No. 6 Falcons win 2009 NAC Softball Tournament title, battle through three-game series with Dominican
MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- An underdog Concordia University Wisconsin softball team was crowned the 2009 Northern Athletics Conference Tournament champion as the No. 6 seed in a come-from-behind victory over a fourth-ranked Dominican University, 5-3, in the championship game to cap a thrilling three-day tournament at Alverno Field.

The Falcons (24-21) emerged victorious in the final round of play in what turned out to be a three-game series with Dominican (30-14). The Falcons sat down the Stars in the day’s opening game, 9-3, forcing Dominican to try to knock off No. 2 Lakeland College in the next game to stay in the tournament. The Stars did just that, sending the Muskies packing, 14-13, in a wild, record-setting home run derby of a game to pit them against the Falcons once again.

Although she had already thrown nine innings up to that point, Stars’ pitcher Jori Cicale (Steger, Ill./Marian Catholic) pitched a gem for a seven-inning shutout victory, 4-0, over Concordia to force the fourth game of the day to decide the NAC champion.

But the Falcons weren’t about to forfeit the series with the Stars, lighting up Cicale for 12 hits with a four-run rally in the bottom of the fifth inning to take the lead and secure the victory.

Concordia was a bit of a surprise entrant to the tournament, just barely sneaking in as the bottom seed with a 14-10 NAC regular season record to force a tie-breaker over Edgewood College to earn the right to face a tough No. 3 Benedictine University squad. However, the Falcons perhaps peaked at the right time in the season and proved that rankings sometimes don’t mean much when it comes to a conference tournament, upsetting the Eagles, 4-3, on Thursday. The squad went on to hand Lakeland their first loss of the tournament, 7-3, on Friday to advance on a win-streak heading into today’s final round.

The Stars had pulled off a few surprises of their own heading into the final day of tournament action, knocking off both No. 1 Aurora University, 6-4, and No. 2 Lakeland on their way to the championship game. Against Aurora, Dominican rallied in their final at-bat to score six runs to hand the Spartans their first-ever NAC tournament loss in their first game on Friday.
 

Game #8: No. 4 Dominican vs. No. 6 Concordia Wisconsin

The Falcons brought their offensive power with them to their match-up with Dominican, blowing through three of their pitchers to total 13 hits and dismantle the Stars, 9-3.

First baseman Emily Bennin (Chilton) played a major role in the Falcons’ success in the batter’s box with a 3-for-4 effort and a pair of RBI, one of which was the first score of the game on a double at the top of the fourth inning to give her team a 1-0 lead. Concordia continued to swing the bats well down the stretch, exploding for three runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to take a 7-0 advantage.

First baseman Tara Wagner (Cedarburg), left fielder Erin Meier (Milwaukee/Lutheran) and pitcher Jenna DiMaggio (San Diego, Calif./Our Lady Peace) all tallied consecutive RBI in the fifth inning. The Stars’ designated player, Shelley Kurcz (Crown Point, Ind./Prairie State), was re-assigned to take over the pitching duties at the top of the sixth, but the Falcons continued the offensive assault with three hits and two stolen bases to take a 7-0 lead.

Dominican finally managed to respond in the bottom half of the sixth inning, as catcher Abby Bullerdick (New Market, Ind./Southmont) belted a two-run RBI single on a tiring DiMaggio. Sheri Weidner (Mt. Prospect, Ill.) then took over the pitching duties for the Falcons, giving up just one run for the remainder of the inning to keep the lead intact, 7-3.

Concordia tacked on another two insurance runs in their final at-bat on two singles by Wagner and Bennin and a pair of doubles by Meier and Weidner. Weidner returned to the circle to finish off the Stars to secure the victory.

DiMaggio earned the win in the circle in 5.1 innings of work, giving up just four hits with four strikeouts. Cicale was tagged with the loss for the Stars, allowing six hits and four runs with two punch-outs in five innings.
 

Game #9: No. 2 Lakeland vs. No. 4 Dominican

Another top seed fell in the third and final day of the tournament, as No. 4 Dominican rallied from a loss in its previous game to Concordia to drop No. 2 Lakeland College, 14-13, knocking the Muskies out of the tournament in an unbelievable record-setting game showcasing the power-hitters on both squads.

The Stars cracked a mind-boggling six home runs in the game while the Muskies added five, tying a pair of NCAA Division III records for the eighth and 10th-most home runs in a single game by a team, respectively. Both squads seemed to run out of fresh pitchers in this third day of tournament play, as each team switched back and forth between three pitchers in the game with none of them managing to evade many hits.

Left fielder Megan Day’s (Zionsville, Ind.) walk-off home run on the first pitch of the game certainly set the tone for what was to come, giving the Stars the early 1-0 lead.

Lakeland (30-10) brought its big bats to the field without question, but its defensive game was somewhat non-existent as the Muskies committed seven errors in the game, four in a third inning that saw Dominican score four unearned runs on three hits. The first of the errors was committed with two outs, forcing pitcher Sara Roberts (Escanaba, Mich.) to spend more time in the circle.

The Stars went on to explode for six runs on three home runs at the top of the fourth to build an 11-5 lead. Reliever Alyssa Nelson (Germantown) picked up the pitching duties for a fourth inning that would see two more pitching changes as Dominican batted its way through Lakeland’s throwing options.

