SEWARD, Neb. – The 2023 home debut for the Concordia University Softball team was spoiled on Thursday (March 23) evening by visiting Nebraska Wesleyan University. The former GPAC rival rode the pitching arm of Elise Warneke to a pair of shutout victories, taking decisions by scores of 4-0 and 8-0 (five innings). The Bulldogs were limited to a combined nine hits on a chilly evening at Plum Creek Park.
Head Coach Brock Culler’s squad had been idle since its final game of the Tucson Invite played back on March 10. Concordia (11-12) will attempt to quickly flush Thursday’s results and move on.
For much of the evening, the Bulldog pitchers matched zeroes with Warneke. There two innings in particular that got away from Concordia. The home team surrendered four runs in the fifth inning of game one and then seven runs in the fifth inning of game two. Thirteen of the Prairie Wolves’ 24 hits on the day came in those two frames alone. It was a fine outing for former Bulldog Val Gerlach, who went 5-for-6 out of the cleanup spot for Wesleyan.
Any time Warneke (9-4) did find herself in trouble, she always made pitches to work her way out of it. The Bennington, Neb., native covered all 12 innings on the day and scattered nine hits while accumulating 11 strikeouts (compared to just one walk). Concordia left seven runners on base in game one and stranded four more in game two.
The Bulldog starting pitchers on Thursday were Megan Eurich and Brooke Townsend. Eurich was able to escape several jams before finally running into trouble in the fifth inning of game one. An error to start the frame proved costly, helping Nebraska Wesleyan push across three unearned runs. Eurich surrendered one earned run while pitching a seven-inning complete game in the opener. In game two, Townsend kept Concordia tight until the nightmare fifth inning. She wound up pitching 4.2 innings before Katie Stachura made a relief appearance.
From a hitting perspective, Hanna Bowers had the most success for the Bulldogs. She went 3-for-7 on the day. Meanwhile, Kylie Shottenkirk went 2-for-5.
Nebraska Wesleyan moved to 13-7 overall this season. The Prairie Wolves qualified for regionals at the 2022 NCAA Division III Championships. On Wednesday, Nebraska Wesleyan was defeated twice by Midland.
The week at home will continue on Saturday when the Bulldogs are slated to begin conference play. Morningside (13-6, 0-0 GPAC) will serve as the opponent for a doubleheader set for a 1 p.m. CT first pitch from Plum Creek Park. The Mustangs landed at No. 3 in the conference preseason coaches’ poll.