HASTINGS, Neb. – A strong breeze blowing in from center field all day played a role in two low scoring contests on Saturday afternoon (April 20) in Hastings. So too did the tremendous work in the circle by pitchers for both the Concordia University softball team and Hastings. After falling 1-0 in game one, the Bulldogs regrouped with a 1-0 victory in game two behind senior Brittany Woolridge’s three-hit shutout.
Head coach Shawn Semler’s squad continues to have aspirations of winning the GPAC regular season title, but it likely has no more margin for error. The Bulldogs (22-8, 11-5 GPAC) currently sit in third place in the league standings. Offensive struggles prevented Concordia from taking two on Saturday.
“Sometimes we rely on hitting fly balls and those got cut down today,” Semler said. “We had a lot of chances in game one and just didn’t execute. We just could not get someone to step up for us with the big hit. We have to find some parts of the lineup that can step up and win games. We’re going to play in some windy games and if the wind takes us out of it like it did today, then we’re not going to win many games. We have to make some adjustments at the plate.”
On the plus side, Bulldog pitchers Camry Moore and Woolridge allowed very little hard contact to Hastings. Woolridge was masterful, although the three walks were three too many in her mind. One of those free passes came leading off the bottom of the seventh. Woolridge retired the next three hitters with the final out occurring on her third strikeout of the day.
Woolridge now owns a sparkling 11-1 record on the year. She is shining in her second and final year at Concordia.
“It’s been so much fun. I couldn’t ask for a better senior year being part of this team,” Woolridge said. “It’s a big blessing to have Coach (Semler) here. The team has come together this year and it’s been pretty awesome. What a great senior year so far.”
The Bulldogs finally got on the board with their only run all day in the fifth inning of game two. Tricia Tripp scored on a sinking line drive off the bat of Leah Kalkwarf. The play was ruled an error on the left fielder, who eventually threw out Tori Homolka at the plate to keep the score at 1-0.
Moore certainly pitched well enough to earn a win. She allowed just the single run on four hits and one walk. Moore struck out six Broncos. The lone run was driven in by Jayda Paul on a base hit up the middle. It was one of only seven hits on the day for Hastings (13-21, 5-11 GPAC).
Concordia was held to two hits in game one by Bronco pitcher Josie Bumgardner, who always found ways out of trouble. Bumgardner worked around seven walks. There was not a whole lot of Bulldog offensive production to speak of, but freshman Kylee Nixon was 2-for-3 on the day and Homolka went 2-for-4 in game two.
There will be better days for the Concordia offense, but at least it knows it has a pitching staff that will regularly give it a chance.
“Camry didn’t deserve to lose – neither pitcher did,” Semler said. “Their pitcher threw well too. Camry came back after a great game against Midland and threw another great game. She’s really dialed in. I’ve said this all year – I don’t think there’s a better No. 2 pitcher than what we roll out with Britt. She could easily be a No. 1. Back-to-back, we throw out two of the best pitchers that I’ve seen anybody else be able to throw out.”
Up next on the schedule is a makeup doubleheader at Northwestern (15-18, 8-6 GPAC) on Tuesday. First pitch from Orange City, Iowa, is set for 3 p.m. CT. The Red Raiders are situated directly behind the Bulldogs in the GPAC standings.