SEWARD, Neb. – After Michaela Woodward’s two-run homer in the first inning of game 1, nothing went right the rest of the day for the Concordia University softball team. Red hot Dakota Wesleyan exuberantly danced to between-innings music while launching six home runs in a doubleheader sweep at Plum Creek Park on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers won by scores of 12-2 and 12-0 in contests that both ended by way of the run rule.
Saturday marked the first time this season that third-year head coach Todd LaVelle’s squad has lost both ends of a GPAC twin bill. The Bulldogs slipped to 26-13 overall and 7-7 in conference play.
It was clear which team was more free and spirited. Dakota Wesleyan (29-17, 12-6 GPAC), now riding a six-game win streak, tagged Concordia pitchers for a total of 22 earned runs on 26 hits. In game 1, cleanup hitter Karly Severance twice drilled home runs off the scoreboard in right center. Her three-run blast in the fifth made it a 12-2 runaway. Catcher Hailey Unger also connected for two long balls out of the leadoff spot on Saturday. Savannah Ahumada and Katy Lazenby collected five hits apiece in the doubleheader.
Things weren’t much better on the offensive end. The Tigers muzzled Concordia bats with a pair of freshman pitchers in Hallie Misiaszek and Sierra Haage. Misiaszek surrendered nine hits and three walks, but somehow wiggled out of every jam. Concordia stranded a small village worth of base runners in the opening game. In game 2, Haage allowed only two hits – a Kylie Harpst double and Autumn Owens single.
The Woodward homer provided the lone highlight of the day. It gave the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead at the time. They then went scoreless over the final nine innings versus Dakota Wesleyan.
In the circle, losses were charged to Harpst and Woodward. A second team all-conference choice in 2015, Woodward allowed 11 earned runs on 14 hits. Her eight strikeouts were a season high.
The Bulldogs will dip outside the conference on Monday when they head to nearby York College (12-32) for a doubleheader. First pitch from York is scheduled for 5 p.m.