Bulldogs split at Dordt despite two stellar pitching performances
SIOUX CENTER, Iowa – Despite great pitching from both starters on Tuesday evening, the Concordia University softball team settled for a split at Dordt (8-24, 4-10 GPAC). A fourth-inning outburst in game 1 carried the Bulldogs to a 7-2 victory before Concordia again struggled offensively in dropping game 2, 1-0, in walk-off fashion.
The Bulldogs slide back to third place in the GPAC at 8-4. They are now 23-8 overall.
“It felt like an extension of Saturday,” head coach Todd LaVelle said. “The second game was the heartbreaker. We’re getting girls on base but our situational hitting has to improve. When we get runners in scoring position we have to find a way to get that base hit to get them home.”
First baseman Molly Madsen delivered the back breaker in game 1 with a bases clearing three-run double to push Concordia’s lead to 7-2 in the top of the top of the fourth. Madsen’s clutch hit with two outs punctuated a five-run inning that lent plenty of support to starting pitcher Amanda Beeson.
The righty from Waverly, Neb., moved to 11-4 while limiting the Defenders to two runs (both earned) on four hits and one walk. She also struck out six and induced eight ground outs.
Game 2 starter Julia Tyree (Benicia, Calif.) got even better results in game 2 but took the loss even though she allowed only three hits in 6.1 innings. Dordt pushed across the walk-off run in the bottom of the seventh when Michal Hoogland doubled in Bethany Dykstra.
Concordia advanced a runner into scoring position in the first, third, fifth and sixth innings against Samantha Dunn, who earned a three-hit shutout.
In the face of a missed opportunity in game 2, LaVelle points out that his team did not commit a single error. The Bulldogs simply have to get the bats going again.
“The girls are still playing well,” LaVelle said. “We’re in every game. We played great defense again. Rebecca Walker must have made seven or eight outs by herself at third. Our defense is really coming to play. As soon as we get the offense back we’ll be in good shape.
“It’s a game of failure. It’s about how they respond.”
Concordia finished with a combined eight hits in the doubleheader. Brittany Hudler and Shelby Morose were the only two Bulldogs to record a hit in both games.
LaVelle’s club is now 8-3 in games decided by one run. Four of the team’s last six contests have come down to just a single tally.
The Bulldogs get right back to action on Wednesday with a doubleheader at Nebraska Wesleyan (13-15, 4-8 GPAC). The twin bill will get started at 5 p.m. in Lincoln. Concordia will then have the remainder of the week off.
