IRVINE, Calif. – Needing just one win on Monday to claim the PacWest Conference title, the Concordia University Irvine softball team rose to the occasion and secured the conference crown by topping the visiting Dominican Penguins.
It's the fourth straight PacWest Conference title for the CUI softball program – and the fifth time in a row that CUI has finished in first place. (Note: CUI also finished in first during the shortened 2021 post-pandemic season when all PacWest teams only played in pod play and no league champion was officially crowned)
Ranked No. 15 in the current NFCA DII rankings, CUI extended its winning streak to nine after sweeping Monday's doubleheader with Dominican.
The Golden Eagles are 39-9 overall and 24-4 in league play entering Senior Day on Tuesday which will also be against the Penguins. Senior Day festivities are scheduled to begin at 1:25 p.m. before the doubleheader starts at 2 p.m.
Game 1: CUI 9, Dominican 0 (6 innings)
Sydney Sprinkle and
Jocelyn Pino each crushed a home run to leave no doubt about the outcome. The duo combined for four hits and knocked in eight runs together against the Penguins in the series opener.
Sprinkle crushed a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth to make it 4-0 Concordia. An inning later, Sprinkle supplied a two-run single to push it to 6-0.
Pino put an exclamation mark on the great outing with a game-ending three-run homer that easily cleared the left field fence in the bottom of the sixth. The blast was Pino's fourth of the season.
Leadoff hitter
Megan Massa also mashed three hits and scored three times in the opener. She would finish the day with five total hits.
Entrup improved to 14-3 on the season and lowered her ERA to a team-best 0.79. She tossed a complete game shutout and only allowed two hits in the circle. Another phenomenal outing as she teamed up with catcher
Shelby Pfeiler and held the Penguins at bay.
Game 2: CUI 4, Dominican 0
Daniela Alvarez cruised in the circle in the rematch and limited the Penguins to only three hits. She has been a revelation as a graduate student from Providence in the CUI rotation and is a big reason why the Golden Eagles continue to lead all of NCAA DII with a microscopic ERA of 0.97 after Monday's action.
Rohr and Pino were busy in the field with a ton of grounders hit to their side throughout the day. They consistently were able to nab the lead runners when Dominican got someone on base which led to many force outs at second base. Sprinkle also made a difficult over-the-shoulder grab near the first-base line in game two for an important out to preserve the shutout.
Offensively, Rohr and Pino each cranked a double and a single to raise their batting averages. Center fielder
Kaia Nisby and catcher
Dani Cole both contributed RBI singles.
Missy Nemeth added a timely sacrifice fly as well.
Concordia will host Dominican for Senior Day on Tuesday, April 18. A reminder that first pitch is at 2 p.m. but the Senior Day ceremony will begin around 1:25 p.m. before both games.
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