Danielle Pulfrey pitched a four-hit shutout for Concordia.
Pulfrey Pitches Shutout in Cavalier Season Debut
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Originally scheduled for an opener at home last week, the Concordia University softball team opened its season with a 4-0 win at Lewis and Clark College on Thursday.
Danielle Pulfrey completed a seven-inning shutout after scattering four hits and notching 10 strikeouts.
Pulfrey would receive all the offensive support she would require when the Cavs scratched two runs across the plate in the top of the first inning via two-out hitting.
After a lead-off hit by Nicole Illias followed by a pair of outs, Casey Middagh connected on a single to right field to bring Illias home for the initial run while a following shot by Rebekah Wirkkala allowed Middagh to score from second to provide the Cavs with a quick 2-0 lead.
The Cavs added a run in the third with a Middagh home run to left field, but the vistors nearly broke the game opener in the fourth with three consecutive singles to fill the bases with no outs, only to see Pioneer pitcher Nathalie Matson work out of the jam by inducing a pair of grounders before striking out Middagh to end the threat.
On the mound for Concordia, Pulfrey struck out four in the first two innings and did not allow a baserunner until the third inning where a popup double play kept the sophomore hurler at the batter minimum.
In the sixth, Illias tallied her third hit of the day with a home run over the left-field fence to give CU a 4-0 lead.
With their last half-inning with the bat, a Laura Parker single followed by a stolen base gave the Pioneers its first runner past first base. Parker would advance to third on a groundout, but would be left at the corner with Pulfrey getting Charlotte Skeffington to ground out to second to end the game and preserve the shutout.
Concordia will return to action on Saturday when it hosts the two-day eight-team Northwest Cup at Delta Park. The first round of games is slated to begin at 9 a.m.