SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Aubriana Krieser (three) and Kylie Shottenkirk (one) combined for four homers over the Briar Cliff fence in the doubleheader, which resulted in 6-3 finals in favor of the Dawgs. Concordia Softball has set its competition ablaze, going 7-1 in the last eight days. Friday’s contests (Apr. 19) are a reflection of the past eight games as the team has hit a collective .370 batting average in the eight-game span.
The Bulldogs move two games up to 9-7 in the conference and 19-21 overall. Head Coach Brock Culler commented on the approach to this weekend and how big today was for Krieser.
“I told our team, these next four games are going to be the biggest games this program has played in for the last two years and we played to approach it that way. Every inning, every pitch and every game is like a playoff situation for us right now. These two wins were so huge and we have some very positive momentum going. Kylie has been a good role model for Aubriana. In the first part of the season, she (Krieser) did struggle, but then she spent some time working with the JV group. The way she reacted to this whole process has been good. What a day for that kid!”
The two Lincoln North Star alums came out swinging in Sioux City. The duo combined to go 9-for-14 with both Krieser (4-for-7) and Shottenkirk (5-for-7) swinging the bat with authority. The junior Shottenkirk hit a home run three games in a row, which hasn’t been reached since 2017 (Michaela Woodward). The freshman clean up batter Krieser totaled three home runs (including her first career), a double, seven RBIs, four runs and a sac fly.
Krieser said, “Today was like an energy rush. It was super fun and my teammates being there for me was the best part! Kylie is my best friend on the team and I know if I get out, she will have my back and pick me up. The same thing goes for me with her. We have each others’ back no matter what, so when we are both doing good it is a really fun time to be there for each other.”
Megan Eurich returned to dominance with 11 strikeouts and three earned runs through seven innings pitched in game one plus six strikeouts, zero earned runs and a save through three innings in game two. The Gretna, Neb., native has 149 total strikeouts, ranking her fifth in the all-time single-season list. Kaylei Denison came in relief for Taryn Ganstrom and collected her first collegiate win.
The once struggling offense has seemed to have evaporated, collecting 23 hits (six multi-base) and only surrendering one error in the field. While Krieser and Shottenkirk had great performances so did many of the Bulldogs including Madison Cushing going 4-for-6 and adding one run totaled from both games. In game one, Laycee Josoff went 2-for-4 as Glause (2-for-4) followed suit. In game two, Aubrey Bruning hit 3-for-4 (two runs) and Jennifer Katz had an RBI double plus a potential game saving catch after diving for a third out.
Concordia (19-21, 9-7 GPAC) will have less than 24 hours before stepping back on the diamond to battle Mount Marty (17-19, 8-8 GPAC) on Saturday. The Bulldogs and Lancers will see the first pitch at 1 p.m. CT. at North-East Seratoma Field. With these two close in the conference standings, the games will come with GPAC tournament seeding implications.