WICHITA, Kan. – On three-straight game days, the Concordia University Softball team has followed a pattern of playing a tight first game before blowing out its opponent in game two. That script continued on Saturday (March 6) in Wichita, Kan., where the Bulldogs finally suffered a defeat. They let a 3-0 lead slip away in a 4-3 loss to Avila University (Mo.). Concordia regrouped in the afternoon with a 9-0 blowout of Bethel College (Kan.).
Head Coach Shawn Semler’s squad has won three of four at the ongoing Friends University Invitational. The Bulldogs (7-1) have beaten three opponents by the run rule this season.
“We’re going through the motions against some teams,” Semler said. “You can’t win every close game. We had second and third with nobody out and down one – and they got three of our best hitters to pop up in the infield. We had a pretty decent meeting after that game and switched up the lineup a little bit and went after Bethel. We’re seeing teams so far that we feel like we should handle if we play up to our ability. We have some things we still need to work on and we still are trying to find a lineup that flows like we want it to.”
After the bats went surprisingly quiet over the final six innings of Saturday’s first game, Concordia broke out with three runs apiece in the second, third and fifth innings while pouring it on Bethel. Jenessa Jarvis and Kylee Nixon both homered in the victory. Jarvis (2-for-2 with two runs and a walk) was one of five Bulldogs with two or more hits. The following teammates all went 2-for-3: Tori Homolka, Regan Karel, Caitlyn McGarvie and Camry Moore. Jarvis drove in three runs and McGarvie plated two.
Moore may have been able to go all day putting up zeroes while working in the circle against the Threshers. She covered three frames of the five-inning game and recorded four strikeouts with one hit and no walks surrendered. Zoe Flores then fired two scoreless innings to seal the win.
The Crete High School product Moore also went 4-for-6 with the bat on the day. She produced all three runs against Avila with a three-run blast in the first inning. Moore was responsible for both of the team’s two hits in the defeat. Even with star third baseman Hhana Haro still trying to find a groove, the Bulldogs have flashed plenty of power with 13 doubles and nine home runs through the season’s first eight games.
Said Semler, “When Hhana gets hot that will help us. It seems like hitting on this team is so contagious. When she gets going that will help us find that flow we’re trying to find.”
Avila entered the day at 4-6 overall while Bethel came into play at 2-7. Avila erased its three-run deficit by scoring one run apiece in the second and third innings and two in the sixth. Avila pitcher Madison McKinney escaped a key jam in the bottom of the sixth with her team nursing a one-run lead. Concordia put runners at second and third with no outs, but McKinney coaxed three consecutive pop outs to end the threat.
Freshman Jerzi Rowe started the first game in the circle and was tagged with her first loss of the season. Rowe worked five innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits and three walks. Brooke Townsend relieved Rowe and pitched two shutout innings.
Concordia’s stay at the Friends Invite will conclude after two more games are played on Sunday. The team’s schedule/results from the Invite can be viewed below. The 12 p.m. game on Sunday will be streamed live by Friends (https://portal.stretchinternet.com/friends/).
Concordia at Friends Invite:
Friday, March 5
def. Tabor College (Kan.), 5-2
def. University of Saint Mary (Kan.), 9-0 | 5 inn.
Saturday, March 6
lost to Avila University (Mo.), 4-3
def. Bethel College (Kan.), 9-0 | 5 inn.
Sunday, March 7
12 p.m. vs. Friends University (Kan.), Field 5
2 p.m. vs. Dakota State University (S.D.), Field 6