Bulldog Weekly Report (March 5)

By Jacob Knabel on Mar. 5, 2019 in Athletic Announcements

Bulldog Athletic Association Athletes of the Week will return next week. No athletes of the week were selected today (March 5) due to spring break. The Bulldog Athletic Association Member luncheon is not held when school is not in session.

Previous Athletes of the Week
Feb. 26 – Wade Council (baseball) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
Feb. 19 – Josiah McAllister (track & field) / Jacee Pfeifer (track & field)
Feb. 12 – Isaac Howes (tennis) / Quinn Wragge (basketball)
Feb. 5 – Cam Devers (wrestling) / Taylor Cockerill (basketball)
JANUARY Athletes of the Month: Brevin Sloup (basketball) / Taylor Grove (track & field)
Jan. 29 – Mario Ybarra (wrestling) / Taylor Grove (track & field)
Jan. 22 – Michael Stann (wrestling) / Addie Shaw (track & field)
Jan. 15 – Brevin Sloup (basketball) / Leah Larson (track & field)
Jan. 8 – Zack Moistner (wrestling) / Mackenzie Koepke (basketball)
DECEMBER Athletes of the Month: Tanner Shuck (basketball) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
Dec. 31 – Brevin Sloup (basketball) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
Dec. 18 – Taylor Cockerill (basketball) / Michael Stann (wrestling)
Dec. 11 – Deandre Chery (wrestling) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
Dec. 4 – Tanner Shuck (basketball) / Taylor Grove (track & field)
NOVEMBER Athletes of the Month: Alberto Garcia (wrestling) / Quinn Wragge (basketball)
Nov. 27 – Alberto Garcia (wrestling) / Taylor Grove (cross country) / Quinn Wragge (basketball)
Nov. 13 – Zac Walter (football) / Grace Barry (basketball)
Nov. 6 – Jack Bennett (soccer) / Tori Cera (soccer)
OCTOBER Athletes of the Month: Carlos Ferrer (soccer) / Maria Deeter (soccer)
Oct. 30 – Carlos Ferrer (soccer) / Taylor Cockerill (basketball)
Oct. 23 – Josiah McAllister (cross country) / Jenna Habegger (volleyball)
Oct. 16 – Carlos Ferrer (soccer) / Maria Deeter (soccer)
Oct. 9 – Kordell Glause (football) / Brynn Suddeth (soccer)
Oct. 2 – Zac Walter (football) / Maria Deeter (soccer)
SEPTEMBER Athletes of the Month: Ryan Durdon (football) / Emmie Noyd (volleyball)
Sept. 25 – Roger de la Villa (soccer) / Erin Lokke (shooting sports)
Sept. 18 – Lane Napier (football) / Emmie Noyd (volleyball)
Sept. 11 – Ryan Durdon (football) / Marissa Hoerman (volleyball)
Sept. 4 – JP Verissimo (soccer) / Lauren Martin (soccer)
Aug. 28 – Garrett Perry (soccer) / Jenna Habegger (volleyball)

News and notes:

NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship begins Wednesday: The 2019 women’s basketball national tournament will open up Wednesday (March 6) morning from the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa. Head coach Drew Olson’s squad (No. 1 overall seed) will take the court at 12 p.m. CST on Wednesday and go head-to-head with Wilberforce University (Ohio), a first time national qualifier. For more details on the tournament, including how to watch and follow live, click HERE.

All-GPAC basketball teams announced: Nine Bulldog basketball players earned some form of All-GPAC recognition for the 2018-19 season, as announced by the conference on Feb. 27. Philly Lammers reeled in the most significant accolade, taking in the GPAC Player of the Year award. Carter Kent was named the GPAC Freshman of the Year. On the women’s side, Lammers was joined on the GPAC’s first team by Taylor Cockerill. The top-ranked Bulldogs also had four other honorees in Grace Barry (second team), Quinn Wragge (second team), Mackenzie Koepke (honorable mention) and Riley Sibbel (honorable mention). For the men, Brevin Sloup (second team), Kent (honorable mention) and Tanner Shuck (honorable mention) garnered all-conference laurels.

