(Ann Arbor, MI) - The Concordia Cardinals Softball team is headed back to Sylvania for the second day of the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Tournament, which saw the Cardinals split their pair of games on Wednesday.
The first game against Indiana Tech saw a pitching duel between Paige Anderson and Carlye Walter. The Warriors struck first in the bottom of the first inning on a two run home run. Madalyne Wieneke tallied a solo shot in the third inning to give CUAA their only run of the game.
Game 2 saw Hannah Duchene pitch a gem where she had a complete game, allowing one run with six strikeouts. The Cardinal offense came off the bat of Katie Tobias as she hit a pair of two-run home runs in the third and fifth innings to give CUAA the 4-1 victory.
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.
Game Information
#5 Concordia vs #2 Cornerstone
Pacesetter Park | Sylvania, Ohio
April 30 - May 2, 2025 | Hosted by Madonna
Live Stats | Live Video | Tickets
About the Golden Eagles
Cornerstone comes into the game as the second seed in the WHAC with a 33-13 record and a 18-6 WHAC record. Kelsey Kooistra is in her fifth season and has an accumulated record of 114-94-1.
McKenna Gilde was named to the WHAC First Team for the Golden Eagles, while Alyssa Braam, Morgan Jenkins, Anna Griffioen, Moriah Sprague, and Sam Timmer were named to the Second Team.
Four Golden Eagles recorded a batting average over 0.340 with Sprague leading the group with a 0.398 average. Griffieon leads the team with four home runs, while Timmer has recorded 43 RBIs.
Gilde and Braam both lead the pitching staff with over 10 wins apiece as Gilde leads the pair. with 17 wins and a 2.33 ERA. Allie Lubben is the third pitcher on the staff with 70.1 innings with a 6-5 record and a 3.68 ERA.
About the Cardinals
The Cardinals are 21-17-1 on the year while recording a 15-8-1 WHAC record. Head Coach Hailey Cavanagh is in her 8th season leading the team and has accumulated a 216-152-1 record at CUAA.
The Cardinals saw Katie Tobias and Faith Cramton named to the WHAC First Team, while Payton Lewis, Maddy Grueter, and Elyse Brittain were named to the Second Team.
The Cardinal offense is paced by their cleanup hitter, Faith Cramton. Cramton on the year is batting 0.443 with 16 doubles, 7 home runs, and 43 RBIs. Katie Tobias is another key hitter for the squad with a 0.378 average and 44 RBIs and 7 home runs. Payton Lewis has recorded 51 hits on the year, which is second on the team, while Elyse Brittain hit 6 home runs.
The Cardinals pitching is headed by Paige Anderson, who's pitched 118.1 innings this season and has a 3.02 ERA and has a 11-7 record. Elyse Brittain has a 3-5 record with a pair of saves over 60.1 innings with 43 strikeouts. Senior Hannah Duchene earned a 5-2 record over 47 innings.
WHAC First Round Recap
The first round of the tournament saw all four high seeds earn the win as Madonna defeated UM-Dearborn, 9-4, Indiana Tech downing Concordia, 2-1, Cornerstone beating Aquinas 6-3, and UNOH beating Cleary 7-0.
The second round of the winners bracket saw Madonna beating Indiana Tech 8-4, while UNOH beat Cornerstone 8-3 in 12 innings.
The first round of the consolation bracket saw a pair of teams get eliminated as Concordia eliminated UM-Dearborn 4-1, while Aquinas eliminated Cleary 7-5 in 10 innings.
Previous Matchup
The Golden Eagles took both games against the Cardinals towards the end of the regular season last Monday, winning 11-1, and 11-6.
The Cardinals got on the board first in game one with Katie Tobias doubling to plate Megan Martin in the bottom of the third. Cornerstone responded with three runs in the next half inning to take the lead. In the top of the fifth, the Golden Eagles eight more runs, with seven of them coming after a pair of errors.
In the second game, the Golden Eagles scored a run in each of the first two innings before Megan Martin walked home a run in the bottom of the inning. Katie Tobias and Faith Cramton both homered in the middle innings to tie the game up, but then the Golden Eagles rattled off five runs in the eleventh inning to win the game 11-6.
Team Stat Comparison
|
Concordia |
Stats |
Cornerstone |
|
40 |
Games |
46 |
|
1095 |
At Bats |
1322 |
|
231 |
Runs |
281 |
|
350 |
Hits |
406 |
|
71 |
Doubles |
76 |
|
4 |
Triples |
17 |
|
32 |
Home Runs |
18 |
|
207 |
Runs Batted In |
256 |
|
107 |
Extra Base Hits |
111 |
|
525 |
Total Bases |
570 |
|
101 |
Walks |
145 |
|
12 |
Hit by pitch |
14 |
|
169 |
Strikeouts |
181 |
|
14 |
Sacrifice Flies |
16 |
|
43 |
Sacrifice Hits |
35 |
|
8 |
Hit into double play |
9 |
|
41 |
Stolen Bases |
71 |
|
10 |
Caught Stealing |
5 |
|
0.32 |
Batting Average |
0.307 |
|
0.379 |
On Base Percentage |
0.377 |
|
0.479 |
Slugging Percentage |
0.431 |
|
4.44 |
Earned Run Average |
2.88 |
|
1.74 |
WHIP |
1.49 |
|
4 |
Shutouts |
8 |
|
1094 |
At Bats Against |
1266 |
|
0.328 |
Batting Average Against |
0.278 |
WHAC Tournament
April 30 - May 2, 2025
April 30
Game A - Field #5 - #1 Madonna defeats #8 UM-Dearborn - 9-4
Game B - Field #6 - #4 Indiana Tech defeats #5 Concordia - 2-1
Game C - Field #7 - #2 Cornerstone defeats #7 Aquinas - 6-3.
Game D - Field #8 - #3 UNOH defeats #6 Cleary - 7-0
Game E: #5 Concordia defeats #8 UM-Dearborn - 4-1
Game F: #7 Aquinas def. #6 Cleary - 7-5 (10 innings)
Game G: #1 Madonna def. #4 Indiana Tech - 8-4
Game H: #3 UNOH def. #2 Cornerstone - 8-3 (12 innings)
May 1
Game I: #2 Cornerstone vs. #5 Concordia - 4 p.m.
Game J: #4 Indiana Tech vs. #7 Aquinas - 4 p.m.
Game K: #1 Madonna vs. #3 UNOH - 6:30 p.m.
Game L: winner of game I vs. winner of game J
Game M: loser of game K vs. winner of game L
May 2
Game N: winner of game K vs. winner of game M
Game O: If necessary
