Tobey Varney finished the day going 4 of 6 with five RBI for the Cavaliers on Sunday.
Concordia Splits on Final Day of Northwest Cup
BOX SCORE - Concordia vs. British Columbia I Concordia vs. Willamette
CLACKAMAS, Ore. –After suffering a 5-0 loss against British Columbia their first loss of the season, the Concordia softball team bounced back with an 8-3 win against Willamette to conclude weekend action at the Northwest Cup.
Overall, Concordia went 5-1 while hosting the tournament over the past three days and finished the week with a 10-1 record on the season.
The Cavaliers will travel south for a five-game set as part of the Southern Oregon Tournament which will take place in Medford, Ore., from Feb. 15-17.
Game 2 Recap – Concordia def. Willamette, 8-3
Responding after its first loss of the season, Concordia used four-run innings in the third and again in the sixth to defeat Willamette 8-3 on Sunday.
Batting with no outs and the bases loaded, Tobey Varney powered a shot well past the center-field fence to give the Cavaliers their early lead. Jennifer Lutton opened the inning with a walk while Kate Santos and Taylor Copher reached on infield singles to third to setup the team’s second grand slam in as many days.
The Wildcats responded with a single run in the fourth and two more in the fifth to make it a one-run contest at 4-3. Ashley Pender, Willamette’s second baseman in the leadoff spot, cranked a solo shot to left-center in the fifth and was followed by consecutive doubles by Courtney Galli and Kelli Snyder for the Wildcat’s second and third runs.
One batter later, Concordia starter Danielle Orvella got out of jam with a liner to center where outfielder Katie Aden caught and fired into the infield for the double-play at second base.
Leading off the bottom of the sixth, Cassidy Horner provided CU’s much-needed cushion run with a solo shot to right. The Cavalier attack continued with a bases loaded double by Copher which scored Aden and Robin Gawlista. Varney notched the final RBI with a sacrifice fly which plated Lutton.
Orvella picked up her third win of the year after allowing three runs on seven hits over the first five innings. Entering the game with a 4-3 score in the sixth, Ashley Suter earned her first save of the season after retiring the last six batters of the game, five of which came via strikeout.
Game 1 Recap – British Columbia def. Concordia, 5-0
Facing a UBC team that just came off a 15-8 win over College of Idaho in the opening game of the day, Concordia was handed its first loss of the season as the Thunderbirds launched three home runs en route to the 5-0 win.
UBC’s Lauren do Toit opened the scoring with an RBI single in the bottom of the second inning off CU starter McKenzie Marshall.
The Thunderbirds came back with back-to-back homers in the third from designated player Alana Westerhof and catcher Lindsay McElroy. Westerhof’s shot over the left-field fence made it a 3-0 contest with teammate Cassandra Dypchey on board following a single to right.
Westerhof added a second homer, this time to deep center, in the fifth for the final score of the game.
Despite the score differential, Concordia outhit UBC 7 to 6 and produced runners in scoring position in five of the seven frames, including a player at third in the first and third innings.
Concordia left 12 runners on base compared to just four for the Thunderbirds.
Not only the RBI leader for the game, Westerhof pitched a complete game within the circle, striking out seven while allowing the seven hits.
Marshall was credited with the loss with four of the five runs scoring on her watch.