Women’s golf opens spring season today (March 5): Head coach Brett Muller’s women’s golf team has escaped the cold of Nebraska by making its way to the southeast. A squad led by freshman Kendra Placke, the Bulldogs will play today and Wednesday (March 5-6) at Timacuan Country Club in Lake Mary, Fla., at the Seminole State Spring Break Invite. Concordia last competed Oct. 1-2 at the GPAC Championships in Vermillion, S.D. Placke and company enter the spring season sitting in sixth place in the conference. Placke is tied for fourth in the GPAC on the individual leaderboard.

Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is underway in its fourth year of existence. The show airs live for a half hour every Thursday beginning at 5:30 p.m. CT on KTMX-FM 104.9 Max Country. The weekly feature can also be heard live via 104.9 Max Country’s website or by downloading the Max Country app. Throughout the 2018-19 season, Bulldog football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball contests will be aired live on Max Country. Tyler Cavalli serves as the host of the coaches’ show as well as the play-by-play voice for football and basketball. Frank Greene is in his fourth season calling Concordia volleyball.

Concordia Sports Network: Live webcasts for most home varsity contests can be accessed by visiting http://www.cune.edu/csn at game time. Check team schedules/results pages for webcast dates. Scrimmages, exhibitions and junior varsity events are not broadcasted.

Track & Field

  • The indoor season is now officially in the books for the Bulldogs, whose men and women turned in top 10 finishes at the 2019 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships (Feb. 28 – March 2) inside the Sanford Jackrabbit Athletic Complex in Brookings, S.D. Concordia’s men (28 points) and women (23.5 points) placed ninth while 14 athletes collected at least one All-America award. Head coach Matt Beisel’s squads also recorded a GPAC title (women) and a conference runner-up claim (men) this indoor season. For more on Bulldog track and field, click HERE.
  • Concordia qualified 30 athletes for a national meet that included a field of nearly 1,000 competitors. Fourteen Bulldogs teamed up for All-America awards in 10 different events. Sophomore Cody Williams scored the most points individually of any Bulldog, courtesy of a national runner up finish in the heptathlon and fifth-place claim in the pole vault. Williams was one of three Concordia athletes with multiple All-America honors, joining Josiah McAllister (1,000 meters; 4x800 meter relay) and Jacee Pfeifer (pole vault, 4x400 meter relay).
  • Below is a complete rundown of the All-America awards totaled by Concordia athletes. From an all-time career perspective, Samantha Liermann is the most accomplished of current Bulldogs. She is now an eight-time All-American with two shot put national titles to her credit. First time All-Americans over the weekend were Rachel Battershell, Leah Larson, Sarah Lewis, Erin Mapson, Jamie Nikodym, Jacee Pfeifer, Thomas Taylor and Christian Van Cleave. Concordia’s All-Americas were: Rachel Battershell – 4x400 meter relay (3rd); Jacob Cornelio – weight throw (2nd); Leah Larson – triple jump (7th); Sarah Lewis – 4x400 meter relay (3rd); Samantha Liermann – shot put (7th); Erin Mapson – pole vault (4th); Nathan Matters – 4x800 meter relay (6th); Josiah McAllister – 1,000 meters (4th); 4x800 meter relay (6th); Jamie Nikodym – 4x400 meter relay (3rd); Jacee Pfeifer – 4x400 meter relay (3rd); pole vault (T-5th); Addie Shaw – weight throw (4th); Thomas Taylor – 4x800 meter relay (6th); Christian Van Cleave – 4x800 meter relay (6th); Cody Williams – heptathlon (2nd); pole vault (5th).
  • Both the men’s and women’s teams finished at or better than their national placements from the 2018 NAIA indoor championships. The men made a huge leap, going from 42nd a year ago to ninth. Meanwhile, the women recorded the exact same place finish as they did in 2018. The women’s program has now placed 12th or better at 11 national meets in a row. Prior to last year, the men’s program had an impressive run of six-straight national meets with top-five placements.
  • The women’s 4x400 meter relay of Rachel Battershell, Sarah Lewis, Jamie Nikodym and Jacee Pfeifer again reset the school standard in the event. The quartet blazed to a time of 3:51.80 in the prelims on Feb. 28. Two days later, the group ran a time of 3:52.63 and placed third. Battershell, Lewis and Pfeifer are all freshmen. Pfeifer had one of the busiest weekends of any Bulldog having qualified for nationals in three events.
  • Williams has a bright future ahead of himself as the program’s newest version of Lucas Wiechman, a former multi-event extraordinaire and pole vault national champion. Williams entered the national meet rated No. 1 in the heptathlon and had a shot at winning the title going into the final event – the 1,000 meters. Ultimately, Doane’s Levi Sudbeck edged Williams in the overall scoring. Williams was the GPAC champion in the heptathlon.
  • Cornelio could also make a push for a national title at some point, either in the weight throw or the hammer throw for outdoor. The native of took the GPAC crown in the weight throw and then placed as the national runner up this weekend. For now, the program’s number of throws national titles since the start of the 2014 seasons remains at 14. Cornelio threw the weight throw more than 65 feet in the process of moving up from his seventh-place weight throw mark at the 2018 NAIA indoor championships.
  • Concordia has the potential to place even better than ninth at this spring’s outdoor national championships. Both Bulldog teams spent much of this indoor season rated in the top five nationally, according to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. The outdoor championships will once again be staged in Gulf Shores, Ala., where Concordia won a team men’s national title in 2015 and a team women’s national title in 2016. The outdoor season is set to get started with the Wayne State Wildcat Classic in Wayne, Neb., March 22-23.

