wayne, neb. - a walk-off three-run homer sent over the right center fence gave #16 augustana college a come-from-behind win over concordia and ended the 2010 season for the golden bears, 5-2. The ncaa tournament run for concordia, the first for the program since 2006, saw a win against the vikings on friday, but ended abruptly in the eighth inning as traci fransen knocked the game-winner. Concordia finishes the year 35-17 overall. box score
the golden bears had a solid 2-0 lead after three innings of work. nikki scherr and anna bjorlin, batting 9 and 1 in the order, both reached to lead off the visitor's half of the third. Just like in the first regional meeting between the teams, cu would hustle for two runs off of a bloop hit. Two outs were put in the books, but the situation also let cu's baserunners to take off on contact. abby brundidge dropped a ball just past the dirt line in left field and cleared the hustling scherr and bjorlin from the bases for a 2-0 lead.
the vikings were successful in setting the table for big hits, proven when they tied the game and later when they hit the game-winner. Augustana matched concordia at two runs each with a single and a two-run homer in the fifth. Starting pitchers from the respective squads both worked opponent batters through regulation and brought the game to an eighth inning, 2-2.
two singles preceeded fransen's long shot, allowing the vikings to take an edge in the hits total (9-8) and also where it mattered most, in the score. The final hit ended the game 5-2 and sent augie to the central region bracket 2 championships tomorrow, where the vikings will take on host wayne state.
just as she did all season long, senior anna bjorlin paced her team in hits with a 3-for-4 final collegiate game. Bjorlin came off of the diamond as concordia's all-time leader in hits and runs scored. Senior abby brundidge also came through with what she has done best in her career for the golden bears, driving in both of the team's runs with a pair of rbi. Brundidge walks away as concordia's all-time rbi leader. Other seniors playing their final game for the navy and gold were tiff rodd and nikki scherr, who combined for three of cu's hits. Together, the senior faction accounted for seven of the team's eight hits in their final game, just a final example of the leadership that the group has provided for the program over the span of their careers.
freshman ashley kluever threw the complete game for concordia. She finished a successful rookie campaign with 16 wins, a team high. Kluever struck out five batters.