Bullerdick kicked off the barrage with a 3 RBI shot off Nelson that soon brought Roberts back to the circle following another base hit. However, throwing a total of 18 innings in a three-game battle to avoid that second loss yesterday may have taken its toll on Roberts, as Kurcz promptly belted a two-run homer to bring on another pitching change.

Cassie Felton (Green Bay/West) entered the circle, still lacking a single out in the inning, to immediately surrender the Stars’ second consecutive jack over the fence as first baseman Katie Jensen (Des Plaines, Ill./Elk Grove) completed the home run trio for the inning. Felton would stay in the circle for the remainder of the game.

Dominican held a comfortable 14-8 edge heading into Lakeland’s last at-bat, but the Muskies refused to go down easy swinging away for another two home runs. Stars’ reliever Carissa Stewart (Arlington Heights, Ill./Rolling Meadows) started the seventh, but was quickly pulled following three consecutive hits, including right fielder Kayla VandeWettering’s (Appleton/West) second home run of the day for 2 RBI.

Kurcz would return to close the game in the circle, but not before giving up a two-run shot over the fence to short stop KC Blahnik (Gladstone, Mich.) to put the Muskies in striking distance with their 12th and 13th runs. Catcher Christina Moore (New London) managed to scratch out a double, but her squad went down with three outs on plays from the shortstop to the first baseman to end the game in the Stars’ favor and hand Lakeland its walking papers.

In addition to closing out the game at pitcher, giving up 10 hits and seven runs in three innings, Kurcz went yard twice for 3 RBI. Shortstop Caroline Rogers (Moline, Ill.) batted a team-best 3-for-5 at the plate with a home run and a pair of doubles, while Cicale also had two hits.

Cicale picked up the win in the circle, throwing four innings and scattering five hits for two earned runs and three strikeouts. Roberts, who homered in the game, was pegged with the loss giving up six hits in three innings with only two earned runs.

Blahnik and Moore also hit shots over the fence in addition to those by Roberts and VandeWettering, and also led the offense with success in three out of their five trips to the plate and 3 RBI apiece. Third baseman Sam Shepeck (Gladstone, Mich.) also had three hits on four attempts with a big RBI double to spark Lakeland’s near-rally in the seventh.

Game #10: No. 4 Dominican vs. No. 6 Concordia Wisconsin

After sending off Lakeland in a high-scoring style, 14-13, Dominican faced Concordia for the second time of the day after falling to the Falcons, 9-3, in their first meeting of the day. The Stars would even up the series at 1-1 with a gritty 4-0 shutout victory over Concordia to force one more game to decide the championship.

Cicale played an integral role in ensuring the Stars the win, scattering four hits with two strikeouts in a full seven innings in the circle. Although the game wasn’t nearly the home run-hitting affair of the previous game, Bullerdick managed to muster her second long shot of the day to put the Stars up, 1-0, in the second inning. Another pair of runs in the fourth inning on a sacrifice fly to right field by Jensen and an RBI single by Cicale, and a final run in the sixth on an error sealed the win to knot up the day’s Concordia/Dominican series 1-1.

Bullerdick batted a perfect 2-for-2 for the Stars with 2 RBI, two runs scored and a walk with Cicale also chipping in two hits and an RBI.

DiMaggio took the loss in the circle for the Falcons after two innings of work, giving up three hits and one run. Weidner forfeited the remaining three runs on three hits in four innings of relief pitching.

Game #11: No. 4 Dominican vs. No. 6 Concordia Wisconsin

With the day’s series tied up at 1-1 and Dominican heading into its fourth-straight game of the day, Concordia recovered from being shut out in the previous game and persevered to win the game, 5-3, and its first-ever NAC tournament title.

The Falcons trailed, 3-1, heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, but capitalized on five hits to notch a four-run effort to capture the lead.

DiMaggio her team started with a single in the first at-bat of the inning, followed by two more singles by Weidner and catcher Angela Ward (Cedarburg), who tallied an RBI. Right fielder Sarah Cochran (Bloomington, Ill./University) then drove in two more runs, belting a double to give the Falcons the lead for the first time in the game. An RBI single by shortstop Rachel Homp (La Crosse/Zumbrota) drove in Cochran for the final run of the game.

Relieving pitcher Danielle Burke (Burlington) then pitched two lights-out innings for Concordia with three strikeouts to prevent Dominican from making its own rally. Burke scattered four hits in five innings with a total of five punch-outs to pick up the win. Weidner had started the game, surrendering two hits and two runs in two innings in the circle.

Ward and Homp each batted a team-best 2-for-3 for Concordia with an RBI apiece while Bennin added two hits on four at-bats for an RBI.

Jensen led Dominican with a home run in the first for one of her two hits in the game while Day cracked two hits in four attempts with two runs scored.

Cicale picked up the loss on 12 hits and five strikeouts in six innings of work. She couldn’t quite find the pitching magic that kept the Falcons at bay in the previous game, as she closed out the day pitching a tiring total of 22 innings.

Concordia will advance to the first round of the NCAA Tournament, with its opponent TBA.

Courtesy of Alverno College, Sports Information Department, May 2, 2009.