Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament
April 29-May 1, 2009
Click here for game summaries.
Games Thursday, April 30
2 p.m.
Game 1 – Morningside 14, Dordt 0 (5 Inn.) Box
Game 2 – Hastings 1, Doane 0 Box
Game 3 – Briar Cliff 5, Concordia 1 Box
Game 4 – Midland Lutheran 4, Dana 1
4 p.m.
Game 5 – Dordt 6, Doane 5 Box (elimination game)
Game 6 – Dana 2, Concordia 1 (elimination game)
Game 7 – Hastings 3, Morningside 0 Box
Game 8 – Briar Cliff 4, Midland Lutheran 0 Box
6 p.m.
Game 9 – Midland Lutheran 3, Dordt 2 (9 Inn.) Box (elimination game)
Game 10 – Morningside 3, Dana 0 Box (elimination game)
Games Friday, May 1
Noon
Game 11 – Hastings 8, Briar Cliff 0 (6 Inn.) Box (winner’s bracket championship)
Game 12 – Morningside 6, Midland Lutheran 1 Box (elimination game)
2 p.m.
Game 13 – Morningside 2, Briar Cliff 1 Box (loser’s bracket championship)
Games Saturday, May 2
Noon
Game 14 – Morningside 3, Hastings 0 Box (championship #1)
2 p.m.
Game 15 – Hastings 4, Morningside 1 Box (championship #2)
Both teams advance to NAIA Softball National Championships on May 14-20 at Decatur, Ala.
Saturday, May 2
Championship Game #1
Hastings 000 000 0 – 0 4 2
Morningside 210 000 x – 3 9 2
Stacey Paladino and Kayla Peltz; Kelly Baumert and Alyx Peery; WP- Baumert (23-10); LP- Paladino (13-9).
Morningside defeated Hastings College 3-0 to force a second championship game in the double-elimination GPAC Softball Tournament at Sioux City’s SYA Complex. The Mustangs, the GPAC regular season champions, will take a 33-18 record into Saturday’s second title game slated for 2 p.m. Kelly Baumert twirled a four-hit shutout with one walk and seven strikeouts to improve her season’s record to 23-10. The Mustangs took the lead right from the start when they plated two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Kylie Helmink led off with a double down the right field line and Brandi Burke followed with a single to put runners at the corners. Helmink scored one out later when Cara DeStigter reached safely on an error by the shortstop. Burke, who had stolen second base, advanced to third on the play to set up a RBI squeeze bunt by Jerra Steffen. Morningside made it 3-0 in the second inning when Kayla Clarey singled and scored on a two-out triple by Helmink. Baumert pitched out of sixth inning jam when the Broncos had runners at second and third and only one out. She escaped unharmed when Tara Tobiasson, who already had two hits on the day, lined out to third baseman Kendra Klein to end the inning. Helmink went three-for-four with a double and triple to pace a nine-hit Morningside attack. Clarey also had a multiple hit performance with a pair of singles, while Ann Hutson had a double. Tobiasson had half of Hastings’ hits with a double and single. Stephanie Baltazor also had a double.
Championship Game #2
Hastings 011 002 0 – 4 11 0
Morningside 000 001 0 – 1 7 2
Chelsey Woodside and Jenica Weiler; Kelly Baumert and Alyx Peery; WP- Woodside (18-6); LP- Baumert (23-11).
Bronco ace Chelsey Woodside tamed the Mustangs on seven hits in the second title game, but finally gave up a run after she had thrown shutouts in her two previous tournament starts. Woodside struck out three and didn’t walk a batter. She had allowed only three hits and struck out 16 batters in 13 tournament innings prior to the contest. Hastings took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning of the second championship game when the Broncos started the inning with back-to-back doubles by Stacey Paladino and Tara Tobiasson. The Broncos used two more doubles to score again in the third and open a 2-0 lead. Whitney King opened the inning with a double and came around to score on a one-out double by Baltazor. Hastings broke the game open with two more runs in the top of the sixth to go up 4-0. Kayla Peltz hit an infield single to drive in the first run and a second run scored on a throwing error by the third baseman. The Mustangs finally broke through against Woodside when they bunched three singles together in the sixth inning when Helmink, Klein, and DeStigter all had singles, the last of which drove in the Mustangs’ run. Baltazor paced the Broncos’ offensive attack with a double and triple, while King and Tobiasson each had a double and single. Ann Hutson went three-for-three with a double to lead the Mustangs. Baumert allowed 11 hits in defeat. She struck out six and didn’t walk a batter.
