SEWARD, Neb. – Leave it to the reigning GPAC Player of the Year Hhana Haro to put a jolt into a Concordia University softball team that flipped a switch between ends of Wednesday (April 24) evening’s home doubleheader split with College of Saint Mary. The Bulldogs looked stunned in a 10-2, six-inning (run rule) defeat in game one. Enough was enough for Haro, who belted two home runs in game two, which resulted in a 9-1, five-inning victory.
For the fourth conference twin bill in a row, head coach Shaw Semler’s squad settled for a split. The energy was much better in game two for Concordia (24-10, 13-7 GPAC), which will try to duplicate it going forward.
“I feel like they’ve felt a little pressure as the season has gone on,” Semler said. “We’ve talked a lot about winning the conference and being in the top two so we can host (in the GPAC tournament). I think we have felt the pressure of that. After game one, we just talked about why we play the game and having fun. Just go play the game you love and stop worrying about things you can’t control. I think in game two they had fun.”
It’s always a blast watching Haro hit. As a whole, the offense has been inconsistent of late, but Haro is capable of putting a team on her back. The Bulldogs needed a spark after game one and they got it when Haro drove a solo homer to left in the bottom of the first. An inning later, Haro drove the ball over the wall in center for a three-run shot. It was suddenly 6-0 Concordia.
By the end of the night, the Flames (14-26, 7-11 GPAC) wanted no part of Haro. They intentionally walked the star third baseman in the bottom of the fifth. The game soon ended by the run rule courtesy of a Camry Moore RBI single and Kylee Nixon two-run single.
“We just tried to clear our mindset from the first game and play super calm,” Haro said. “We were just like, ‘whatever happens, happens so why play scared?’ We just put it all out there.”
Haro was never officially retired. Her plate appearances on Wednesday went: hit-by-pitch, double, sacrifice fly, solo homer, three-run homer and intentional walk. The Bulldogs rapped out nine hits in game two after being held to five in game one. In game one, Jenessa Jarvis went 2-for-3 with a run scored and Brittany Woolridge (yes, the one who usually just pitches) enjoyed a 3-for-4 day at the dish.
Woolridge helped settle things down in game two after College of Saint Mary collected 15 hits in game one. In that capper, the Tucson, Ariz., native threw a five-inning complete game, allowing the one run on six hits and no walks to go along with five strikeouts. Three Bulldogs were used in the circle in game one.
At its best, Concordia is capable of special things. It owns a win over two teams ranked in this week’s top 25 and earlier this season won 12 games in a row. Semler would like to believe his team rediscovered its ‘A’ game in Wednesday’s game two.
“They really understand again what having fun is like,” Semler said. “All that weight is lifted off them a little bit and they can just go and play.”
It will be senior day on Saturday when the Bulldogs host Dordt (17-18, 9-9 GPAC) for the final doubleheader of the regular season. In between games, Concordia will hold a short presentation to honor its eight seniors.