Ending the season in rough fashion with a pair of NCKL doubleheaders, the Concordia High School softball team concluded its season versus Clay Center and broke its losing streak with a split versus Marysville.
Versus Clay Center in game one, the Panthers lost 20-5.
The Tigers opened the game with five runs scored in the top of the first, but the Panthers responded with four runs of their own by Morgan Lister, Camleigh Hake, Bella Stuber, and Kyndra Brandt all scoring to make it 5-4 Clay Center after one inning. Clay Center blew the game open with six runs scored in the top of the second to make it 11-4, and scored a solo run in the third, six in the fourth, and two runs in the fifth to make it 20-4. Concordia would score a solo run of their own with Piper Ferrell (pinch running for Lister) scoring on a Brandt single, with a final out ending the game 20-5.
In game two, the Panthers lost 11-0.
Clay Center carried the momentum into game two, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the first inning and a trio of runs in the second to go up 5-0. After the Tigers scored six runs in the top of the third to go up 11-0, the Panther defense buckled down and didn’t give up any more runs in the final two innings, but the offense couldn’t bring anyone home, as the game came to a close, alongside the high school softball careers of Bella Stuber and Catelin Benyshek.
Versus Marysville in game one, the Panthers won 4-3.
After four scoreless innings to open the game, Marysville got on the board first with a trio of runs to take a 3-0 lead, but Concordia would immediately respond with three runs of their own, with Emma Bray, Skylah Garst and Lister scoring, to tie the game 3-3. After a scoreless sixth inning, McKayla Cherney got on base from an error, advanced to second, and Catelin Benyshek would bring her home on a two-out single and break a 16-game losing streak.
In game two, the Panthers lost 17-2.
Marysville scored a solo run in the first to take the early lead, before exploding for 10 runs in the second inning to go up 11-0. After scoring three runs in the third and fourth innings to go up 17-0, Concordia got on the board in the bottom of the fourth with Stuber and Bray scoring on a Lister double, but would fall short of extending the game, falling 17-2 by run rule.
