The Dordt University softball team swept Concordia in a GPAC doubleheader played this afternoon at the American State Bank Sports Complex (ASB Dome). The Defenders earned a 6-0 shutout win in game one and won game two 10-2 in five innings, recording a sweep for the second consecutive night.
The Defenders push their record to 14-4 in the conference with four games left in the regular season; two at home against Dakota Wesleyan on Thursday night and a doubleheader on the road against Briar Cliff on Saturday. Dordt improves to 33-10 overall, tied for the third most wins with both the 2001 and 2002 seasons; the Defenders totaled 35 wins in 2023 and 34 in 2000.
Game One: 6-0 win |
Box Score
Lauren Steenstra hit a pair of 2-run home runs and
Rylee Yager limited Concordia to four hits in the Defenders game one win.
Steenstra hit a 2-run home run in the first and third innings, her 10th and 11th home runs of the season, and drove in four to add to her GPAC leading RBI total to 63.
Chloe Kreuz added two hits, including an RBI double in the fourth inning and
Taylor Schneider went 2-3 with a run scored.
Yager (15-7) earned her fifth career shutout, limiting Concordia to four hits and two walks. The freshman struck out six and improved to 15-7 on the season.
Steenstra put the Defenders in front 2-0 with a towering home run on the 10th pitch of her at-bat against Kaylei Denison (11-10) in the top of the first inning. Dordt made it 3-0 on a Schneider RBI single to score
Peyton Whipple in the second inning.
Another Steenstra home run in the third pushed the Defenders lead to 5-0 and Kreuz drove in the final run on a double in the fourth inning.
Denison allowed seven hits and six earned runs in 3.2 innings before being replaced by Brooke Moore who pitched the final 2.1 innings. Avery O'Boyle led the Concordia offense, going 2-for-3 at the plate.
Game Two: 10-2 win (5 innings) |
Box Score
The Defenders bats continued to shine in game two, pounding Concordia pitching with 14 hits in their 10-2 win.
Rylee Yager went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, helping set the table for
Lauren Steenstra, who totaled three hits and five RBI, including a 3-run home run.
Chloe Kreuz was 2-for-3 at the plate and led off the game with her GPAC-leading 18th home run of the season.
Ashtyn Grissom added two hits, including a walkoff single in the fifth that ended the game.
Kreuz (6-0) earned her second win in as many nights, giving up four hits, two runs while striking out three.
The Defenders score three runs in each of the first three innings. After Kreuz led off the bottom of the first with a home run, Yager tripled and scored on an RBI single by Steenstra. Later,
Aubrey DeShaw drove in
Sierra Pirkey with a single to put Dordt up 3-0.
Steenstra gave the Defenders a 6-0 lead with a two-out, 3-run home run in the second inning. Kreuz delivered an RBI double in the third and both Steenstra and
Annabelle Hensley drove in a run to make the score 9-0.
Concordia scored its only runs of the day on a two-run blast by Taryn Ganstrom in the fifth inning. Grissom ended the game with an RBI single to score Yager in the bottom of the fifth.
Brooke Moore (0-1), one of four Concordia pitchers, took the loss, giving up five runs in 1.2 innings.
Notes:
- the Defenders hit four more home runs today and lead the NAIA with 56 on the season
- Kreuz leads the GPAC and ranks third in the NAIA with 18 home runs this season
- Steenstra drove in nine runs today, giving her a GPAC-leading and school-record 68 on the season
- Kreuz has hit safely in 12 straight games
- Steenstra extended her hit streak to 11 games
- Dordt is in fourth place in the GPAC with four games left in the regular season, one game in back of Morningside and two games behind Midland
- five seniors were recognized inbetween the games: Lauren Steenstra, Sierra Pirkey, Peyton Whipple, Julia Bremer and Elise Ritzema
