SEWARD, Neb. – Concordia University, Nebraska Softball clinched the fifth seed and is set to face fourth-seeded Dakota Wesleyan in the opening contest of the GPAC tournament. The Bulldogs will be traveling to Orange City, Iowa for the Northwestern bracket and Midland will host pod two. The pod one group includes No. 1 Northwestern, (4) Dakota Wesleyan, (5) Concordia and (8) Doane. Head Coach Brock Culler’s squad finished its regular season with a 27-18 record and a 12-10 GPAC showing.
2025 GPAC Tournament – Northwestern Bracket
--Full Bracket
April 30 – May 1 | NWC Softball Diamond (Orange City, Iowa)
--Live Webcasts (available for all games) | Live Stats
Wednesday, April 30
Game 1 – (1) Northwestern vs. (8) Doane, 12 p.m.
Game 2 – (4) Dakota Wesleyan vs. (5) Concordia, 2 p.m.
Game 3 – Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 4 p.m.
Game 4 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 6 p.m.
Thursday, May 1
Game 5 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 3 Loser, 12 p.m.
Game 6 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 2 p.m.
Game 7 – Game 6 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser, 4 p.m. (if necessary)
Admission: Admission is $10 for adults/senior citizens and $3 for K-12. Only those with NAIA passes and GPAC student ID’s will be admitted free of charge.
By the numbers
· As a program, Concordia has qualified for the GPAC tournament in 22 out of a possible 24 years (the first season of GPAC softball was 2001). The only seasons the Bulldogs missed out on conference postseason play were 2013 and 2023. Since then, Concordia has enjoyed its share of success in the GPAC tournament. The Bulldogs celebrated a GPAC tournament title in 2015 and placed as the runner up in 2014 and 2021. Each of those postseason runs resulted in appearances in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round. The ’21 squad emerged as the champion of the Morningside Bracket pod and reached the GPAC Championship Series.
· Concordia has reached the most wins since 2021 (32) and in the Brock Culler era (27). Just one game short of the GPAC win total last season (13-9), the Bulldogs will look to clinch their first postseason win under Culler. In the non-conference, Concordia was on fire with a 15-8 record winning 9 of 10 from March 2-13. Last year, CUNE dropped both games in the tournament for an early exit.
· Jennifer Katz, a senior out of Omaha, Neb., has a .357 hitting percentage good enough for second and a team-leading slug percentage (.605) on the Bulldogs roster. The center fielder has been a mainstay on defense with 71 putouts making highlight grabs in the past couple of weeks. A second-year transfer, Katz has totaled 46 hits, 29 runs scored, 26 RBIs, 12 doubles, four triples, nine walks and 14 stolen bases. The main three-hole hitter has a team high four cracks over the outfield wall.
· Taryn Ganstrom is the new single-season triples leader with nine (10 career), speed racing all the way to the third bag. The Seneca, Kan, product passed Stephanie Hinrichs (1982) and Celine Lassaigne (2003) at eight apiece. Ganstrom has leap-frogged Katz for the highest batting average (.366) and 53 total hits this season. A Southwestern transfer, Ganstrom has 38 runs, 23 runs batted in, 15 walks, seven doubles and a team-high stolen bases (T-16) from primarily the lead-off spot.
· Pitcher Megan Eurich has been clutch in the latter innings with a GPAC-high four saves. The Gretna, Neb., native has the third-highest amount of strikeouts (132) in the conference. With 130.0 innings pitched, Eurich has five shutouts in 16 complete games. A team-leading ERA (3.07), the ace has a 9-11 record allowing 57 earned runs. Out of Gretna High, Eurich has 38 career wins recently passing Megan Pleak (2001-04) to No. 7 all time and is four punch outs from moving to third in career strikeouts past Amanda Beeson (2011-14).
· In the final doubleheader versus College of Saint Mary, Aubriana Krieser drubbed the Flames for five hits and five RBIs in seven at-bats. Add a sacrifice fly and the Lincoln North Star graduate affected the twin bill in every way catching 13 putouts. Eurich struck out 10 batters in the second-game shutout as the Bulldogs mounted a 4-0 win. In game one (6-3), Concordia answered CSM with five runs in two frames to take both contests. Kaylei Denison reached her 12th win in the circle and allowed six hits in the home victory.
· In conference play, four Bulldogs are hitting a .300+ hitting percentage including Ganstrom (.389), Delanie Voshell (.373), Aubrey Bruning (.314) and Krieser (.300). Ganstrom has 28 hits, 10 RBIs, seven walks, five triples, four doubles, .444 on-base percentage and a .583 slugging percentage. Voshell has logged an extremely consistent .431 on-base showing with 22 hits followed by Krieser (18) and Katz (18). Bruning has only struck out once in all of the 22 GPAC games.
Northwestern Bracket opponents
(1) Northwestern (40-9, 20-2 GPAC) – The Red Raiders clinched the GPAC regular season championship and the No. 1 spot in the conference tourney while going 5-1 over their final six conference regular season games. Head Coach Shane Bouman’s (7th year) squad has showcased a strong offensive/defensive balance. Within league games, Northwestern ranked tied for second in runs scored (152) and first in stolen bases (65). The Red Raiders have a GPAC top five hitter Gwen Mikkelsen and pitcher in Kate Kralik (21 wins). Mikkelsen bats a .436 average and has batted in 53 runs (2nd in GPAC). Northwestern is also home to two of the GPAC’s top five best ERA hurlers in Ellie Jacobson (2.22) and Kate Kralik (2.43). Ashtyn Billings is second in the league in stolen bases (29).
(4) Dakota Wesleyan (33-14, 14-8 GPAC) – The Tigers won five of their last seven games and have one of the conference’s best offense with a .348 batting average and a .545 slugging percentage (2nd in GPAC) in GPAC play. With 147 runs scored, Dakota Wesleyan relies on the long ball with McKinnely Mull (11), Ashlen Johnson (10) and Peyton Bagley (9) all in the top five for home runs. Mull is the lone player in the conference to be in the top five in batting average (.437), RBIs (55), homers and stolen bases (32). Bagley has 20 base swipes and a .423 batting average. Johnson is just over .400 (.401) in hitting percentage. The Tigers’ ace Alison Ernsberger (19-7) has a 2.59 ERA in 176.0 innings pitched. The freshman leads the league with 166 strikeouts by a large margin.
(8) Doane (18-24, 10-12 GPAC) – The Tigers won three of their last five games and survived a three-way tie for seventh in the GPAC to get the eighth and final seed in the tournament. In conference play, Doane has scored 104 runs and a team pitching ERA of 3.30. The star in the circle for the Tigers is Faith Molina, who is in the top five for putouts (110). Molina (8-9) has pitched four complete games and a team-leading 116.1 frames and a 2.71 ERA. Grace Dowding (.376) and Lexi Adams (.333) are the batting average captains, plus Bri True with five homers and a .581 slugging percentage. Marisa Marquez has the top number in RBIs (21).
GPAC Championship Series
The Northwestern and Midland Brackets winners will meet in the GPAC Championship Series on Saturday (hosted by the highest remaining seed). It will be a best-of-three series, with game one beginning at a time to be determined. As the GPAC regular-season champion, the Red Raiders have earned one of the league’s two automatic berths to nationals. The GPAC tournament champion will also receive a bid. Should Northwestern win the conference tournament, the second national bid would go to the GPAC tournament runner-up.