MONTGOMERY, Ill. – The Concordia Wisconsin softball team has secured the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Softball Tournament crown for the third time in four seasons. The Falcons secured their fifth conference tournament title with a 7-1 victory over Benedictine.
"I am so incredibly proud of this team," said head coach Megan Aliverti. "They have worked hard all season and today. Benedictine gave us two really good games today, and we showed a lot of heart to earn this victory. This is a special team, and I am excited to get to continue our season into the NCAA Tournament."
The Falcons entered the day as the top team in the NACC Tournament and posted victories over MSOE and Benedictine to only need one victory on Sunday.
Senior Jess Pozezinski (Lake Villa, Ill.) started the day with a double to get the ball rolling in the first inning, but the Falcons could not capitalize.
Benedictine scored two runs in the top of the third inning on a single to the left side.
The Red and White added another run at the top of the fifth inning on a single down the left-field line just out of the reach of the CUW defense.
Senior Jasmine Freeze (Bolingbrook, Ill.) put the Falcons on the scoreboard with a crushed ball over the left-field fence in the sixth inning.
Benedictine responded with three runs in the seventh inning, with two coming on an error and one on a sacrifice bunt.
McKenzie Johnson had a solid start for Benedictine in the circle in game one and held CUW to only three hits in game one for her 18th victory of the season.
Sophomore Emma Shellstrom (San Diego, Calif.) had a strikeout in the first three innings, sophomore Kylie Strupp (Slinger, Wis.) had a strikeout in three innings and Jasmine Freeze had two strikeouts and no hits in an inning in the circle.
The Eagles forced a second game on Sunday with a 5-1 victory in game one.
After a leadoff walk for junior Nora Statz (Helenville, Wis.) in the second inning, the Falcons chased McKenzie Johnson out of the circle.
Benedictine struck first again in game two with a double in the third inning. The Eagles thought they scored again with a shallow shot to right field, but senior Adrianna Martinez (Chicago, Ill.) threw out the base runner by 10 feet with senior Megan Bloyer (Oregon, Wis.) waiting at the plate.
The momentum shifted in the fourth inning when junior Maggie Plahmer (Slinger, Wis.) proved to be a game-two hero with her second home run of her career over the fence in left field to score Adrianna Martinez and Nora Statz.
The Red and White threatened again in the fifth inning with runners on second and third, but a ground out iced the threat.
The Falcons struck again in the fifth inning when Nora Statz singled past third base with two outs to score senior KianaMarie Taccad (Chicago, Ill.) from second base.
Concordia continued to pile on the insurance runs in the sixth inning.
Jess Pozezinski plated Maggie Plahmer from second base on a single up the middle.
Junior Rylie DuVal (Elgin, Ill.) closed the scoring with a single up the middle that added Megan Bloyer and Jess Pozezinski to the scoreboard.
Jasmine Freeze earned her second win of the season and only allowed one hit.
Emma Shellstrom picked up her second save of the season and had a strikeout and only two hits in four innings in the circle.
Kylie Strupp silenced Benedictine for an inning in the victory.
Megan Bloyer had three hits in game two.
This is the fifth conference tournament title for the Falcons. CUW won the Lake Michigan Conference Tournament in 2006 and the NACC Tournament in 2009, 2022, and 2023.
CUW had four All-Tournament selections with Megan Bloyer, Jasmine Freeze, Jess Pozezinski, and Emma Shellstrom. Emma Shellstrom was also voted as the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament.
The Falcons are making their fifth trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Blue and White made appearances in the tournament in 2006, 2009, 2022, and 2023. CUW won the regional title in 2023. The Falcons will find out the NCAA Division III Tournament bracket and schedule on Monday morning.