Friday, May 1
Midland Lutheran 100 000 0 – 1 5 0
Morningside 100 230 x – 6 10 0
Kelly Sladek, Lyndsi Eckleberry (5) and Abby Grebert, Mallory Ruhl (6); Kelly Baumert, Morgan Swanson (7) and Alyx Peery; WP- Baumert (21-10); LP- Sladek (19-3).
Morningside ace Kelly Baumert shut the Warriors down after yielding a run in the first inning. The Warriors took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Natalie Meduna led off with a triple and scored on a two-out single by Sara Bunn. It took the Mustangs just two batters to answer in the bottom of the first inning when Kylie Helmink led off with a triple and came home on a single by Brandi Burke. Morningside took a 3-1 lead when it plated two runs in the fourth inning. Jerra Steffen started the action with an infield single. Ann Hutson sacrificed her to second base and Kayla Clarey drove her in with a double to right field. The Mustangs scored their second run of the inning on a clutch two-out single by Alisha Wheat that drove in Allison VonEhwegen, who was in the game as a pinch-runner for Clarey. The Mustangs broke the game open in the fifth inning when they loaded the bases with no outs and scored three runs on RBI singles by Hutson and Alyx Peery and a fielder’s choice by Wheat to go up 6-1. Baumert, 21-10, allowed five hits, struck out four, and didn’t walk a batter over the first six innings before Morgan Swanson took over to pitch the seventh. The Mustangs touched Midland Lutheran ace Kelly Sladek, 19-3, for 10 hits in 4.1 innings. Helmink led the way with a triple and double, while Steffen had a pair of singles and Clarey had a double. Bunn had a pair of singles for two of the Warriors’ five hits.
Briar Cliff 000 000 – 0 1 2
Hastings 104 003 – 8 11 0
Camille Cruz, Tarah Colt (3) and Amanda Arens; Chelsey Woodside and Jenica Weiler; WP- Woodside (17-6); LP- Cruz (13-12).
Hastings took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Kayla Peltz reached base on a fielder’s choice, stole second, and scored on a double by Chelsey Woodside. The Broncos broke the game open with a four-run third inning to chase Charger starter Camille Cruz and open a 5-0 lead. The big hits were a RBI double by Tara Tobiasson and RBI singles by Peltz and Whitney King. Hastings capped its scoring with three runs in the sixth when Stacey Paladino hit a bases loaded clearing double to end the game by the eight-run rule. Woodside pitched a one-hit shutout and took a perfect game into the sixth inning before Jen Kruckenberg broke it up with a one-out walk. Woodside lost her no-hitter when the next batter, Jessica Horton, hit a single. Woodside finished with one walk and seven strikeouts. Tobiasson had a double and single to pace an 11-hit Bronco attack. King and Peltz each had two singles, while Woodside, Paladino, and Stephanie Baltazor all had doubles.
Briar Cliff 010 000 0 – 1 6 1
Morningside 000 011 x – 2 4 2
Camille Cruz and Amanda Arens; Kelly Baumert and Alyx Peery; WP- Baumert (22-10); LP- Cruz (13-13).
Morningside advanced to the championship game of the GPAC Tournament with a 2-1 win against city rival Briar Cliff in the elimination bracket final. Kelly Baumert pitched a six-hitter with one walk and six strikeouts to outduel Charger ace Camille Cruz, who lost despite allowing only four hits. Cruz walked three and struck out two. Briar Cliff scored an unearned run to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Megan McCarthy opened the inning by reaching on a three-base error by the leftfielder and scored on a squeeze bunt by Shelby Schmidt. Cruz benefitted from a double play to pitch her way out of trouble in the fourth inning after the Mustangs had runners at first and second with no outs after a single by Brandi Burke and a walk to Kendra Klein. The Mustangs loaded the bases with one out in the fifth after Kayla Clarey walked, Alyx Peery singled, and Alisha Wheat was hit by a pitch. Cruz almost escaped unscathed when she struck out the next batter for the second out before Burke worked her for a walk to force in the tying run.
Morningside scored the go-ahead run in the sixth with the aid of a Briar Cliff error. Cara DeStigter opened the Mustang sixth inning with a single and her pinch-runner, Jamie Johnson, raced to third base when Jerra Steffen hit a hard grounder that was booted by the shortstop for an error. Ann Hutson brought her home with a sacrifice fly to deep left field. The Chargers didn’t go quietly and forced Baumert to pitch her way out of a bases loaded jam with one out in the seventh. Amanda Arens reached second base on the combination of an infield single and a throwing error by the shortstop and then Jennifer Kruckenberg singled to put runner at the corners with one out. The Chargers then loaded the bases when Jessica Horton reached on an infield single. The Mustangs got the second out at home when Tana Colt bounced back to the pitcher for a fielder’s choice and then Tarah Colt flew out to left field for the last out. Peery had a double and single for two of Morningside’s four hits, while Kruckenberg paced the Chargers with a pair of singles.
