MONTGOMERY, Ill. (naccsports.org) --- Concordia University Wisconsin was forced into a winner-take-all championship game by Benedictine University, but emerged with a 7-1 victory over the Eagles in the ultimate finale Sunday afternoon to win the 2025 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Softball Tournament at Bedrosian Stadium.
This the fourth NACC tournament title in program history for Concordia Wisconsin (2009, 2022, 2023, 2025) and the third in four years. With the victory, the Falcons (31-11) secure the NACC's automatic berth in the 2025 NCAA Division III Softball Championship, which begins next weekend. The field will be announced on an NCAA.com selection show at 10 a.m. CT on Monday, May 12.
Game 6 - Benedictine 5, Concordia Wisconsin 1
Concordia Wisconsin stranded three runners over the first two innings, but it was Benedictine that struck first. The Eagles plated two on a Haley Barnes single through the left side, then added to the total two innings later as Lauren Bogard scored on a Breanne Deutscher RBI single.
CUW mustered one run in the bottom of the sixth as Jasmine Freeze hit a solo home run.
The Eagles tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the seventh aided by a CUW error and a Morgan Bruno sacrifice.
Benedictine pitcher Mckenzie Johnson retired the Falcons in order In the bottom half of the frame to close out the contest. Johnson allowed just one run on three hits and a pair of walks while striking out four in a complete-game effort for the Eagles.
Bogard and Deutscher each had two hits for Benedictine, with Bogard also drawing a walk and scoring three times. Barnes, Johnson, and Taylor Oppenhuis also had hits.
CUW starting pitcher Emma Shellstrom - coming off a no-hitter against MSOE on Friday and a win in relief on Saturday - was touched up for a pair of runs on four hits in three innings of work and was saddled with the loss.
Freeze, Jess Pozezinski, and Nora Statz collected hits for the Falcons.
Game 7 - Concordia Wisconsin 7, Benedictine 1
The Falcons got their offense on track in game two, rattling four Benedictine pitchers to the tune of 10 hits. It was the Eagles, though, who struck first as Lauryn Olson drew a leadoff walk and scored on a one-out double to right field by Breanne Deutscher. Deutscher ended up at third base on the play as the Falcons attempted to cut Olson down at the plate. Any momentum gained from Deutscher's hit was quickly stifled as Haley Barnes flew out to Adrianna Martinez in shallow left field. Martinez then threw out Deutscher at home to complete the double play and end the inning.
The Falcons pulled ahead in the fourth inning as Nora Stats and Martinez hit back-to-back one out singles, then came home on a three-run blast by Maggie Plahmer that gave CUW a 3-1 lead.
Benedictine stranded a pair of runners in the top of the fifth. In the bottom half of the frame, Concordia Wisconsin was able to plate one on a Statz RBI single through the left side to extend the lead to 4-1. The Falcons tacked on three more runs in the sixth as Plahmer reached on a leadoff single and scored two batters later on an RBI single from Jess Pozezinski. Rylee DuVal made it 7-1 four batters later with a two-run single up the middle that scored Pozezinski and Megan Bloyer.
The Eagles were retired in order in the seventh, with the final out coming on a groundout to Pozezinski at shortstop.
Emma Shellstrom got the start for CUW, pitching the first two innings before yielding to Jasmine Freeze in the third. Freeze (10-2) pitched the third and fourth innings, allowing the lone BenU run while walking a pair and was credited with her 10th win of the season. Kylie Strupp pitched a scoreless fifth inning, allowing a hit and a walk, before Shellstrom returned to the circle to start the sixth inning. She finished the game, earning the save while scattering two hits and a walk over a total of 4.0 innings. Shellstrom also recorded CUW's only strikeout in the contest.
Deutscher accounted for two of Benedictine's four hits in the contest.
Bloyer finished with a game-high three hits, while Plahmer went 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored and Statz went 2-for-3 with a hit and a run scored.
Shellstrom was also named the 2025 NACC Softball Tournament MVP. She pitched in all four of CUW's games, kicking off her tournament with a no-hitter against MSOE - just the third in tournament history. All told, Shellstrom compiled a 2-1 record with a save, scattering nine hits and striking out five over 15 innings.
2025 NACC Softball All-Tournament Team
Emma Shellstrom, CUW - mvp
Jess Pozezinski, CUW
Jasmine Freeze, CUW
Megan Bloyer, CUW
Lauren Bogard, BENU
Breanne Deutscher, BENU
McKenzie Johnson, BENU
Kailee Diaz Randall, DOM
Liberty Rivard, DOM
Jayda Nelson, MSOE
Katie Pollock, MSOE