TUCSON, Ariz. – Five errors were a major part of the story on Wednesday (March 9) for the Concordia University Softball team, which took to the diamond in Tucson, Ariz., for a third day in a row. The Bulldogs dug an early hole while up against Dickinson State University (N.D.) and never could fight all the way back in what concluded as a 7-6 loss. Concordia fell despite collecting 13 hits and four walks.
Head Coach Tatum Edwards’ squad has dropped three straight, including two by one-run margins. The Bulldogs are 10-7 overall and 1-4 at the Tucson Invitational.
“We’re beating ourselves with some of the mistakes we made,” Edwards said. “We’re asking a lot of our pitching staff. We’re fighting in the box, we’re coming back and making adjustments. We’re doing some good things, but we need to take care of ourselves. We put some great at-bats together – we just didn’t get the big hit when we needed it. I’m proud of that part of it in terms of our fight at the plate.”
It looked like Concordia just might make up for the mistakes when it loaded the bases with only one out in the bottom of the seventh. Blue Hawk Dallis Mitchell then came through with some clutch pitches while striking out Kylie Shottenkirk and Kylee Nixon to end the threat. Mitchell worked the final three innings and picked up the save.
Had the Bulldogs been tighter defensively, it would not have come down to that. Two errors in the top of the first let in three unearned runs as part of a four-run first inning for Dickinson State (8-7). The Blue Hawks managed 11 hits off of ace Camry Moore (seven-inning complete game), but only three of their seven runs were earned. Dickinson State stayed one step ahead of Concordia with the help of Ari Martinez’s two-run homer in the fourth.
Offensive punch was not lacking for the Bulldogs, particularly in the two through four spots in the lineup, held down by Nixon (3-for-5, two runs), Caitlyn McGarvie (4-for-4, one run) and Moore (3-for-4, one run, triple, three RBIs). Out of the No. 6 spot, Zoie Isom went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Concordia put up three runs in the first, two in the fourth and one in the sixth. As a pitcher, Moore did not walk a batter and notched four strikeouts.
Named the GPAC Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday, Moore achieved a milestone on Wednesday by reaching 100 career RBIs (11th most in program history). Earlier in the road trip, Nixon moved past 100 career hits.
Three more games remain on the Tucson Invite slate. In Thursday’s action, the Bulldogs will take on NCAA Division III Buena Vista University (Iowa) at 2:30 p.m. MT / 3:30 p.m. CT. Buena Vista will provide live coverage via the links below.