Thursday, April 30
Doane 000 000 0 – 0 5 3
Hastings 000 001 x – 1 7 1
Jennifer Liddell and Alyssa Ledon; Stacey Paladino and Stephanie Baltazor; WP- Paladino (13-8); LP- Liddell (11-9).
Hastings scored the game’s only run in the sixth inning when Tara Tobiassonn reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on a single by Ellie Flott. Winning pitcher Stacey Paladino pitched a five-hit shutout with no walks and two strikeouts. Doane’s Jennifer Liddell scattered seven hits in defeat. She walked zero and struck out five. Ashlee Lueders had two hits for Hastings, while Whitney Poole had a pair of singles for Doane. Paladino had the game’s only extra base hit with a double.
Dordt 000 00 – 0 2 2
Morningside 337 1x – 14 15 1
Amber Soodsma, Amanda Nikkel (3) and Jaclyn Ver Mulm; Kelly Baumert, Morgan Swanson (4) and Alyx Peery; WP- Baumert (19-9); LP- Soodsma (10-7); HR- Kendra Klein (M) (4).
Morningside scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning to take an early lead and never looked back. The first two runs scored when Kendra Klein doubled off the left field fence. The final run scored on a bases loaded groundout by Kayla Clarey. The Mustangs increased their lead to 6-0 in the second inning when they scored three runs with two outs. Klein provided the big blow again when she homered over the left field fence with Kylie Helmink on board after an infield single. Kylie Tirado drove in the third run when she delivered a RBI single to bring home Cara DeStigter, who also singled. Morningside plated seven more runs in a third inning that featured two-run singles by DeStigter and Alyx Peery and RBI singles by Helmink and Jerra Steffen. Helmink went four-for-four with a double to pace a 15-hit Morningside attack. Klein had a home run, double, single,and five RBIs, while DeStigter and Peery each had two singles. Kristin Santana had both of Dordt’s hits with a double and single. Winning pitcher Kelly Baumert blanked the Defenders on two hits over the first three innings to get the win. She struck out four and didn’t walk a batter.
Briar Cliff 001 103 0 – 5 13 0
Concordia 100 000 0 – 1 5 2
Camille Cruz and Amanda Arens; Nicole Sempek and Charlotte Kaeding; WP- Curz (12-11); LP- Sempek (16-3).
Concordia ace Nicole Sempek had one of her roughest outings of the season when Briar Cliff shelled her for 13 hits to post an opening round upset. Sempek, who struck out four and didn’t walk a batter, lost for only the third time this season in 19 decisions. Tana Colt was the big hitter in the Chargers’ lineup with four hits in as many at-bats. Mandy Wagner added a double and single, while Anthony Reagon and Amanda Arens each had two singles. Charlotte Kaeding had three hits, including a double, to pace the Bulldogs. Clarissa Eloge added a pair of singles. Briar Cliff led just 2-1 before it broke the game open with a three-run sixth inning that featured RBI doubles by Jess Horton and Tarah Colt.
Dana 001 000 0 – 1 5 0
Midland Lutheran 100 300 x – 4 6 0
Brianne Nutty and Lenaea Kryszak; Kelly Sladek and Abby Grebert; WP- Sladek (18-2); LP- Nutty (8-6).
Midland Lutheran ace Kelly Sladek pitched a five-hit shutout and struck out nine batters to climb to 18-2 on the season. The big hit for the Warriors was a two-run single by Jessica Singleton during a three-run fourth inning. Aside from being the winning pitcher, Sladek also had a pair of hits for the Warriors, as did Sara Bunn. Melena Selzle had two hits for the Vikings.
Hastings 000 030 0 – 3 8 0
Morningside 000 000 0 – 0 2 2
Chelsey Woodside and Jenica Weiler; Kelly Baumert and Alyx Peery; WP- Woodside (16-6); LP- Baumert (19-10).
Chelsey Woodside pitched a two-hit shutout with no walks and nine strikeouts to lead the Broncos past the GPAC regular season champion Mustangs. Aside from her pitching gem, Woodside also doubled and scored a run when the Broncos scored three times in the top of the sixth inning for the game’s only runs. Stephanie Baltazor, who singled prior to Woodside’s double, scored the game’s first run on an infield single by Tara Tobiasson and Woodside also scored on the play on a throwing error by the catcher. Tobiasson scored the third run of the inning after a single by Nicole Ciecior and a throwing error by the shortstop. Baltazor and Tobiasson each had two hits to lead an eight-hit Hastings attack. Morningside’s only hits were fourth inning singles by Kendra Klein and Cara DeStigter. Mustang ace Kelly Baumert struck out nine and didn’t walk a batter in defeat.