Wrestling

  • The 2018-19 season is complete for the Bulldogs, who wound up with team finishes of first in GPAC duals, fourth at the GPAC championships and 26th at the NAIA national championships. The national event was held March 1-2 at the Jacobson Exhibition Center in Des Moines, Iowa, where head coach Levi Calhoun oversaw five national qualifiers. They combined for five wins, 17 team points and one All-America finish. For more information on Bulldog wrestling, click HERE.
  • The program extended its run to six-straight years with at least on All-American. Alberto Garcia is the latest Concordia grappler to reach the podium. The 133-pounder from Escondido, Calif., did major work on day one of the national championships. Seeded 12th, Garcia tore through No. 5 Zach Durbin of Missouri Valley by major decision (10-2) before pinning Gaytan in the third period. Gaytan was a national finalist a year ago and was the 133-pound GPAC champion this season. Garcia then beat a third top 10 seed by knocking off No. 10 D’earion Stokes of Briar Cliff on day two. Garcia placed fourth overall, ultimately falling in the third-place match at 133.
  • In program history (which has dated from 1961-78 and 2009-present), 10 different Bulldog All-Americans have combined for 15 total All-America awards. Four of those individuals are multiple-time All-Americans: Ken Burkhardt Jr. (2015, 2016, 2017), Kodie Cole (2015, 2016), Ceron Francisco (2015, 2017) and Andrew Schulte (2015, 2016). Schulte remains the only national champion in school history. Francisco was the heavyweight national runner up in 2017.
  • The program has also now placed 26th or better at the national championships six years in a row. That run began with a 22nd-place finish in 2014, followed by finishes of 12th in 2015, eighth in 2016, 15th in 2017 and 22nd in 2018. Those accomplishments have come under three different head coaches: Dana Vote, Andrew Nicola and Calhoun. Over those six seasons, Concordia has had a combined 43 national qualifiers and 12 All-Americans.
  • Garcia was making his first career appearance at the national tournament. The same was true for teammates Walker Fisher (174), Zack Moistner (133) and Michael Stann (285). Fisher picked up his first career national tournament win before being eliminated on day one. Moistner and Stann both went 0-2. Stann had a particularly tough draw having to go against the NAIA’s No. 1 rated heavyweight in his first match.
  • Making his second straight trip to nationals, junior Deandre Chery had hoped to make more of a push for a podium finish. Chery dropped a 15-5 major decision to No. 8 Jonathan Stewart of Williams Baptist in his opening match. Chery rebounded with a 7-3 win over Logan Bowen (University of Saint Mary) before bowing out of the 174-pound bracket. The ninth-seeded Chery was upset by unseeded Noah Clary (Lourdes) in an elimination match.
  • Chery and Stann were two of the team’s constants all season. Stann went 36-15 overall while topping the Bulldogs in wins. He also was second to Chery with 16 pins. A native of Miami Gardens, Fla., Chery (35-11) recorded 17 pins this season. He will have one last opportunity at an All-America award next season. Chery is now a two-time GPAC champion at 174 pounds.
  • Fisher was one of six seniors on the 2018-19 rosters. He was the only senior on the national qualifying roster. That means Calhoun should have a solid group coming back for 2019-20. The program has high expectations having won a GPAC championship in four of the past five seasons.

