IRVINE, Calif. – The nationally-ranked Concordia University Irvine softball team finished this past week 5-1 overall after posting four shutout victories as hosts of the 2023 Concordia Kickoff Classic.

This was the third time Concordia has hosted the annual February event with 20 participating schools playing at nearby Orange County Great Park.

After beating Cal State East Bay in Thursday's season opener, the Golden Eagles went 4-1 during the tournament to tie San Francisco State for the second best record of the weekend.

Azusa Pacific emerged as Tournament Champions after going a perfect 4-0 and finishing as the only undefeated team during the three-day event.  Katie Korstrom did it all to lead the Cougars both at the dish and as her team's best starting pitcher of the week.  Korstrom was named Tournament MVP.

CLICK HERE to check out the final standings from the 2023 Concordia Kickoff Classic

Concordia's entire pitching staff was phenomenal and found different ways to slow down opposing offenses.

CUI's Katlin Entrup went 2-0 with two saves during the tournament, factoring into all four victories for the Golden Eagles.  Entrup is 3-0 overall on the year with a 0.39 ERA and was named PacWest Pitcher of the Week on Monday.  Entrup was joined by teammate Mary Baccay on the All-Tournament Team. 

Baccay was the leading hitter for Concordia and finished the week with a pair of multi-hit games. Baccay actually scored the game-winning runs against Western Washington, Cal State San Bernardino and Colorado Mesa.

Missy Nemeth provided a RBI single to plate Baccay as part of CUI's 2-0 win over the Mavericks on Saturday.  Former All-American Callie Nunes pitched four shutout innings and Entrup closed out the victory with three scoreless frames.

Entrup pitched a complete game in Sunday's finale to fend off Cal State Monterey Bay by a score of 2-0.

Sydney Sprinkle connected for a RBI double and Michalah Robison added a bunt single to give the Golden Eagles all the runs they needed to top the Otters.

CLICK HERE for the most up-to-date CUI softball schedule


BEST OF THE BEST

Pitchers dominated the tournament and most of the games were tightly contested.

Entrup and Cal State Dominguez Hills pitcher Alyssa Olague were named Co-Most Outstanding Pitchers.

Northwest Nazarene's Sidney Booth provided one of the highlights of the tournament pitching a no-hitter against Cal State San Bernardino while also knocking in the game-winning run.

Western Washington standout Mareena Ramirez was also sensational in the circle with 26 strikeouts in more than 20 innings pitched and a pair of victories for the Vikings.

2023 All-Tournament Team
Most Valuable Player: Katie Korstrom - Azusa Pacific 
Co-Most Outstanding Pitchers: Alyssa Olague - CSUDH and Katlin Entrup - CUI
 
APU: Mia Alvarez - INF
Biola: Colby McClinton - INF
CSUEB: Sarah Duran - UT
CSUMB: Ivana Perez - INF
CSUSB: Bailey Wallace - UT
CSUSM: Bianca Gutierrez - OF
CUI: Mary Baccay - INF
Central Washington: Kate Hopkins - OF
Chico State: Ashlee Toy - OF
Colorado Christian: Kenzie Middleton - C/OF
Colorado Christian: Kali Crandall - P
Colorado Mesa - Rylee Crouch OF
Dominican - Shelby Keltner - P
MSU Billings: Lauren Blaschak - INF
MSU Billings: Payton Meyer - UTL
NNU: Sidney Booth - P (no-hitter)
SFSU: Kaityln Maddox - P
SFSU: Kai DeLeon - INF
WOU: Chelsea Smith - P
WOU: Maddie Mayer - P
WWU: Mareena Ramirez - P