Kalkwarf’s Walk-Off Gives Concordia Softball Split with No. 10 Morningside

by Noah Rohlfing

The Bulldogs finished their Thursday night doubleheader against the Morningside Mustangs in dominant fashion after a slow start, dropping the first game but winning the second in extra innings.

The first game started with a scoreless first inning, but Morningside took a 2-1 lead in the second inning. Morningside added a run in the third before Concordia made the score 3-2 in the fourth inning on a double by freshman Taryn Thomas. After a scoreless fifth inning, Morningside scored four runs in the sixth and shut down the Bulldogs to seal a 7-2 victory.

Thomas led the Bulldogs with two hits and an RBI, and pitcher senior Megan Ruppert had her ninth straight game with at least one hit.

Junior Michaela Woodward pitched an almost-perfect first three innings in the second game to hold Morningside scoreless. Concordia took a 1-0 lead in the fourth with junior Autumn Owens’ RBI double. Morningside fought back and took a 2-1 lead and held in through the sixth. In the bottom of the seventh, Concordia was down 3-1. The Bulldogs scored two runs to tie the game and send it to extra innings.

In the bottom of the eighth, sophomore Leah Kalkwarf drove home the winning run with an RBI single to give the Bulldogs a 4-3 win.

With the split, the Bulldogs move to 22-10 on the season and 6-4 in the GPAC.

The Bulldogs play Dakota Wesleyan in a GPAC doubleheader on Saturday, April 8. First pitch from Mitchell, South Dakota, is set for 1 p.m.