SEWARD, Neb. – After carving out a 3-0 lead in game 1, the rest of the evening was a forgettable one for the Concordia University Softball team. Sixteenth-ranked Morningside invaded Plum Creek Park in Seward, Neb., and left town with wins by scores of 4-3 and 14-1 (five innings). A fiercely competitive pitching effort from Camry Moore kept the Bulldogs in it until the final out of Tuesday (March 30)’s first contest.
Head Coach Shawn Semler’s squad slipped to 17-5 overall and to 3-3 in conference play. Concordia played at home for the second time in four days.
This was a chance for the Bulldogs to make a statement while up against the league favorite, but they couldn’t find enough offense in game 1 and never had a shot in game 2 after the Mustangs paraded around the bases for eight runs in the first inning. If there was anything positive that did come out of Tuesday, it’s that Concordia continues to prove it can play with just about anyone when Moore is operating in the circle.
The Bulldogs staked Moore to a 3-0 lead that stood at the end of three innings. A dropped fly ball plated the first run of the game and Kylee Nixon made it hurt even more with an RBI single. An inning later, Caitlyn McGarvie tacked on with an RBI base hit of her own. It was a fine day for McGarvie, who went a combined 3-for-4 at the dish.
Morningside responded with two runs apiece in the fourth and fifth innings for the game deciding tallies. Morgan Nixon singled home the go-ahead run in the fifth. Moore did a nice job to limit the damage in stranding two runners in the fourth and also working out of additional potential trouble in the fifth. Allysia Thayer fired a rope to third base to pick off a Mustang runner in the fifth.
The Bulldogs managed to put two runners on base with two outs in the sixth, but a strikeout ended the frame. Morningside pitcher Lisa Bolton then fired a 1-2-3 seventh to close out game 1.
Game 2 was just plain ugly. The Mustangs sent 12 hitters to the plate during an agonizingly long top of the first. Breanna Tjebben belted a homer as part of an 18-hit performance by Morningside. Concordia got its lone run with the help of another dropped fly ball. The Mustangs did most things well on Tuesday, but the windy conditions (blowing in from center) gave their outfielders headaches.
The Bulldogs will have the rest of the week off from game action before playing at Doane next Wednesday (April 7). First pitch of the doubleheader is slated for 4 p.m. CT.