SHAWNEE, Kan. – Brock Culler made his collegiate head coaching debut on Saturday (Feb. 18) as Concordia University Softball embarked on day one of two at the 2023 Kansas City NAIA Softball Invite. In action in Shawnee, Kan., the Bulldogs shook off an 11-6 loss at the hands of MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.) and defeated Missouri Valley College, 6-3. Megan Eurich fired a complete game in the victory.
Culler’s squad will also play twice on Sunday as part of the event. He was able to learn a little bit more about his team on day one of the 2023 season.
“I thought our pitchers did a good job locating pitches for the most part,” Culler said. “We missed a few in that first game and that resulted in two three-run homers. Those are hard to overcome. We just got off to a really slow start, but they settled in and competed really well today. We got quite a few kids into the two games. I like their enthusiasm and l like the way they competed. Offensively, we hit the ball really well. That was good to see.”
It was an inauspicious start when MidAmerica Nazarene put five runs on the board in the bottom of the first in Saturday’s opener. The Bulldogs did claw back to tie the game up thanks to a three-run third and a two-run fourth. A base hit to right by Kylie Shottenkirk evened it up at 5-5 in that frame. The Pioneers then responded with three in the bottom of the fourth and three more in the bottom of the sixth. Leading Concordia’s offensive attack, Zoie Isom went 2-for-4 with two RBIs in the game. Meanwhile, six Bulldogs notched exactly one hit.
Concordia flipped the script in the second game and got on top in the first via Isom’s RBI single that scored Shottenkirk. The Bulldogs tacked on with two in the second with the help of Caitlyn McGarvie’s RBI single and a Shottenkirk steal of home. The Vikings got within 3-2 after four innings before Concordia busted loose with a three-run fifth that featured a two-run double from Julia Van Wey. Eurich covered all seven innings in the circle and scattered nine hits while striking out four batters. Said Culler, “She had it working. She did a great job.”
On the day, five Concordia batters recorded multiple hits: Isom (3-for-8), Shottenkirk (2-for-4 with four walks), Van Wey (2-for-5), Hanna Bowers (2-for-6) and Taylor Glause (2-for-7). Three freshmen made their Bulldog debuts: Deleesi Bartling, Montgomery Berner and Delanie Voshell. One of the team’s more experienced players, Jerzi Rowe started game one in the circle and went four innings before giving way to Brooke Townsend.
The Kansas City NAIA Softball Invite will continue on Sunday when the Bulldogs will take on Baker University (Kan.) at 11 a.m. and Benedictine College (Kan.) at 1 p.m. The location will again be the Mid-America Sports Complex in Shawnee. Baker finished 2022 at 24-23 while Benedictine went 30-26 last season.