(Ann Arbor, MI) - The Concordia Cardinals will take part in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) tournament this week as they will take on their first opponent in the Wolverines from UM-Dearborn. The Cardinals will appear in their first tournament since the 2021 spring season.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
#3 Concordia Cardinals vs. #6 UM-Dearborn Wolverines
May 3-5 | Pacesetter Park | Sylvania, Ohio | hosted by Lourdes
ABOUT THE WOLVERINES
Head Coach Vince Alessandrini is in his seventh season at the helm of the Wolverines program and has accumulated a record of 146-104-1 throughout his tenure with a 23-16 record overall this season. In the WHAC this season he finish 13-9 on the way to a sixth-place WHAC finish.
The offense is paced by senior infielder Makenna Millhorn who leads the team with 46 hits and a batting average of .411. Aspen Starr has tallied the most RBIs at 17 while Laine Ellinger and Millhorn both have accumulated 16 on the season. The Wolverines catcher, Olivia Scott leads the team in stolen bases at 13.
Three different pitchers have started 10 different games this season as they are led by Ellinger who has a 10-6 record and three saves over 113.2 innings pitched. Sydni Ulhenberg and Hannah Koch have records of 7-4 and 4-4 respectively. Ellinger has 120 strikeouts on the season and Uhlenberg leads the team with an ERA of 2.24.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Head Coach Hailey Cavanagh is in her sixth season as the coach of the Cardinals and has led her team to a program-record 36 wins. Over her six seasons, she has an overall record of 145-116. This season the Cardinals have posted an overall record of 36-14 and a WHAC record of 16-6. The Cardinals finished the season in third place in the conference.
Multiple Cardinals lead the offensive attack as four different players have tallied at least 50 hits on the season. They are led by Payton Lewis who recorded a program single-season record of 78 so far this season, while Shannon McAlinden, Katie Tobias, and Koryn Playford with 67, 59, and 56 hits respectively. Tobias has a team-high 47 RBIs on the season, which is also a single-season record. Tobias and McAlinden lead the team with six home runs apiece.
The pitching staff is headed off by Paige Anderson with a 17-7 record over 145 innings and 98 strikeouts. Elyse Brittain and Kendall Kahl both record over 60 innings as well and won seven and five wins respectively. Brittain leads the staff with an ERA of 1.67, while Anderson is behind her at 2.32.
WHAC ROUND UP
Indiana Tech took home the regular season title with a WHAC record of 18-4 and claimed their spot in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Opening Rounds in a couple of weeks. Northwestern Ohio finished in second with the tiebreaker over the Cardinals as they finished at 16-6 as well. The fourth-place team was Madonna at 15-7, while Aquinas was fifth with a record of 14-8.
The standings rounded out with UM-Dearborn (6th, 13-9), Cornerstone (7th, 11-11), Lawrence Tech (8th, 10-12), Siena Heights (9th, 8-14), Lourdes (10th, 6-16), Cleary (11th, 5-17), and Rochester (12th, 0-22)
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT (PREVIOUS MATCHUPS)
In their lone series this season these two teams battled back and forth as each team won a game 3-2.
The Cardinals' 3-2 win came in Game 1 in a thrilling 12-inning game as the Cardinals walked it off in the final inning on a Maddy Grueter single. Paige Anderson and Lanie Ellinger battled it out on the mound as they each pitched a complete game, Ellinger gave up 11 hits and struck out eight, while Anderson gave up eight hits and also struck out eight batters.
Game 2 of the day featured the Wolverines coming out on top 3-2 in a regular seven-inning game. The winning Wolverine run came on a double to right field in the fifth inning. Hannah Koch earned the win for Dearborn, while Kendall Kahl took home the loss in the game.
STATS COMPARISON
|
UM-Dearborn |
Concordia |
|
|
Hitting |
||
|
Games |
39 |
50 |
|
Runs |
175 |
314 |
|
Hits |
282 |
507 |
|
Home Runs |
12 |
23 |
|
RBIs |
148 |
279 |
|
Batting Average |
.270 |
.362 |
|
Pitching |
||
|
ERA |
2.58 |
2.60 |
|
Hits Allowed |
273 |
345 |
|
Batting Average Against |
.261 |
.268 |
|
Strikeouts |
217 |
219 |
|
K/7 |
5.78 |
4.66 |
|
Saves |
5 |
6 |
WHAC TOURNAMENT
May 3-5, 2023
(Inclement weather date May 8)
May 3
Game A: #1 Indiana Tech vs. #8 Lawrence Tech, 4 p.m.
Game B: #4 Madonna vs. #5 Aquinas, 4 p.m.
Game C: #2 UNOH vs. #7 Cornerstone, 4 p.m
Game D: #3 Concordia vs. #6 UM-Dearborn, 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. Regular season
2. Tournament champion (tournament runner-up if No. 1 and No. 2 are the same)