Women’s Basketball

  • The most wonderful time of the year for college basketball is here. The top-ranked Bulldogs will enter the national tournament on the high of sweeping GPAC regular season and tournament titles for the third year in a row. Thirteenth-year head coach Drew Olson’s squad polished off the latest championship by pulling away from then fourth-ranked Dakota Wesleyan in the fourth quarter for a 75-63 title game victory inside Walz Arena on Feb. 26. Concordia moved to 30-3 overall. For more information on Bulldog women’s basketball, click HERE.
  • Another epic GPAC title game with rival Dakota Wesleyan seemed likely when Concordia’s lead stood at just two points with under five minutes remaining in the final period. Eventually, junior point guard Grace Barry took over (12 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter) while leading a third double-digit margin victory of the season against the Tigers. Concordia has won seven of the past eight meetings with Dakota Wesleyan, the NAIA Division II defending national champion. The two programs have played seven times since the start of the 2017-18 campaign.
  • Last week it was announced that the Bulldogs had earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NAIA Division II national tournament. The reward is a first-round matchup with eighth-seeded Wilberforce University (Ohio) at 12 p.m. CST on Wednesday. This will mark the 18th all-time national tournament appearance for the Concordia program. In its first 17 appearances at the national championships, Concordia has posted a record of 29-17 with six trips to the national semifinals (two national runners up).
  • The national tournament bracket release was not the only good news that came out last week. The day after the GPAC championship game, the conference named Philly Lammers the 2018-19 GPAC Player of the Year.  Lammers joins former NAIA Division II National Player of the Year Bailey Morris as the Concordia women’s basketball program’s two players to ever be lauded with the GPAC Player of the Year award. Morris garnered the honor in back-to-back seasons (2013-14 and 2014-15). In the GPAC era, the Bulldogs have also collected five GPAC Defensive Player of the Year awards, four GPAC Coach of the Year awards and two GPAC Freshman of the Year awards.
  • Lammers has the next most national tournament experience of any current Concordia player with nine games played at the Tyson Events Center. The Omaha native has averaged 15.7 points and 9.8 rebounds per game at the national tournament. While helping the Bulldogs to the 2018 title game, Lammers was named All-Tournament First Team. Lammers has an active national tournament string of three games in a row with at least 20 points. She put up a combined 69 points last season in national championships contests versus Jamestown, Northwestern and Dakota Wesleyan. Lammers is nearing a milestone, now five points away from 1,500 in her career.
  • In the program’s first 46 games at the national tournament, the Bulldogs have averaged 73.5 points per game (3,385 total points) while allowing an average of 65.1 points (2,994 total points). The school record for most team points scored in a single tournament game was broken in 2017 in the 101-66 first-round win over Bryan College (Tenn.) (previous high was achieved in 2015 in the 92-82 win over College of Saint Mary). The Bulldogs’ stingiest defensive effort occurred in 2005 when they held Western Baptist to just 28 points in a 70-28 first-round victory.
  • Seven of the 15 players on the Bulldogs’ official national tournament roster have prior experience at the national tournament. These seven individuals have combined for 47 career games over appearances from 2016 through 2018. Senior Quinn Wragge has the most experience on the national stage during that time, having played in each of the program’s last 10 national tournament games. Wragge has averaged 13.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in those contests. She was named to the All-Tournament Second Team last season. In her first national tournament game (2016 vs. Goshen College), Wragge notched 24 points and 10 rebounds.
  • The NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship bracket can be viewed HERE. If Concordia gets past Wilberforce on Wednesday, it would advance to the second round and play either fourth-seeded Sterling College (Kan.) or fifth-seeded Cardinal Stritch University (Wis.) at 12 p.m. on Friday. Game times and dates for potential later round contests for the Bulldogs would be at 1 p.m. on Saturday (March 9) in the quarterfinals, 6:05 p.m. on Monday, March 11 in the semifinals and 7:05 p.m. on Tuesday, March 12 in the championship game. All games take place inside the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa.

