IRVINE, Calif. – Concordia came back to win its second game in the evening 2-1 against Chico State after having lost 3-2 to Cal State Dominguez Hills in the morning, which puts Concordia in the final of the NCAA sub-regional tournament.
 
Azusa Pacific was eliminated from the tournament in the second game of the tournament, falling against Chico State 3-0. The Cougars finish the season with a 35-17 record, having made the NCAA West Regional for the first time since 2016.
 
In the first game of the day, Concordia pitched Erika Morris, who threw four shutout innings in a pitching duel to start the game. However, the Toros broke through in the fifth inning with three runs. Concordia got the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning, but the Toros got out of the inning, holding on for a 3-2 win that sent Concordia into the elimination bracket.
 
For the second time this tournament, Azusa Pacific ran into sensational pitching. Chico State’s Brooke Larsen, who was in the PacWest at Academy of Art her freshman year in 2018, threw a two-hit shutout with eight strikeouts for her 19^th win of the season. The Cougars’ pitching staff allowed just one earned run in the game, but that was enough as Chico State went on to win 3-0, setting up the game with Concordia.
 
This was the second meeting of the season between the Wildcats and Eagles, and Chico State put Larsen right back on the rubber to pitch another complete game after having just thrown 108 pitches. Katlin Entrup got her second start of the tournament for Concordia and immediately got run support as the Eagles scored in each of the first two innings.
 
Rylie Rohr scored the first run of the game, coming around to score on an error in the first inning. The Eagles then got around to the top of the lineup after Lauren Lopez reached on a single and PacWest Player of the Year Megan Massa drove her in with a single to shortstop for the second run of the game.
 
That was all Entrup needed, pitching five shutout innings to start the game. She gave up one run in the sixth inning before Cortney Koelmans came in to end the threat and preserve a 2-1 lead. In the seventh inning, Morris returned to the circle. She allowed a hit and a walk, but no run crossed the plate as she recorded her third save of the season.
 
Concordia will get a second chance against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday, playing at noon. If the Eagles win that game, the two teams will immediately face each other in a winner-take-all game for a spot in the NCAA West Regional Championship Series. The other NCAA sub-regional final in the west is between Cal State San Marcos and Sonoma State with Cal State San Marcos needing to win twice to advance.