Concordia’s softball team celebrates after winning Saturday’s game 5-0. (Photo courtesy Troy Makalena, For OC Sports Zone)
For the first time in school history, the Concordia University Irvine softball team has advanced to the NCAA DII Super Regional.
Behind a dominating performance from PacWest Pitcher of the Year Calle Nunes and a balanced offensive attack, the Eagles eliminated a gritty Western Oregon team on Saturday 5-0 to win their section of the DII West Regional bracket.
Nunes improved to 33-4 and held the Wolves to just three hits in seven innings of work. She struck out the side in the second inning and finished with nine strikeouts while walking only one batter to keep the Wolves at bay. Only one Western Oregon player reached second base the entire game.
True freshman Megan Massa led the CUI offense with four hits. CUI’s leadoff hitter finished with three singles, a double and a run scored. She helped get the Eagles offense going in the third when her and senior Heather Nonora led off with back-to-back singles.
After a sacrifice bunt by Sydni Dix moved them over, Sydney Sprinkle put the ball in play and Nonora touched home before the Wolves could apply the tag. Sprinkle kept running for second base after the fielder’s choice which distracted the Wolves long enough for Massa to also race home and make it 2-0 CUI all in the same sequence.
McKinsey Thorpe extended the lead for the Green and Gold by being aggressive on the base paths. She doubled in the fourth to extend her hitting streak to seven games, and then after moving to third thanks to a sac bunt by Nonora, she kept the pressure on the Wolves.
In a bold move, Thorpe stole home and was ruled safe despite a quick throw because she slid underneath the tag to make it 4-0 CUI.
“A huge part of our offense all year has been small-ball and base-running,” said CUI head coach Crystal Rosenthal. “I thought our energy was really good and I was very proud of our team.”
Mackenzie Graham and Sprinkle each added a RBI single to pad the lead for the Green and Gold.
Sprinkle finished with two RBI and caught the final out of the game on a pop-up along the first base line to clinch the team’s third win in three days.
“I was a little nervous,” said Sprinkle, “but who isn’t nervous in big games like this? As the days went on and we played more games, we became more comfortable.”
This was the second straight season that the Eagles have hosted the NCAA DII West Regional. Last year, CUI finished runner-up in this bracket to Dixie State.
The Eagles enter the Super Regional on a season-high 18-game winning streak.
The Eagles will next host UC San Diego in a best-of-3 series starting on Thursday, May 16.
Game one of the DII West Super Regional will be played Thursday at noon with game two on Friday, May 17 at noon. If necessary, game three will follow game two on Friday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. and the winning squad will advance to the DII College World Series in Denver, Colo.
“For us and the institution, it’s a huge deal,” added Rosenthal. “It’s a great honor to get the chance to host again and its a testament to our kids. They work hard all year to earn this right and represent the PacWest. I’m proud to represent Concordia and we’re going to do our best to get ready for next week.”
-Story courtesy Ben Rosehart, For OC Sports Zone
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