Tennis

  • Both Bulldog squads resumed action last week with the same opponents: Sterling College (Kan.) on March 1 and Ottawa University (Kan.) on March 2. The men and women defended their home turf inside the Walz Fieldhouse in wins by identical 8-1 team scores. In matches played in North Kansas City, Mo., against Ottawa, the Concordia women lost 8-1 while the men fell 7-2. Both teams are 4-2 overall. David DeSimone officially became head coach of the men’s and women’s tennis programs on Feb. 18. For more information on Bulldog tennis: Men | Women.
  • Senior Marlene Maier continues to lead the way for the Bulldogs. She surrendered only two games while winning both of her weekend matches at No. 1 singles. She also teamed up with Claudia Miranda Viera on an 8-2 victory over their No. 1 doubles counterparts from Sterling. Maier produced the lone triumph in the defeat handed down by the Braves. A native of Uppsala, Sweden, Maier has held down the No. 1 spot in the singles lineup for all six matches this season. Her record is 5-1.
  • The Concordia women won every match over Sterling with the exception of No. 3 singles. The Bulldogs notched singles wins from Maier, No. 2 Miranda Viera, No. 4 Katelinn Wurm, No. 5 Allison Marshall and No. 6 Angela Bell. Lindee Schultz also pitched in on a winning effort at No. 3 doubles along with Bell. Maier and Miranda Viera worked together at No. 1 while Marshall and Wagner paired up at No.  2.
  • The loss this past Saturday interrupted a three-match win streak for the women. During which, Concordia had captured wins over Bethel College (Kan.), Bethany College (Kan.) and Sterling. They lost only two matches in those team victories. With four wins overall, the Bulldogs have the most among the eight teams in the GPAC. Last season Concordia set a new school record for most wins in a single season with 13.
  • In the win over Sterling, the Concordia men dropped only one set while winning five of six singles matches. The lineup included No. 1 Thomas Greeff, No. 2 Luke Zoller, No. 3 Isaac Howes, No. 4 Jeremy Berryman, No. 5 Conner Works and No. 6 Jack Kitson. Berryman and Zoller faced the least resistance. Zoller won, 6-0, 6-1. Meanwhile, Berryman took his match, 6-1, 6-0. Kitson won a pro set, 8-1. On March 2, the Bulldogs went head-to-head with a Braves team that is receiving votes nationally. Ottawa won all contested matches. Concordia’s lone two wins came via forfeit.
  • In doubles, the Bulldog weekend lineup featured Berryman and Zoller at No. 1, Howes and Kitson at No. 2 and Greeff and Joseph Bindl at No. 3. Concordia won each of the doubles matches over Sterling. Greeff and Bindl were especially dominant, winning 8-0. The tightest clash was at No. 2 (8-6).
  • The women have handled the early part of their schedule in exceptional fashion. Through six matches, they are a combined 22-14 in singles and 12-6 in doubles play. Following Maier with five wins, Bell (3-1) has the second most singles wins on the team. In doubles, Marshall (4-1) and Miranda Viera (4-2) have produced the team’s top records. Maier is 3-3 in doubles while partnering mostly with Miranda Viera.
  • On the men’s side, the Bulldogs are a combined 18-18 in singles and 9-9 in doubles play. The team singles co-leaders are Berryman (4-2) and Works (4-2). Howes (3-3) is close behind. In doubles, the combo of Howes and Kitson leads the way at 3-3.
  • Concordia will next take to the courts in Colorado over spring break week. The Bulldogs were originally scheduled to take on Metro State University of Denver today (March 5). Those matches were canceled. That means the women will play Colorado State University-Pueblo (March 6), Southwest Minnesota State University (March 7) and Colorado College (March 7) in a run of NCAA Division II matchups. Meanwhile, the men will challenge Colorado State-Pueblo (March 6) and Colorado College (March 7).

