CRETE, Neb. – The ending made the short evening of work worth it for Concordia University Softball. In a completion of a suspended game from April 7, the Bulldogs put together a furious seventh-inning rally and defeated Doane, 6-3, in Crete, Neb., on Monday (April 12). Entering the day, the Bulldogs faced a 3-1 deficit in the top of the fifth.
Officially, the game goes down as having been played on April 7, the day it started. Head Coach Shawn Semler’s squad also took game 1 from Doane, 8-4, as part of a doubleheader sweep. Concordia has improved to 20-6 overall and to 6-4 within the GPAC.
Both sides inserted their ace pitchers into the contest as Camry Moore took the ball for the Bulldogs and Josie Schnakenberg got the call for the Tigers. Schnakenberg held Concordia off the scoreboard in the fifth and sixth frames before the drama unfolded in the seventh.
Down 3-1 in the top of the seventh, the Bulldogs appeared to be in trouble when a Tori Homolka fly out was turned into a double play. With two outs, Concordia came through with six consecutive hits in a game defining rally. Caitlyn McGarvie tied the score with an RBI double and then scored the go-ahead run on Regan Karel’s double. Singles followed from Allysia Thayer (RBI), Brena Brown and Kylee Nixon (RBI) in chasing Schnakenberg from the pitcher’s circle.
The Bulldogs finished this particular game with 16 hits. Karel went 3-for-4 with three doubles and an RBI. Five of her teammates notched two hits apiece: Brown, Hhana Haro, Homolka, Jenessa Jarvis and Moore. In a return trip to her hometown, Moore fired the final three innings and earned the victory in the circle. The Crete native was also the winning pitcher in the first game at Doane.
The victory will lead into a weekend road trip up to the Dakotas. Concordia will be at Jamestown (25-7, 8-2 GPAC) for 3 p.m. CT doubleheader on Friday before playing at Dakota Wesleyan (9-15, 1-7 GPAC) at 12 p.m. on Saturday.