BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – A day after earning a win over fourth-ranked Oklahoma City University, the Concordia University Softball team got back at it with another doubleheader within the state of Oklahoma. Camry Moore earned pitching wins in both ends of the twin bill as the Bulldogs toppled Oklahoma Wesleyan University by scores of 13-0 (five innings) and 10-7. Concordia rallied in the seventh to win game 2.
Head Coach Shawn Semler has his team knocking on the door of a national top 25 ranking (currently receiving votes). The Bulldogs are 12-2 after 14 games for the second year in a row.
“It was nice to come out hitting the ball right away in game 1,” Semler said. “We hit the ball so hard up and down the lineup that they were overwhelmed. Camry threw well – they couldn’t get anything strung together. Game 2 we scored first again but had a couple of errors that put us behind. We tried to piece together innings three, four and five so we could get to Camry for the sixth and seventh.
“We brought (Julia) Van Wey back in to hit in the seventh because she’s been doing so well at the plate lately. She got down in the count, but I don’t think that bothers her at all. She dumped a double into the outfield for the game-winning RBIs.”
Van Wey’s heroics came with the scored tied, 7-7, and the bases loaded with two outs. Her double sent home Caitlyn McGarvie, Hhana Haro and Tori Homolka. That seventh and final frame had begun with the Eagles leading 7-6. McGarvie’s walk with the bases loaded forced in the tying run, setting the stage for Van Wey.
There was no drama in the first game. Concordia put the game away with four runs in the third and six in the fourth. Both Moore and Homolka supplied three-run blasts as the major blows to Oklahoma Wesleyan’s chances. In that first contest, Homolka went 4-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs while Moore went 3-for-3 with two runs and five RBIs. It was also a fine performance for Kylee Nixon (3-for-3 with four runs and two doubles) and Jenessa Jarvis (2-for-3 with two runs, two doubles and two RBIs). Meanwhile, McGarvie drove in a pair of runs.
Van Wey’s emergence lengthens the depth of an already potent lineup. Van Wey notched two hits in both games. She doubled twice in game 2 and plated five runs. Brown, McGarvie and Van Wey all produced two hits in the second contest. Eight Bulldogs recorded at least one hit in the nail-biter. Nixon tripled to lead off the game and scored on a sac fly by Jarvis.
Moore pitched six total innings on the day without allowing a single run. She scattered six hits in four innings in game 1 and then retired all six hitters she faced in game 2. Not surprisingly, Moore did not issue a single walk while running her season record to 7-1. Zoe Flores, Jerzi Rowe and Brooke Townsend also saw action in the circle on Wednesday.
The Eagles (12-6) had come off a doubleheader sweep of Briar Cliff on Tuesday. Oklahoma Wesleyan entered the day batting .391 on the season. Lindy Alexander (.548 BA with eight home runs) has been one of the NAIA’s best hitters so far this season. She went 4-for-7 on Wednesday.
Due to rain in the forecast, the upcoming McPherson College Tournament was shortened to just one day. That event will take place on Thursday in McPherson, Kan. Concordia is slated to play Presentation College (S.D.) at 3 p.m. and Friends University (Kan.) at 5 p.m. The Bulldogs will then have the rest of the week off from competition.