Baseball

  • As of today (March 5), the Bulldogs are enjoying their first off day since beginning action at the Tucson Invitational on March 2. After dropping a pair of games against NCAA Division II opponents on Monday, Concordia is now 3-3 on the road trip. The Bulldogs own wins at the Tucson Invite over Dakota Wesleyan and Waldorf University (doubleheader sweep). Fifth-year head coach Ryan Dupic’s squad stands at 4-6 overall on the young season. For more information on Concordia baseball, click HERE.
  • The schedule has been challenging through the opening 10 games of the campaign, which got started in Oklahoma City, Okla., the weekend of Feb. 23-24. While there, the Bulldogs earned a win over No. 8 Oklahoma City, which won two of three in the series. Concordia also played a ranked foe in St. Cloud State University (Minn.), which is ranked No. 11 at the NCAA Division II level. The other two contests versus NCAA D-II were both played against Concordia University, St. Paul.
  • Prior to Monday’s two defeats, the Bulldogs had won four of five games. That stretch included a 16-1 thumping of GPAC foe Dakota Wesleyan (contest counted as a nonconference game). In the rout, Evan Bohman, Keaton Candor and Christian Meza all went deep. As part of a 14-hit attack, Bohman led the way with three hits and three RBIs. Two hits apiece were collected by Luciano DePamphilis, Beau Dorman, Meza and Logan Ryan. Meza knocked in five runs while Council and Ryan drove in two each.
  • A junior from Appleton, Wis., Bohman has provided some punch in the middle of the lineup. He has started all 10 games and is hitting .342 with three home runs, five doubles and eight RBIs. He tops all regulars with a .711 slugging percentage. The three homers equal his total from the entire 2018 season. Bohman has already notched five multiple-hit games this season.
  • Senior Tanner Wauhob has been an innings eater in the starting rotation. He’s tossed two seven-inning complete games having taken the ball against Oklahoma City and Waldorf. In 14 total innings this season, Wauhob sports a 3.21 ERA (five earned runs) to go along with 16 strikeouts. The Sioux City, Iowa, native is being counted upon to be a much more integral part of the team after he threw 14.2 innings over seven appearances in 2018.
  • Transfer Sasha Jabusch has also been solid on the bump. In his two starts, Jabusch has totaled 11 innings and owns a 1-1 record and 2.45 ERA. He has struck out 11 hitters. The biggest issue has been eight walks. The native of Kelso, Wash., picked up the win versus Dakota Wesleyan by going five strong innings (only one run allowed). Jabusch is one of six pitchers to start so far this season.
  • Four Bulldogs who have played in all 10 games are hitting better than .300: Beau Dorman (.381), Bohman (.342), Council (.333) and Meza (.313). As a team, Concordia is slashing .286/.402/.470 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with nine home runs. The home runs have come from six different players. After Bohman’s three big flies, Candor comes in next with two homers.
  • Meza has a chance to continue to climb up the program’s all-time lists in his senior season. The 2018 first team All-GPAC performer currently ranks seven in school history with 166 career hits. He is all the way to No. 3 in RBIs (111) and could soon become the all-time leader in doubles. His 39 doubles are five off the school record of 44 by Kaleb Geiger (2015-18).
  • Six games remain on the Tucson Invite slate. The Bulldogs are scheduled to play Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Kino Sports Complex. The opponents will be Presentation College (S.D) (doubleheader) on Thursday, Mount Marty (doubleheader) on Friday and Minot State University (N.D.) and Southwest Minnesota State University on Saturday. Check out the complete schedule HERE.

