(Ann Arbor, MI) - The Concordia Cardinals Softball team is getting ready to make a run at the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Tournament which will take place over the next couple of days.
The tournament features a double-elimination bracket. All teams will play a pair of games on Wednesday and two teams will be eliminated. Thursday features four teams being eliminated with the final consolation game being played and two teams moving on to the Championship game on Friday.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
#4 Concordia Cardinals vs. #5 Indiana Tech Warriors
May 1-3 | Pacesetter Park | Sylvania, Ohio | hosted by Lawrence Tech
ABOUT THE WARRIORS
Indiana Tech enters its postseason with a 34-13 overall record and a 14-8 record within the WHAC. Stephanie Zimny is now in her eighth season at the helm for the Warriors and has a 165-179-1 record throughout her tenure in Fort Wayne.
A trio of Warriors finished the regular season with a batting average over .300 in Kennadee Schnick, Maria Trouba, and Katie O'Drobinak. Schnick and Trouba both have over 30 runs scored and more than 25 stolen bases on the season. O'Drobinak brings more power with 16 extra-base hits and 36 RBI.
Savannah Bravo is the Warriors top pitcher who earned a 18-5 record this season. She recorded 136 strikeouts and recorded an ERA of 1.52. Jayme Koning is the Warrior's second pitcher who earned a record of 9-4 on the season, she struck out 43 batters and had an ERA of 3.75.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
The Cardinals come into the tournament with a 35-13 overall record on the season and a 15-7 WHAC record. Coach Hailey Cavanagh is in her 7th season with CUAA and has accumulated a record of 188-132.
The Cardinal offense is paced by senior Shannon McAlinden with 76 hits on the year, which leads the WHAC, and also owns a batting average of .487. Payton Lewis and Cassidy Kane are #2 and #3 on the team in hits with 52 and 50 respectively. Katie Tobias is second on the team in RBIs with 45.
Two Cardinals have posted at least 10 wins on the season with Emilee Underwood and Paige Anderson recording 17 and 11 respectively. Underwood leads the team with 130 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.98, while Elyse Brittain has recorded an ERA of 2.04 this season for second-best on the team.
WHAC ROUND UP
Madonna took home the Regular Season title after finishing a perfect 22-0, the first time completed in the WHAC since 1990, which also claims their spot in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Opening Rounds in a couple of weeks. Northwestern Ohio finishes in second place with a 16-6 conference record, while Aquinas wins the tiebreaker over Concordia finishing with the same 15-7 record to finish third.
The standings round out with Indiana Tech (15-7) in fifth, Lawrence Tech (13-9), Cornerstone (11-11), Cleary (8-14), Lourdes (7-15), Siena Heights (5-17), Michigan-Dearborn (5-17), and Rochester (1-21).
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT (PREVIOUS MATCHUPS)
The two teams met the final week of the regular season with Concordia coming out on top in both games.
The first game saw Concordia win, 7-1, with Paige Anderson earning the win and Savannah Bravo taking the loss. Faith Cramton led the Cardinals with three RBIs and Cassidy Kane recorded a pair of RBIs. Indiana Tech's Kennedi Sullivan grabbed an RBI in the game as well.
Game 2 saw the Cardinals come out on top of a run-rule match with a 9-0 victory. Emilee Underwood earned her 17th win on the season and Jayme Koning earned the loss. Three Cardinals recorded two RBIs each with Faith Cramton, Maddy Grueter, and Bella Lee all bringing two runners in.
STATS COMPARISON
|
Indiana Tech |
Concordia |
|
|
Hitting |
||
|
Games |
47 |
48 |
|
Runs |
258 |
303 |
|
Hits |
371 |
446 |
|
Home Runs |
16 |
22 |
|
RBIs |
225 |
265 |
|
Batting Average |
.299 |
.340 |
|
Pitching |
||
|
ERA |
47 |
2.66 |
|
Hits Allowed |
271 |
305 |
|
Batting Average Against |
.235 |
.253 |
|
Strikeouts |
198 |
251 |
|
K/7 |
4.42 |
5.57 |
|
Saves |
2 |
1 |
WHAC TOURNAMENT
May 1-3, 2024
(Inclement weather date May 6)
May 3
Game A: #1 Madonna vs. #8 Cleary, 4 p.m.
Game B: #4 Concordia vs. #5 Indiana Tech, 4 p.m.
Game C: #2 UNOH vs. #7 Cornerstone, 4 p.m
Game D: #3 Aquinas vs. #6 Lawrence Tech, 4 p.m.
Game E: Loser Game A vs. Loser Game B, 6:30 p.m.
Game F: Loser Game C vs. Loser Game D, 6:30 p.m.
Game G; Winner Game A vs. Winner Game B, 6:30 p.m.
Game H: Winner Game C vs. Winner Game D, 6:30 p.m.
May 4
Game I: Loser Game H vs. Winner Game E, noon
Game J: Winner Game F vs. Loser Game G, noon
Game K: Winner Game G vs. Winner Game H, 2:30 p.m.
Game L: Winner Game I vs. Winner Game J, 2:30 p.m.
Game M: Loser Game K vs. Winner Game L, 5 p.m.
May 5
Championship: Winner Game K vs Winner Game M
If necessary game 30 minutes after
Automatic berth to NAIA Opening Round
1. Madonna - Regular season
2. Tournament champion (tournament runner-up if No. 1 and No. 2 are the same)