(Tucson, AZ) - The Concordia Cardinals softball team returned to play on Saturday after a rainy Friday washed out their play. The weather pushed a suspended game against Valley City State to today in which the Cardinals would come out victorious in. The Cardinals would battle tough in their other two games on the day against Jamestown and #RV Dickinson State but would drop both.
GAME 1 - Concordia 2, Valley City State 1
Neither team was able to get anything going until the top of the third as both defenses were playing solid, each turning a double play through the first two innings. Megan Martin walked to start the third inning for CUAA. She would move up to third on a sacrifice bunt and a pass ball respectively and then scored on a wild pitch. The game would pause there for nearly 26 hours due to rain and field conditions.
Payton Lewis started her at-bat on Saturday in a tough spot as she resumed her at-bat from the previous day with a 3-2 count, she set the second pitch up the middle for a single to start the day. The Cardinals would threaten again in the fourth with Katie Tobias and Faith Cramton leading off with singles, but the Vikings defense was able to avoid more danger.
The Vikings evened the score at one run apiece with a pair of ground rule doubles before the Cardinals responded in the fifth as Martin and Morgan Scott singled and then Payton Lewis brought in a run with a single herself. Neither team was able to get another runner on until the VIkings left a runner stranded in the bottom of the sixth.
Paige Anderson (3-1) pitched the complete game, allowing the one run on four hits, with one strikeout in the game.
GAME 2 - Jamestown 5, Concordia 2
The second game of the day saw the Cardinals strike right away in the first as Payton Lewis reached base on a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. She would then come around to score on a Faith Cramton double to left field for the 1-0 lead.
The next scoring action would come from the Jimmies as they pieced together a couple of hits to tie the game at one run apiece in the bottom of the third. The Jimmies took a 2-1 lead in the fourth on an RBI single to center field. Three more Jamestown runs crossed the plate in the fifth to make it a 5-1 game.
The Cardinals comeback attempt started in the sixth inning as the Cardinals were able to get runners on the corners and Emma Thompson was able to drive in one of the runs to make it a 5-2 game.
Elyse Brittain (1-2) pitched the first 4.1 innings allowing five runs on nine hits with six strikeouts. Hannah Duchene pitched the final 1.2 innings and allowed one hit.
GAME 3 - #RV Dickinson State 5, Concordia 4
The third game of the day saw the Cardinals take on #RV Dickinson State. The Blue Hawks struck first in the top of the second inning on a home run to left field.
The Cardinals took the lead in the bottom of the third inning on a Faith Cramton infield single and then a late steal attempt by Katie Tobias. Kendall Kahl then aided herself in the fourth inning by sending a ball over the left field fence for the first Cardinal home run of the season and a 3-1 lead. The Cardinals would then score for their third straight inning when Maddy Grueter sent a home run over the left field fence.
The top of the sixth saw the Blue Hawks storm back with three runs in the inning. DSU pieced together a couple of extra-base hits and a couple of singles to score the runs. Dickinson retook the lead in the seventh on an error and a single.
The Cardinals were able to get a couple of runners on base to attempt the last inning comeback, but were unable to push them past second base.
Kahl pitched the first five innings, with a stint in the sixth, allowing four runs on six hits with one strikeout. Paige Anderson (3-2) came in with a runner on in the sixth and after a single, which scored the tying run, made a diving catch on a bunt and struck out the next two batters to get out of the inning. Her totals for the game were two inning, allowing one unearned run on four hits with five strikeouts.
UP NEXT
The Cardinals round up their spring break trip tomorrow with a pair of games against Park and Dakota Wesleyan at 11 AM and 1 PM EST.
