WICHITA, Kan. – Megan Eurich sparkled in the circle and shortstop Laycee Josoff shined with the bat and glove on day two of the Friends Invitational held in Wichita, Kan., the weekend of March 1-2. The Concordia University Softball team opened Saturday with a 7-0 shutout of Park University (Mo.) before falling at the hands of Sterling College (Kan.), 10-4, in the fourth and final contest of the invite.
Head Coach Brock Culler’s squad went 2-2 in Wichita while also claiming a win on Friday over Missouri Valley College. The Bulldogs will head to Arizona with a 4-10 overall mark.
“That was a really good win for us,” Culler said of the win over Park. “That’s a really good team. We got out early on them and Megan was outstanding. Our defense was good – we played really, really well that game. We’re continuing to develop our pitching staff. We struggled against Sterling, but we had a good weekend offensively. We still have some things to get figured out.”
A junior from Gretna, Neb., Eurich is the definite ace of the Concordia staff. She fired a two-hit shutout with just one walk surrendered in the stifling of the Pirates. Only once all game did Park manage to put a runner in scoring position. That instance occurred in the top of the sixth when the frame began with a single and a walk. Eurich then buckled down and got three-straight outs: pop up to second, strikeout out and fly out to right.
Eurich got all the support she needed in the first inning when Julia Van Wey singled in a run and Jennifer Katz forced in another with a bases-loaded walk. The Bulldogs tacked on with an RBI single apiece from Hanna Bowers and Van Wey in the second. Additional RBIs came later from Josoff (sac fly and RBI single) and Delanie Voshell (RBI triple). Van Wey and Kylie Shottenkirk both registered two hits as part of the victory.
In the second game of the day, Concordia was unable to recover after it got down 7-0 at the conclusion of three innings. Sterling No. 3 hitter Desiree Perales went 3-for-4 with a home run and five RBIs. At the top of the Bulldog lineup, Josoff enjoyed a 3-for-4 performance that included a solo homer. In addition, Zoie Isom went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI, Aubrey Bruning doubled and scored a run and Katz went 1-for-3 with an RBI. The Warriors improved to 9-7 on the season.
A heralded recruit out of Yutan, Josoff is hitting .366 (15-for-41) through the first 14 games of her college career. Josoff and an improving offense are positive takeaways from the weekend. Concordia put a combined 28 runs on the board in four games at the Friends Invite. Said Culler of Josoff, “She had such a great weekend. She’s got it going right now. Our team is grinding. Things are upbeat and positive.”
The Bulldogs will now quickly turn around and fly to Arizona for their stay at the Tucson Invite. Concordia is slated to play two games each day (eight total) from March 5 – 8. On the first day of that stretch, the Bulldogs will take on Dickinson State University (N.D.) and Tabor College (Kan.).