will play Presentation College (S.D.) at 9 a.m. MT / 10 a.m. CT and then Waldorf University (Iowa) at 11 a.m. MT / 12 p.m. CT.