SEWARD, Neb. – After 20 games played, the Bulldogs will finally play in front of their home crowd at Plum Creek Park on Thursday (March 26). Concordia University Nebraska Softball went 3-1 over the last week besting in-state Nebraska Wesleyan University (8-4, 8-5) as the team split with Briar Cliff (4-3, 8-6), with both games coming down to the final inning. The rowdy Dawgs are 12-8 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
This week
Wednesday, March 25 at Bellevue (11-13), 6 p.m.
--Live Webcast | Live Stats | Location: Renner Dennis Outdoor Athletic Complex (Bellevue, Neb.)
Thursday, March 26 vs. Morningside (13-11, 4-0 GPAC), 5 p.m. DH
--Live Webcast | Game 1 - Game 2 | Location: Plum Creek Park (Seward, Neb.)
Saturday, March 28 vs. Dakota Wesleyan (20-11, 3-1 GPAC), 1 p.m. DH
--Live Webcast | Game 1 - Game 2 | Location: Plum Creek Park (Seward, Neb.)
By the numbers
· The bats continued to pop in this past week’s four games. Bulldogs that cracked at least four hits included Kiera Farritor (9-for-14), Aubriana Krieser (7-for-14), Mary Beth Hart (8-for-17), Bailey Merritt (5-for-12), Laycee Josoff (4-for-11), Taryn Ganstrom (5-for-15) and Tobi Topp (4-for-15). Farritor mashed hitting .643 from the plate and drove in seven RBIs as three came from the extra-bag variety. Kaylei Denison went 2-1 with 3.82 ERA hurling seven strikeouts and gave in eight earned runs. Kierstyn Linn went 1-0 in her earned win outing. The Bulldogs gave up two errors defensively compared to their opponents' eight.
· With the second-best batting average (.329) in the GPAC, the Bulldogs have delivered 177 hits in the season. The knock leaders are Hart (31), Farritor (23), Krieser (21), Ganstrom (20), Topp (19) and Josoff (16). The top hitting rates for Concordia start with Farritor (.460) and Hart (.419) both over .400. Batting over .300 are Krieser (.344), Merritt (.324), Topp (.322), Josoff (.320), Ganstrom (.317) and Grace Zaugg (.304).
· Kiera Farritor continues to connect at the plate moving up to second in the conference batting average. The Malcom High product has jumped to fifth in the GPAC in slugging rate with seven multiple bag strikes this season. A 15-game starter, the sophomore has driven in 14 runs and hit two homers – ranked second on the team in both categories. With 23 hits on the season, she has almost doubled her freshman production. The designated player has also collected six doubles, 5 runs, three walks and one stolen base.
· The leading three in slugging percentage are Farritor (.700), Aubriana Krieser (.541) and Topp (.525). Krieser (three), Farritor (two) and Ganstrom (one) have six of the seven homers with Grace Maguire shelling out the other. Hart (.486) and Ganstrom (.508) fell behind the initial three and Josoff has dropped below with a .400 slugging rate. In extra-based knocks, Topp (eight), Ganstrom (seven), Farritor (seven), Krieser (six) and Hart (five) lead the pack of wild Dawgs.
· Denison was on a five-game winning streak before falling in game two of the Chargers' doubleheader. The Waverly, Neb., product was a flamethrower against Kansas Wesleyan with a 7-4 record as the game one starter. Through 65.2 innings, she has 38 punchouts and 11 starts. nine strikeouts to reach a new single-game career high. The junior has a 3.30 ERA for the season
· Mary Beth Hart leads the team with 31 hits (five extra-base) on 74 visits to the plate. With a .419 batting average, the Lincoln Southwest High alum reached base in .449 percent of her at-bats. The freshman left fielder has graced the leadoff spot from day one as a Bulldog and continues to show why she’s in the front with eight stolen bags, totaling a team-high 36 bases. In 74 appearances in the batter’s box, Hart has only been punched out three times by opposing pitchers.
The Opponents
The Bruins are 11-13 with their most impressive win coming against a then-ranked No. 6 Madonna University (Mich.), 3-0, at the Space Coast Spring Games on March 13. Bellevue has a common opponent win against Briar Cliff (4-0) in a single-game outing. With a similar batting average as the Dawgs, the Bruins hit .329 with an on-base percentage of .404. With a 2-2 home record, they are led in hitting by Daniela Ramirez (.462) with a .769 team-high slugging percentage. Marguerite Brown (.440) and Kaitlyn Fisher (.418) both hit over .400 for Bellevue, as Brown has 17 extra-base hits. Carly Bertolini (2.11 ERA) and Mariah Unverzagt (2.73 ERA) are the hurlers in the circle with over 40 innings pitched apiece. Bertolini has a team-leading 36 punch outs.
The Mustangs are 13-11 overall and 4-0 in conference with a four-game win streak. Morningside swept Briar Cliff (1-0, 9-4) and Doane (4-2, 6-5) to start GPAC action. With a 13-10 record on the road, MSIDE has hit eight home runs (2nd in GPAC) scoring 126 runs in 24 games. With a .308 hitting percentage, the Mustangs’ Paige Schuster (.449) has five extra base hits and the top batting rate. Adeline Fliege has a team-low 1.85 ERA in the Morningside high 72 innings pitched. With a 6.22 strikeout average per seven innings, Fliege has 64 total punch outs.
The Tigers are 20-11 overall and 3-1 early in GPAC competition with a two-game win streak. Dakota Wesleyan defeated Hastings, 3-2, in both performances. With a 3-2 road record, DWU split with Northwestern, winning the first game, 8-3, and losing in game two, 8-0. Scoring 175 runs in 31 games, the Tigers hit a .305 batting average and a .367 on-base percentage. Macy Moore (.394) and Avery Perkins (.386) are the top Tigers from the batter's box as the team out of Mitchell has hit 23 home runs. Alison Ernsberger (78.1 IP) and Mandalyn Nachtigall (69.2) have combined for 130 strikeouts for Dakota Wesleyan.
Up next
Concordia has four games scheduled in the middle of next week. The Bulldogs will host their third straight home doubleheader versus Hastings on Wednesday (April 1). The following day, CUNE will travel to Midland for rescheduled games in Fremont.