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SEWARD, Neb. – The wait is almost over for the Concordia University Softball team. The Bulldogs will open their season with four games throughout the weekend at the 2023 Kansas City NAIA Softball Invite (Feb. 18-19). Concordia will play twice on both days in action that will be held at the Mid-America Sports Complex in Shawnee, Kan. The entire event will feature a total of 20 NAIA softball games. Each of the four Bulldog opponents are out of the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
This Weekend – 2023 Kansas City NAIA Softball Invite
--Note: all games played at Mid-America Sports Complex in Shawnee, Kansas.
--Due to the games being played at a neutral site, live streaming/coverage will be limited. Host Avila University has created a page for the invite HERE.
Saturday, Feb. 18 vs. MidAmerica Nazarene, 11 a.m.
Saturday, Feb. 18 vs. Missouri Valley, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 19 vs. Baker, 11 a.m.
Sunday, Feb. 19 vs. Benedictine, 1 p.m.
Overview
This will mark the collegiate head coaching debut for Brock Culler, who spent 11 seasons as the head coach at Grand Island Central Catholic High School. Culler inherited a program coming off a 23-24 overall record in 2022. Concordia was pegged eighth in the 2023 GPAC preseason poll. It returns two all-conference players in outfielder Caitlyn McGarvie (first team) and first baseman Zoie Isom (honorable mention). McGarvie enters her fourth season in the program needed five more hits for 100 in her career. The Lincoln North Star High School product batted .390 (48-for-123) last season. As a team, the ’22 Bulldogs averaged 5.0 runs per game and sported a team ERA of 3.44.
A 2023 season preview for Concordia Softball can be found HERE. In addition, McGarvie was recently featured in a story that can be found HERE. The GPAC’s preseason softball poll is linked HERE.
The Bulldogs will have a good understanding of how they rate against the HAAC by weekend’s end …
· MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.) has started 0-2 after going 28-22 in 2022.
· Missouri Valley College is off to an 0-2 start after finishing 2022 at 29-19.
· Baker University (Kan.) stands at 4-1 this season after going 24-23 last year.
· Benedictine College (Kan.) will open the 2023 campaign this weekend. It went 30-26 in 2022.
Concordia will be back in the state of Kansas the following weekend for scheduled doubleheaders at the University of Saint Mary on Feb. 25 and at Benedictine on Feb. 26. The complete 2023 slate can be found HERE.