Briar Cliff 210 000 1 – 4 2 1
Midland Lutheran 000 000 0 – 0 2 4
Camille Cruz and Amanda Arens; Rachel Theis, Kelly Sladek (1) and Mallory Ruhl; WP- Cruz (13-11); LP- Thies (10-7).
Camille Cruz twirled a two-hit shutout with 15 strikeouts and two walks to lead the Chargers to their second upset victory of the day. The Chargers scored two runs off Rachel Thies in the first inning before the Warriors relieved her with ace Kelly Sladek. Sladek allowed only one hit and struck out six batters over the last 6.1 innings, but it was too late. The Chargers did all of their first inning scoring with two outs and nobody on base. Reagon Anthony walked to start the action before the Warriors third baseman committed an error on a ball hit by Megan McCarthy to keep the inning going and set up a two-run double by Mandy Wagner. The Chargers increased their lead to 3-0 in the second inning when Amanda Arens walked and scored on a wild pitch. The Chargers scored again in the seventh inning when Tana Colt reached on an error by the second baseman and scored on an error by the rightfielder. Wagner had Briar Cliff’s only two hits in the win with a double and a single. Midland Lutheran’s hits were a triple by Natalie Meduna and a single by Sara Bunn.
Dordt 110 021 1 – 6 10 4
Doane 040 000 1 – 5 7 4
Sarah Visser, Amber Soodsma (3) and Jaclyn Ver Mulm; Emily Larsen, Jennifer Liddell (1) and Alyssa Ledon; WP- Soodsma (11-7); LP- Liddell (11-10).
Dordt stayed alive with a one-run victory against Doane in the elimination bracket. The Defenders trailed 4-2 before they tied the score with a two-run fifth and then went ahead to stay with another run in the sixth. Dordt tied the score at 4-4 on a two-run double by Megan Huizenga in the fifth. The Defenders took a 5-4 lead in the sixth when Amanda Nikkel doubled and her pinch-runner, Dana Van Zee, scored on an error by the third baseman. The Defenders added an insurance run in the top of the seventh on a RBI single by Sarah Visser, which proved to be big when the Tigers capitalized on three Dordt errors to score a run in the bottom of the inning. Visser and Jaclyn Ver Mulm each had three singles to highlight a 10-hit Defender attack. Nikkel also had a multiple hit performance with a double and a single. Jennifer Liddell led Doane with a double and single, while Jennifer Montoya had two singles. Amber Soodsma took over in relief to start the third inning and allowed one unearned run on three hits over the final five innings to get the win. She walked one and struck out five.
Dana 000 000 0 – 0 2 0
Morningside 003 000 x – 3 5 0
Mindy Schoop and Lenae Kryszak; Kelly Baumert and Alyx Peery; WP- Baumert (20-10); LP- Schoop (9-8).
Kelly Baumert pitched a two-hit shutout, yielding only a pair of singles to Beth Richmond in the first and third innings. Baumert, who struck out nine and didn’t walk a batter, set down the Vikings’ final 13 batters of the game after Richmond singled with two outs in the third. Dana’s Mindy Schoop threw shutout ball for five of her six innings, but the Mustangs touched her for three runs in the bottom of the third inning. The first two scored on a bases loaded single by Cara DeStigter. The last run of the inning scored on a sacrifice bunt by Jerra Steffen. Schoop finished with a five-hitter with three walks and nine strikeouts. Brandi Burke had two of the Mustangs’ hits with a pair of singles.
Dordt 100 000 100 – 2 5 1
Midland Lutheran 000 101 001 – 3 10 2
Sarah Visser, Amber Soodsma (6) and Jaclyn Ver Mulm; Kelly Sladek and Abby Grebert; WP- Sladek (19-2); LP- Soodsma (11-8).
Jessie Smith delivered a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning to drive in the winning run. Smith’s single drove in Jessica Singleton, who came in to pinch-run after Mallory Ruhl led off the inning with a single. Dordt had stated a seventh inning rally to tie the score at 2-2 to force extra innings. The Defenders, who trailed 2-1 going into the seventh, tied the score when Sarah Visser doubled and her pinch-runner, Kaitlyn Lockhorst, came home on a single by Amanda Nikkel. Visser led a double and single for the Defenders, while Smith and Sara Bunn each had two hits for the winners. Kelly Sladek pitched a nine-inning complete game victory. She allowed five hits with one walk and eight strikeouts.