IRVINE, Calif. – Concordia kept its season alive with a 9-0 win in five innings against No. 3 seed Northwest Nazarene on Thursday night, scoring six runs in the second inning for an efficient start to the Eagles path through the elimination bracket.
After a hard-fought defeat against Hawai`i Hilo in extra innings earlier in the afternoon, the Eagles had to come back for the nightcap to fight for their season against Northwest Nazarene, which was trying to bounce back from its own 4-3 defeat at the hands of Biola.
Marisa Stockton, who finished the game with three hits and three RBIs, started the second inning with a single into leftfield that sparked the six-run inning. On a sacrifice bunt, NNU tried to throw out Stockton at second base, but she beat the throw.
Megan Massa then walked to load the bases with the heart of the lineup coming to the plate.
With two outs, a walk and a hit by pitch sent the first two runs across home plate and ended the outing for the Nighthawks’ starting pitcher. Then
Jocelyn Pino and
Rylie Rohr both had RBI-walks to make the score 4-0 with the bases still loaded and two outs. Stockton then came back to the plate and hit the ball right back up the middle for a 2-RBI single to make the score 6-0.
Kelsea Sweeney pitched in relief earlier in the day and she completed her start with her third shutout inning, handing the ball over to
Erika Morris to finish the shutout. Morris got the first three batters she faced to ground out to get through the fourth inning.
Meanwhile, Concordia continued to add to its lead with singles in the third inning by
Myka Hughes and
Sydney Sprinkle that resulted in two runs with the help of a sacrifice fly by
Missy Nemeth and a wild pitch. Then in the fourth inning, Stockton belted a home run to conclude a big night at the plate for the senior who spent most of her collegiate career in the same conference as Northwest Nazarene in the GNAC.
In the top of the fifth inning, Morris allowed the first two runners to reach base, but got a flyout for the first out of the inning. Then she got some help from her defense as a ground ball to
McKinsey Thorpe was turned for a game-ending double play.
There are now only four teams left in the NCAA West Regional with Biola and Hawai`i Hilo set to face off in the winners’ bracket, while Concordia and Central Washington will play in the elimination bracket at 2:30 p.m. If Concordia wins, the Eagles will then play the losing team between Biola and Hawai`i Hilo.
With the win, Concordia improved to 31-12 and has guaranteed the best winning record for the 2021 season of any team in the NCAA West Region as Northwest Nazarene dropped to 31-14. For Sweeney, it was her 10th win of the season.