Schacher, Tracy go deep on final day of Arizona trip
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – A grueling 13-games-in-five-days stretch came to an end on Thursday for the Concordia University softball team. The Bulldogs migrated from Tucson to Scottsdale and dropped a pair of games that took place on the home diamond of Arizona Christian University. The Firestorm won by scores of 11-2 (five innings) and 5-3.
Second-year head coach Todd LaVelle’s club finished with a record of 7-6 on its 13-game spring break trip. Concordia sits at 7-8 overall.
“We played a lot of games and saw a lot of things,” LaVelle said. “Even though we’re pretty tired and beat up right now, I think it was a positive trip. We’re excited to get back home and see what we can do. I’m happy with what took place here. We got a lot of valuable experience. Like I told our team, you don’t win a conference title in Arizona. We made steps towards getting better.”
Concordia owned a 2-1 lead in game 2 until a nightmare of a bottom of the fifth saw the Firestorm throw four runs on the board. Starting pitcher Michaela Woodward had set down eight hitters in a row until issuing a walk with one out in the fifth. The free pass put a big inning in motion for Arizona Christian, which greeted reliever Julia Tyree with three-consecutive hits. Tyree was tagged with the loss.
Center fielder Regan Doiel went 2-for-3 with a run out of the No. 9 spot in game 2. Right fielder MaKenna Tracy, a transfer from Peru State College, drilled a game-tying homer in the top of the second. The Bulldogs then took a brief lead in the top of the fifth on Woodward’s sacrifice fly.
The biggest highlight of game 1 from a Concordia perspective came courtesy of freshman Shelby Schacher, who got her team on the board with the first home run of her career. The Bulldogs’ other run came on Becca Walker’s RBI triple that scored Tyree.
The Concordia offensive attack was limited to a total of nine hits on the day. Arizona Christian’s Jasmine Aguilar threw a five-inning complete game in the opening contest. She allowed two runs on three hits.
Woodward finished with a pitching line of 4.2 innings, four hits, two runs (both earned), two walks and six strikeouts. Fellow freshman Jordana Goncalves covered all 4.2 innings of game 1 in the circle before the eight-run rule went into effect.
The Bulldogs will fly back to Nebraska on Saturday and then prepare for a busy stretch of home games. Their home opener is scheduled for Wednesday, March 18 when Peru State College visits Plum Creek Park for a 5 p.m. doubleheader. Concordia is slated for six home dates between March 18 – 31.