Concordia Softball has proved all year it can win on the road and the team solidified this with two wins over BYU Hawaii Saturday. The double header was the final games of ten straight on the road for Concordia. They are coming home from Hawai'i with eight wins and two losses.
The Eagles are now 18-9-2 overall and 7-4-0 in the PacWest.
Game 1: Concordia – 4, BYU Hawaii – 0
Grayson Harvey delivered another shut out for the Eagles and allowed only three hits. She went five innings before Kailey Palazzolo came in for the final two. Palazzolo didn't allow a hit.
While the Seasiders struggled against the Eagle pitchers, Concordia commanded from the box. They had 10 hits and not even a single Eagle struck out. The 10 hits came from five hitters. Mckinsey Thorpe, Amy Eilefson, Amanda Gjertsen, Alyssa Turner and Sarah Kretschmar each had two hits.
Thorpe single to get the first inning started. After stealing second, Eilefson singled up the middle for the 1-0 lead. In the second, Nicole Chavez and Lauren Rodriguez walked. Kretschmar laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the two over. Ryann Ferguson flied out to center field for the RBI.
The following inning, Eilefson extended the lead to three with a solo home run to left. Concordia came up with their final run in the fifth. Hannah Miller led off the inning with a walk. Ashley Balestreri came in to pinch run and stole second, but made it to third on the Seasider throw. Gjertsen doubled to left to bring Balestreri across safely.
Game 2: Concordia – 8, BYU Hawaii – 0
Concordia kept its groove at the plate alive in game two. They had four hits in the first inning to score one run. Ferguson singled up the middle and Thorpe bunted her way to first. Hannah Miller loaded up the bases with a shortstop single. Eilefson stayed hot at the plate with a RBI single to left field.
Mackenzie Graham's second inning lead off bomb gave Concordia one more run. In the same inning, the Eagles utilized two Seasider errors and a single from Ferguson to claim the 3-0 lead.
The additional three runs came from three hits and one error before the game was called in the bottom of the fifth.
Ferguson had two hits, scored two runs and walked once. Graham went 3-3 with three RBIs, a single and a homerun. BethAnn McCann spent five innings on the mound and struck out six. She is now 7-2.
Concordia's next matchup may not be at home, but it's much closed. The Eagles take on Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, Calif. on Friday, March 17. The doubleheader begins at 1:30 p.m.
