SIOUX CENTER, Iowa – The game two clash between the Bulldogs and the 18th-ranked Benedictine College needed nine innings to decide a winner late Sunday (Feb. 16) night. With the bases loaded and one out in the ninth, Aubrey Bruning singled to left field and pushed across the game winning (4-3) runner (Aubrey Wright) in the instant classic. In game one, CUNE fell to Bellevue (6-0) in the weekend opener.
Concordia University, Nebraska Softball moves to 4-2 before turning the page quickly for tomorrow's games at the ASB Sports Complex.
“I liked our bounce back from game one,” said Head Coach Brock Culler. “We just weren’t ourselves offensively in the first game. The biggest change in the second game was the quality of our at-bats. Bellevue is a really good offensive team and that was the difference in the first game. In the second game, we faced a returning all-american pitcher and we did really well against her. We played our game and really just bounced back against a talented Benedictine team.”
Kaylei Denison (3-0) kept a potent lineup at bay allowing four hits, two earned runs and struck out four batters in nine innings pitched (over 140 pitches). The sophomore, out of Waverly, Neb., has a 1.33 earned run average through her first three starts in year two.
Seven different Bulldogs cracked the bat on the ball in the team outing that led to cheers heard across the complex. Led by Bruning (2-for-3) and Delanie Voshell (2-for-4) with two hits and one RBI apiece, the Bulldogs needed every bit of the dugout’s effort to finish on top. Hanna Bowers collected a hit and two RBIs with Jennifer Katz adding a hit and two runs. Taryn Ganstrom, Aubriana Krieser and Kylie Shottenkirk also gathered a hit versus the Ravens.
In both games combined (16 innings), the Concordia defense allowed zero errors in the field.
In game one, Bellevue had five hits and three runs in the first three innings. The Bulldogs weren’t able to get much going on offense with the return of NAIA all-american pitcher Katie Cunningham in the circle. The Bruins added three more runs as Taryn Ganstrom had the lone hit for Concordia. Shottenkirk produced three consecutive walks versus Bellevue. Megan Eurich gave up 10 hits, six earned runs, and three walks but sat down six via strikeouts.
Lead off Kaitlyn Fisher and Breanne McMurtry led the Bruins with three hits and two runs apiece. In seven innings pitched, Cunningham finished with five strikeouts and allowed one hit and three walks. All-american Benedictine pitcher Bailey Selvage surrendered nine hits, four runs, and two walks while also knocking down 12 batters from strikeouts in 8.1 innings pitched. The Ravens were led by first baseman Megan Forsman with a hit, run and RBI.
The Bulldogs (4-2) will have about 11 hours before they run it back with the same two teams on Monday (Feb. 17). First pitch is set for 10 a.m. CT versus Bellevue (4-1) and 2 p.m. CT versus Benedictine (0-1) in Sioux Center.