FREMONT, Neb. – A stiff challenge greeted the Concordia University Softball team as it opened conference play on the home field of defending GPAC champion Midland on Saturday (March 19). Despite a strong pitching performance from Camry Moore in game one, the Bulldogs were defeated by a 2-1 final (eight innings) before being tripped up in game two, 7-0. The Warrior pitching staff limited Concordia to a combined six hits on the day.
Head Coach Tatum Edwards’ squad has now lost six times by a margin of a single run this season. The Bulldogs stand at 11-11 overall (0-2 GPAC).
“Camry did awesome. She was making adjustments after every pitch,” Edwards said. “That may have been the game I’ve seen the most swings and misses on her pitches, so clearly she was moving the ball well. We kept fighting. We had better at-bats later in the game, which was great to see. We came up on the losing end of it, but that first game was a really good softball game.
“It shows us where we’re at, the things we need to work on and what we can get better at. The first game showed that we belonged and we can compete against anybody.”
A First Team All-GPAC performer, Moore had already proven she can match up with the best of the best. Moore covered all 7.1 innings of game one in the circle. She allowed just one earned run on nine hits and no walks (five strikeouts). Midland pushed across the winning run in the bottom of the eighth when star third baseman Roni Foote singled to right field with one out. Concordia got its only run of the day when Zoie Isom plated Kylee Nixon with an RBI single in the fourth inning of game one.
It was a masterful day of pitching for the Warrior duo of Hailee Fliam and Aliyah Rincon. Both hurlers were credited with complete games in winning efforts. Rincon was especially impressive in recording eight strikeouts while allowing just one baserunner (via a Kylie Shottenkirk single). Rincon faced the minimum number of batters possible (21) in the contest.
Game two got away from the Bulldogs in part due to the three errors they committed (leading to three unearned runs). Sheridan Wayne homered in helping fuel the game two attack for Midland (15-4, 2-0 GPAC), which has a first-year head coach in Beth Singleton.
The Bulldogs will dip back outside of conference play on Monday when they take on Nebraska Wesleyan (11-2) in a 5 p.m. CT doubleheader on Monday. The games will be played at University Place Park in Lincoln, Neb. The twin bill had originally been scheduled for this past Thursday but was postponed due to inclement weather.