Concordia goes 1-1 against Dordt College

Concordia University split a pair of GPAC softball games with Dordt College on Saturday afternoon in Seward.  The Bulldogs took game one by the score of 8-0 in five innings.  Dordt responded with an 11-7 win in game two.  Concordia is now 10-6 overall and 3-1 in conference play.  Dordt is 4-7 overall and 1-1 in GPAC play. 

In game one, the Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the first inning.  Nicole Baker (Arvada, Colo.) singled and stole second.  Natalie Svoboda (Lincoln, Neb.) singled to advance Baker to third, and Clarissa Eloge (Rising City, Neb.) drove in Baker with an RBI single.  A single by Amanda Beeson (Waverly, Neb.) loaded the bases, and Mikaela Klein (Grand Island, Neb.) delivered a 2-run double to increase the Bulldog lead to 3-0.  Amber Topil (Seward, Neb.) knocked in Beeson with an RBI single later in the inning for Concordia’s fourth run of the inning. 

Concordia added a single run in the second inning.  Baker led off the inning with a solo homer to right center to push the lead to 5-0.  The Bulldogs grabbed a 6-0 advantage with another run in the fourth inning.  Baker singled for her third hit of the game, and Beeson drove her in with an RBI double.  Concordia ended the game with two more runs in the fifth on RBI singles by Amanda Baldwin (Wilber, Neb.) and Shelby Morose (Claremore, Okla.). 

The Bulldogs totaled 14 hits in the game.  Baker and Beeson each totaled three hits to pace a balanced offensive attack.  The run support was more than enough for Concordia pitcher Nicole Sempek, who improved to 6-2 on the year with the win.  Sempek (Columbus, Neb.) worked all five innings and allowed just two hits with no walks and nine strikeouts. 

In game two, Dordt College scored in six of the seven innings to pick up the win.  The Defenders totaled 15 hits in the game and scored multiple runs in four innings. 

Dordt grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI single by Sarah Seymour.  Dordt added to its lead in the second with a solo homer by Kassandra Heynen to lead off the inning.  The Defenders added three more runs in the third to grab a 5-0 lead.  Beth Dykstra had an RBI single, and Alissa Reeves had a 2-run double in the inning for Dordt. 

Concordia got on the board with a single run in the third.  Klein doubled and scored on an RBI single by Nicole Mapes (Greeley, Colo.).  Dordt came right back with a pair of runs in the fourth.  Seymour connected on a 2-run blast to increase the Defender lead to 7-1. 

The Bulldogs plated two runs in the bottom of the fourth.  Baker delivered a sacrifice fly, and Svoboda had an RBI ground out in the inning.  Dordt again had an answer with two more runs in the top of the fifth.  Paige Fynaardt had a 2-run single for the Defenders in the inning. 

In the bottom of the fifth, Concordia scored a single run on a solo homer by Klein.  Klein smacked the first pitch she saw deep over the center field fence.  The Bulldogs added three more runs in the sixth.  Svoboda and Eloge each had RBI singles, while Beeson drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.  Dordt led 9-7 heading into the seventh inning. 

Dordt scored two insurance runs in the seventh.  The first two batters of the inning reached via error and fielder’s choice, and Dykstra scored them both with a 2-run single for the final score of 11-7. 

Concordia totaled 14 hits in game two but was hurt by three errors defensively.  Baker and Morose each delivered three hits in the game for the Bulldogs.  Elizabeth Young (Grand Prairie, Texas) took the loss and dropped to 2-2 on the year.  Young allowed five runs on eight hits with one walk and four strikeouts in just 2.1 innings of work. 

Concordia travels to College of Saint Mary on March 21 for a double header against the Flames.  First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. in Omaha.