MESQUITE, Texas – Hungry for their first opponents, Concordia University, Nebraska Softball barreled the ball at day one of the Southern Collegiate Sports NAIA Invitational on Thursday (Feb. 5). With 23 hits (nine extra-base) in 11 innings of play, the Bulldogs run-ruled Nelson University (Texas), 8-0 (5 inn.) and Mid-America Christian University (Okla.), 13-2 (six inn.) on opening day. Kiera Farritor did it all, hitting 4-for-7 with one still soaring outside of the Mesquite Softball Complex.
The Plum Creek Dawgs start their 2026 run 2-0 with four more games left in Mesquite, Texas.
“I was just really curious to see what type of team we had once we got on the field,” Head Coach Brock Culler said. “It’s a very high energy and athletic team. I knew we would be a problem if we could get the offense going. Once we get on bases, things get a little crazy. Our hitters did a good job of being disciplined at the plate and getting the pitch they liked. Defensively, we were really sharp with one error in two games.”
The Bulldog offense was firing on all cylinders scoring 21 runs in two mercy-ruled contests as the second inning of game one saw seven runs cross the plate, and the first frame of game two had six.
Against the Lady Lions in the season opener, Grace Maguire began the seven-run scoring party with an RBI triple as Tobi Topp was the first of the season to run through the final bag. When it rained, it poured as hits were strung together by Mary Beth Hart (RBI Single), Aubriana Krieser (two-RBI single), and Farritor (two RBI) went yard before the onslaught ended.
The freshman Hart went unphased in her collegiate opener hitting 3-for-3 from the batters’ box and 5-for-8 on her first day. A left fielder out of Lincoln Southwest, Hart tacked on two of each in RBIs, runs and stolen bases.
Headhunter Kaylei Denison pitched her first win of the season versus Nelson allowing two in the two outings in six frames completed. The Waverly, Neb., native threw for zero earned runs.
In game two, freshman gunslinger Lilly Elsasser stole the show coming in relief for her first collegiate win from the circle. The pitcher threw 3.1 innings for zero earned runs (one strikeout), while allowing four hits and a walk.
Coach Culler said, “Lilly has always been level-headed and an even-keeled kid. She lives in and around the zone. She came in and had that calming presence. She pitched once to get out of the inning and just went on from there.”
Krieser made the Evangels pay with a three-run moon shot in the opening inning. The flood gates continued as Topp circled the bags for an RBI triple then O’Boyle (RBI double) and Maguire (RBI single) followed. With a large advantage, Lacey Josoff crushed all hope of a comeback with a two-RBI double.
Maguire finished 3-for-6 (three runs, two RBIs) in the combined two games and Aubrey Wright went 2-for-2 (three runs, two walks). In game two, Topp (RBI, run, walk) and O’Boyle (three runs, two RBIs, stolen base) shined hitting 2-for-4 each.
Concordia (2-0) will pick back up in Texas against Oklahoma Wesleyan University and Bethel College (Kan.) tomorrow (Jan. 6). The first game starts at 11 a.m. CT against OKWU.