Junior Kristen Schmidt (Cottage Grove, Minn.) improved to 25-6 on the season in her ninth shutout as no. 17 Concordia-St. Paul (42-13) defeated Missouri Western State (48-19) 2-0 Friday afternoon in Emporia, Kan. in the second round of the NCAA North Central Regional Tournament.

Schmidt struck out eight while allowing just four hits without issuing a walk in seven shutout innings.

The game was a scoreless tie through four innings, but Concordia came on with a two-out rally in the fifth inning to take the lead. Senior Shannon Miller started things off with a two-out walk, and senior Elizabeth Plante followed with a single through the right side. Sophomore Amanda Yurek hit a bloop single over the first baseman, driving in Miller and giving Concordia a 1-0 lead.

The Bears added another in the sixth when junior Vanessa Dufresne, who pinch ran for junior Nikki Smith, came in to score when Miller drew a bases-loaded walk.

The 17th-ranked Bears advance to the semifinals, where they will play the top-seed and host no. 8 Emporia State at 2:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon.