Cavs sink St. Thomas before falling to Simpson

5/13/2014 8:21:00 PM

IRVINE, Calif.—Facing elimination, the No. 23-rnked Concordia softball team defeated St. Thomas (Fla.) 5-0 before seeing its season end with a 6-4 loss to No. 17-ranked Simpson (Calif.) in the Opening Round of the NAIA National Championships on Tuesday.

With the split, Concordia's season ends with a 34-18 record, the second straight season the team has reached the 30-win plateau and just one win shy of matching the single-season school record.

Simpson, meanwhile, will advance to Wednesday's finals against the host Eagles of Concordia (Calif.). Concordia (Calif.), the reigning NAIA National Champions, carry a 50-5 overall record and have held the No. 1 ranking in the NAIA Coaches' Poll for 18 straight polls.

Game 1 : Concordia 5, St. Thomas 0

With a combined shutout by starter McKenzie Marshall (Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City H.S.) and reliever Lucy Baldovino (Medford, Ore./South Medford H.S.), Concordia extended its season on Tuesday afternoon.

The duo held St. Thomas to just five hits while the offense landed two runs in each of the second and third innings. Meghan Luebbert (Sandy, Ore./Sandy H.S.) connected on a 2-run single in the second while a wild pitch and an RBI single by Mariah Jimenez (Camas, Wash./Camas H.S.) led to the 4-0 lead in the third.

The Cavs added a fifth run in the fifth inning as Cassidy Horner (Cottonwood, Calif./West Valley H.S.) belted a single to left-center field to score Katie Aden (Tigard, Ore./Tigard H.S.).

St. Thomas did not plant a runner in scoring position until the fourth inning as Danielle Borrelli reached on an error and moved to second on a groundout before Marshall notched an inning-ending strikeout.

The Bobcats produced individual singles in each of the next three innings with just one runner moving past first base. Amanda Penton generated St. Thomas' best scoring opportunity with a two-out single. Penton stole second and moved to third on a CU error but was left at the corner bag after another Marshall strikeout ended the threat.
Entering the game in the sixth, Baldovino allowed two singles to close out the contest.

Concordia outhit St. Thomas 10 to 5 with Jimenez going 3-for-3 and Luebbert 2-for-3 to lead the attack.

Game 2 : Simpson 6, Concordia 4

Scoring three runs via the long ball in the second inning, Simpson overcame an early one-run Concordia lead and held on late for a 6-4 win in an elimination game at the Opening Round of the NAIA National Championships on Tuesday afternoon.

The Cavs got on the board in the first with an RBI single by Taylor Copher (Sandy, Ore./Sandy H.S.) which plated leadoff hitter Meghan Luebbert (Sandy, Ore./Sandy H.S.).

The Redhawks quickly erased the deficit with Courtney Thomas leading off the second with a double to right. After a groundout back to the pitcher, Cherie DeJesus and Jodie Richards launched back-to-back home runs for a 3-1 lead. With three hits and a walk, the Redhawks extended its advantage to 5-1 with a pair of runs in the fourth inning.

Back-to-back doubles in the bottom of the fourth by Katie Aden (Tigard, Ore./Tigard H.S.) and Copher enabled the Cavs to get two runs back and make it a 5-3 game. Copher drove in Aden while two fly out, including a sacrifice fly by Taylor Bussey (Vancouver, Wash./Prairie H.S.) allowed Copher to scamper home.

Two more doubles in the fifth, this time by Karissa Shiflett and Luebbert put the Cavs to within a run at 5-4 before Simpson added an insurance run in the sixth with a solo homer to lead off the inning by Richards.

The Cavs were sent down in order in the home half of the sixth and managed to place the tying run at the plate in the seventh with a Marritt two-out single, but failed to find the equalizer as Simpson reliever Paris Hallums forced a fly to right to end the game.

Simpson registered a 12 to 7 advantage in hits with Richards leading the way with a 3 for 3 performance which included a pair of roundtrippers. Luebbert, Copher and Merritt each tagged a pair of hits for the Cavs,

Seniors McKenzie Marshall (Oregon City, Ore./Oregon City H.S.) and Danielle Orvella (Seattle, Wash./Kentridge H.S.) split pithing duties for Concordia while Kateyln Bell earned the win with four innings of work before Hallums notched the save with one earned run over the final three frames.