Walk-Off Win Gives Concordia Sweep over No. 11 Oregon Tech
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PORTLAND, Ore.—Facing the two-time defending conference champions, Concordia starters Ashley Suter and Danielle Orvella gave up a combined seven hits as the Cavaliers swept No. 11-ranked Oregon Tech in a Cascade Collegiate Conference softball doubleheader played at Delta Park on Saturday.
With the sweep, Concordia improved to 29-14 on the season and moved into sole possession of second place in the CCC standings with a 14-4 mark. Oregon Tech fell to 30-11 overall and 14-6 in league contests. Corban, the conference leader ranked No. 8 in the NAIA, split a pair of twinbills this week and carries a 15-3 record in conference matches.
Playing its final regular-season home games, Concordia will hit the road for two games at Northwest University (5-23, 2-12 CCC) on Tuesday before a road trip to Eastern Oregon (14-25, 5-17 CCC) and College of Idaho (25-21, 11-11 CCC) on April 19-20.
“This is the team that we have been waiting for to reemerge,” CU head coach Carrie Kosderka-Farrell said, “We have been stagnant the past couple of weeks but we had a great week of practice and getting back to what has made us successful.”
Oregon Tech, meanwhile, is set to host Northwest Christian (5-21, 3-13 CCC) and Corban next weekend.
Game 1 Recap – Concordia 4, Oregon Tech 2
Concordia wasted little time giving starter Suter run support with two runs in the home half of the first inning. Cavalier third baseman Tobey Varney started the attack with a leadoff double to left-center field and quickly rounded the final two bags on a one-out single to tight by sophomore catcher Kate Santos.
Giving the Cavs four hits and a second run in the frame, Taylor Copher and Laura Luther followed with consecutive singles to score Santos before OIT starter Taylor Schmidt got out of the jam with a groundout double play to short.
Handed the early lead, Suter followed through on her part by allowing just two baserunners through the first four innings. McKenzie Shrum drew a one-out walk in the first but failed to advance while Shauna Collins connected on a two-out double to right only to be stranded in scoring position via a popup to third.
Back on offense, the Cavs compiled three singles in the fifth to generate a 4-0 advantage. Robin Gawlista opened the spree with a single to center and immediately moved to second on a successful stolen base. Katie Aden drove in Gawlista on a fielder’s choice and would later score herself on a base hit to center off the bat of Copher.
After providing a boost at the plate, Gawlista tacked on the defensively play of the day with a diving catch in right field to steal an RBI hit from Collins. With runners at first and second, Collins sliced a ball to shallow right-center where Gawlista left her feet to snare the blooper with the end of her glove to prevent an OIT score.
The Owls, however, would not be denied in the sixth as Alyssa Davis cracked a 2-run home run. With two outs on the board, Davis launched her ninth homer of the season to score a run and plate teammate Jess Plummer, who reached by singling to right.
Holding a 4-2 lead in the seventh, Suter issued a one-out walk to Danielle Sayres, but a strikeout and a grounder to third closed out the game for the senior right-hander.
Recording her 16th complete game of the season, Suter finished the game with three strikeouts and two walks to improve to 15-6 on the season. Schmidt took the loss after allowing the four runs on 10 hits. Schmidt struck out two and walked one.
Game 2 Recap – Concordia 2, Oregon Tech 1 (8 inn.)
One strike away from posting the school’s first no-hitter since a Suter five-inning gem against Whitworth last season, Concordia’s Danielle Orvella came back after giving up a game-tying home run in the seventh to pick up her 10th win of the season and give the Cavaliers a 2-1 victory to complete the Saturday sweep.
Despite the CU defense posting three errors in the first six innings, Orvella managed the miscues on each occasion and kept the shutout alive by retiring the Owls in order in the first, third and fourth innings.
The Cavalier offense scrapped together a single run in the third with the aid of an OIT error during Jennifer Lutton’s at bat to lead off the inning. Lutton advanced to second on a grounder from Gawlista and made a dash towards home on a single to center from Varney.
Allowing just the one unearned run at that point, OIT starter Rylee Carleton retired 12 of the next 13 Concordia batters to keep the Owls alive. The performance allowed the Owls to tie the game with one swing of the bat with two outs in the seventh.
Facing a 1-2 count, Logan matched her teammate by smacking her ninth home run of the season, this time overcoming a fierce wind to plant on the opposite side of the left-center fence.
Carelton retired the Cavs in order in the bottom of the seventh to give the Owls a chance at their first lead of the day. Kaitlyn nderson led off the eight with an infield single to shortstop and was replaced by Elise Goodell at first after a fielder’s choice to shortstop. Ovrella, returning to form after allowing just her second hit of the game, forced a liner to second, where CU’s Mary Lugar turned to pick off Goodell for the inning-ending double play.
Turning to the bottom of the eighth, Jennifer Lutton gave the Cavs its first base runner since the fifth with a single through the middle. In the next at bat, Gawlista took a pitch to the leg for two runners on and no outs. From there, Varney laid down a bunt down the first-base line which allowed both runners to advance.
The Owls chose to load the bases for CU RBI leader Kate Santos by intentionally walking Katie Aden. Facing a 1-2 count of her own, Santos drove a ball to right field to allow Lutton to score from third and give the Cavs its first extra-inning win of the season.
“All three of our pitchers did very well this weekend. We knew they could bust out and Danielle was nearly flawless. I have never seen her so commanding,” Kosderka-Farrell said. “For those two to hold an offensive powerhouse like OIT to three runs says a lot about what kind of stuff they had today.”
Orvella improved her record to 10-6 with the 8-ining performance. The junior struck out seven and walked one against just two hits. Carleton was charged with the loss despite allowing just five hits. The sophomore from Klamath Falls, Ore., struck out five and walked one batter.