WICHITA, Kan. – Camry Moore was up to Camry Moore type of things on Friday (March 4) as the Concordia University Softball team began its spring break tour that starts with Wichita, Kan., and will continue with Tucson, Ariz. In a 4-0 shutout of Graceland University (Iowa) as part of the Friends Invitational, Moore fired a seven-inning no-hitter for her first career no-hitter at the college level. The Bulldogs then steamrolled Waldorf University (Iowa), 12-1 in five innings, in their second game of the day.
With Moore leading the way, Head Coach Tatum Edwards’ squad has won seven games in a row to move to 8-2 overall. The start is especially impressive considering the amount of newcomers that fill the lineup. It sure helps to be able to lean upon an ace like Moore.
“She did such a good job of communicating what she wanted to do,” said Edwards of Moore. “She was moving the ball and doing a really good job of watching the hitters’ swings and making adjustments pitch-to-pitch. She knew how she wanted to get them out. It was fun to sit back and watch her do her thing and get into that zone that everyone talks about. It was fun watching her compete.”
As a star at Crete High School, Moore notched 14 no-hitters and four perfect games. She was so close to perfection on Friday. The only baserunner all game for the Yellowjackets came via an error to begin the seventh inning. Moore mesmerized Graceland while striking out 13 batters and also recording five flyouts and three groundouts. She became the first Concordia pitcher to throw a no-hitter since Jordana Goncalves did so in five innings versus Central Christian College (Kan.) in 2015. The most recent seven-inning no-hitter for the program had been achieved in 2007 by Amanda Hehn.
In the win over Graceland, the Bulldogs got all of their runs in the second inning. Hanna Bowers came through with a two-run single, another run came home thanks to an error and Aubrey Bruning drove in a run with a ground ball that resulted in another error. Catcher Taylor Glause went 2-for-3 with a run scored and Caitlyn McGarvie contributed a hit and a run.
In the white washing that followed, Concordia collected 17 hits and scored at least one run in each of the five innings. The big outbursts featured four runs in the third and five in the fourth. Four Bulldogs generated at least two hits: Moore (3-for-3, one run, two doubles, one RBI), Brena Brown (2-for-3, two runs, one double, one home run, two RBIs), Bruning (2-for-3, two runs) and Julia Van Wey (2-for-3, one run, one double, two RBIs). In addition, Kylee Nixon doubled in drove in three runs and Lex Campos delivered a two-run single.
Said Edwards, “If we can just think about passing the bat and having team offense with moving runners we can continue to be successful. It’s not on one- or two-people’s shoulders. It’s on everybody. These last few games we’ve seen one through nine contribute. We had several outs that moved runners up in our second game. It’s going to take everybody doing the job.”
In the circle, Jerzi Rowe covered three innings and got the win. Megan Eurich finished off the game by working the fourth and fifth frames. Collectively, they allowed just two hits and did not walk a single batter. Graceland slipped to 2-6 while Waldorf is now 0-10.
The Bulldogs will be back at it at 10 a.m. CT on Saturday while concluding the Friends Invitational. Mount Mercy University (Iowa) will serve as the first opponent before Concordia goes up against Peru State College at 12 p.m. The Bulldogs will quickly get back on the road and be ready for the start of the Tucson Invitational on March 7.