Softball

  • As of this writing (March 5), the Bulldogs were four games into both the 2019 season and their run at the Tucson Invitational (March 3-9). Due to rough February/early March weather in the Midwest, Concordia had its first six scheduled doubleheaders either postponed or canceled. As a result, Shawn Semler made his official head coaching debut for the Bulldogs in Tucson on March 3. Concordia is 1-3 with the win being a 13-3 decision over Missouri Valley College on Monday. For more information on Bulldog softball, click HERE.
  • Semler knew his team would get tested in Arizona – and that’s exactly what he wanted. Two of the first four games have been played against ranked opponents – No. 15 University of St. Francis (Ill.) and No. 7 Indiana Wesleyan University. Concordia fell by a 2-1 score to St. Francis and lost, 4-2, in eight innings at the hands of Indiana Wesleyan. Before leaving Tucson, the Bulldogs will also play 25th-ranked Valley City State University (N.D.) as part of a 12-game slate in Arizona.
  • Semler has not been afraid to put plenty of responsibility on freshman Camry Moore, a native of Crete, Neb., who led Crete High School to a state title as a prep senior. Moore got the ball right off the bat versus St. Francis. She threw all 6.1 innings (the Saints scored the walk-off winner in the bottom of the seventh) and allowed only one earned run in her collegiate debut. Moore has covered 21 of the first 27.1 innings in the circle for Concordia pitchers. She is also expected to make a significant impact with the bat.
  • Reigning GPAC Player of the Year Hhana Haro is another of the standouts on this 2019 squad. Through the first three games of the road trip, Haro had reached base in seven of 12 plate appearances. She also delivered a home run and a double. The native of Garden Grove, Calif., is coming off perhaps the best season by a freshman in program history. She batted .494, slugged .747 and broke school single season records for hits (76) and doubles (20) while also notching five home runs and 38 RBIs.
  • Semler’s roster includes six seniors: Maddie Fousek, Leah Kalkwarf, Jamie Lefebure, Elanna Osthoff, Tricia Tripp and Brittany Woolridge. Kalkwarf and Lefebure have been constants as middle infield starters since they arrived in Seward. Kalkwarf had her best season as a sophomore when she garnered first team All-GPAC accolades. Osthoff and Woolridge are both transfers. A Tucson native, Woolridge had the opportunity to pitch in her hometown on Monday.
  • Semler has been a proven winner in his experiences at the college and high school levels. Most recently the head coach at Waverly High School, Semler is in his 15th season as a collegiate softball head coach. He also spent six seasons at College of Saint Mary and eight at NCAA Division II Southwest Minnesota State University. In those stops, Semler won a combined 411 games and eight conference championships. He qualified for four NCAA D-II regional tournaments at Southwest Minnesota State, where he is the program’s all-time winningest coach.
  • Five Bulldogs appeared in Concordia uniforms for the first time the past couple of days. That group includes Moore in addition to Jadyn Lindgren, Kylee Nixon, Savannah Robertson and Emily Sherstone. It’s no easy task to crack the starting lineup for a program that returned a wealth of regulars from the previous season, including first team all-conference center fielder MacKinsey Schmidt. The pitching staff also brought back Woolridge and Grace Bernhardt.
  • The Tucson Invite schedule continues today (March 5) with games against Bethel College (Ind.) at 12 p.m. CT and Benedictine College (Kan.) at 4:30 p.m. CT. Semler’s squad is also slated to play twice on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. All games at the Tucson Invite match Concordia with fellow NAIA programs. For the complete schedule, click HERE.