OSHKOSH, Wis. – A little rain and wind could not stop the Concordia Wisconsin softball team on Friday in the NCAA Division III Tournament. The Falcons downed the Dutch of Central (Iowa) with a convincing 8-3 victory.
The Dutch tried to strike early on Friday and tried to steal third base, but a throw down from senior Megan Bloyer (Oregon, Wis.) easily picked off the runner.
The Falcons tallied three runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Senior Jasmine Freeze (Bolingbrook, Ill.) crushed the ball over the fence in left field with a three-run blast that also scored Megan Bloyer and junior Rylie Duval (Elgin, Ill.).
The Red and White left two on base in the second inning with a fielder's choice.
Central scored a run in the third inning with an infield single.
Jasmine Freeze continued to dominate the Dutch in the third inning with a double into the gap in right-center that scored sophomore Jenna Lischka (Manitowoc, Wis.) from first base.
Another infield single scored a run for the red jerseys in the fourth inning.
CUW responded with a spicy shot to shortstop in the bottom of the inning from Jenna Lischka that allowed junior Nora Statz (Helenville, Wis.) to score.
Central scored its final run of the game in the fifth inning on a groundout to shortstop. The Dutch tried to score another run, but Megan Bloyer was waiting and had the easy out off a toss from junior Maggie Plahmer (Slinger, Wis.).
The Falcons had the last laugh when senior Jess Pozezinski (Lake Villa, Ill.) crushed a three-run home run out of the park in the sixth inning to send in sophomore Jenna Shadoski (Janesville, Wis.) and senior Adrianna Martinez (Chicago, Ill.).
The Dutch folded with a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh inning on three groundouts.
Jasmine Freeze only allowed four hits in the start.
Sophomore Kylie Strupp (Slinger, Wis.) earned the win in the circle and only allowed four hits.
Jasmine Freeze and Adrianna Martinez led the contest with three hits each. Freeze also brought in four RBI in the victory.
The Falcons and Dutch have played three games to a complete seven or more innings over the past three years and are 2-1 in those games.
Central finished the year with a 26-13 overall record and had a 9-7 American Rivers Conference record.
Concordia Wisconsin started the contest against Wisconsin-Oshkosh, but it was halted due to lightning in the area. The game will be resumed on Saturday.
