ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – The Concordia-St. Paul softball team (6-15) fell to 0-4 in the Apple Market Classic as they dropped a pair of games on Saturday to Missouri Western State and #11 Emporia State. The Golden Bears were defeated by the Griffons by a score of 10-1 and by the Hornets by a score of 13-4.
Missouri Western State 10, Concordia-St. Paul 1 (6 inn.)The Griffons jumped on the Golden Bears early and they didn't let up as they pounded out 13 hits and 10 runs in six innings while holding Concordia to just one run on four hits.
MWSU scored two in the first, one in the third and three in the fourth while CU picked up two hits in that span to make it 6-0 through the first four innings highlighted by two Gillaspy homers.
Stephanie Kappes (3-9) took the loss for the Golden Bears as she worked three innings and allowed two earned runs on six hits with two strikeouts before
Linzy Heim came in to work the final 2.1 innings.
Concordia broke up the shutout in the sixth with a leadoff double from
Nicole Thompson before she came around to score on a
Liz Jarosz fielder's choice.
Missouri Western State put it away in the bottom half of the inning as a run came home before Schaben hit a three-run homer to end it.
In addition to Thompson's double,
Jamie Fleischhacker,
Haley Schanks and
Liz Jarosz all added singles for the Golden Bears in the game.
#11 Emporia State 13, Concordia-St. Paul 4 (6 inn.)The Golden Bears ran into another hot-hitting squad as Emporia State hammered out 13 runs on 14 hits as they cruised past CU for 13-4 win.
Things didn't get much better early in game two as the Hornets struck first with four runs in the top of the first and two more in the top of the second to grab an early 6-0 lead. Stephanie Goodwin brought home the opening run with an RBI single and a run came across on an error before Kaitlyn Caston delivered the big blow in the first with a two-run shot to center. Goodwin drew a bases loaded walk in the second and another run came home on a sacrifice fly as ESU broke it open early.
Concordia showed a lot of resilience as they bounced back, hit around the order and scored four runs in the bottom of the second to get right back in it.
Haley Schanks, the starting pitcher for the Golden Bears, helped her own cause with a solo homer to left to put CU on the board.
Kelly McKenzie followed with a bases-loaded single that brought home two more and
Jamie Fleischhacker drew a walk after the bases were loaded again, but a strikeout prevented Concordia from pushing across any more runs.
Emporia State wasted no time getting a run back as Taylor Zordel drove a run scoring single in the top of the third to push their lead to three at 7-4.
Schanks settled in and the score remained at 7-4 until the Hornets broke through for three more in the fifth with three RBI singles to make it 10-4 as they forced her from the game. Emporia State also got to the bullpen as ESU put it away with a bases clearing double off the bat of Goodwin brought in three runs in the sixth as the run rule was enacted in a 13-4 final.
Lizzy Swenson and
Linzy Heim each reached base twice for the Golden Bears as each singled and drew a walk in the game.
Concordia will look to get back in the win column tomorrow as they play Northwest Missouri State at 11 a.m. and Washburn at 1 p.m. in their final two games in the Apple Market Classic.
