ROCHESTER, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul softball team (4-4) picked up a pair of close games in the Central Region Crossover today, defeating Lindenwood (Mo.) by a 4-3 score in nine innings before a 4-2 win over Northwest Missouri State at the RCTC Community Dome.

Senior right handed pitcher Ashley Kluever (Cottage Grove, Minn.) evened her season ledger at 3-3, picking up the win in relief in game one before a complete game win in game two. She pitched 8.0 total innings in the two appearances.

GAME 1: Concordia 4, Lindenwood 3 (9-innings)
The first game of the day was a back-and-forth battle, with Lindenwood striking first with a 2-run third inning off starter Stephanie Kappes (Circle Pines, Minn.). Lindenwood scored the runs on a bases loaded double, but centerfielder Alicia Meiser (Circle Pines, Minn.) connected with the cut-off Bekah Roth (Shoreview, Minn.) who gunned down the third run at the plate to end the inning with Missie Feuerbach (Iowa City, Iowa) applying the tag.

The momentum spilled over to the top of the fourth as Roth tripled home Brynn Larsen (Oconto Falls, Wis.), and scored on Katie Feuerbach (Iowa City, Iowa) RBI grounder to tie the score.

The game remained tied as Kappes settled into a groove, recording nine straight outs to send the game into extra innings. She worked out of a two-out rally in the bottom of the seventh, stranding runners on second and third by getting a flyout to center field.

Concordia had its chances prior to extra innings. The Golden Bears stranded five runners in scoring position, leaving runners on second and third in the sixth inning.

With the international tie-breaker rule in effect, each team scored in the eighth inning and Concordia added another run in the ninth. Kluever, on in relief for her first inning of work, pitched out of a bases loaded jam with one out, getting a strikeout and a force out at home to end the game.

Freshman Jamie Fleischhacker (Maplewood, Minn.) had a nice day, going 2-3 with an RBI while freshman Lindsey Kamleiter (Lakeville, Minn.) was 2-4 with a run and an RBI. Meiser swiped her 10th base of the season in the game.

Kappes had a strong start, working 8.0 innings of four-hit pitching. She allowed two earned runs and struck out three.

GAME 2: Concordia 4, NW Missouri State 2
Fleischhacker continued her strong day at the plate with a two-run single to give the Golden Bears a 2-0 lead in the third inning. They added two more in the fourth for a 4-0 lead over the Bearcats, who had defeated Concordia 7-0 in the season opener in Arkansas just eight days ago.

Fleischhacker went 1-2 with a walk in the second game and had a 3-5 day at the plate with three RBI in the two games.

Kluever was strong early, allowing just one hit through the first four innings with no Bearcat runner advancing to scoring position. She gave up a pair of runs i the fourth, but stranded two runners with the tying runner on first and the go-ahead run at the plate.

After a solid fifth, she found herself in trouble in the seventh after a leadoff walk led to a bases loaded, two outs rally for NWMSU. She retired the final batter, the clean-up hitter for the Bearcats, on a fielders choice force play at home on a comebacker.

Meiser went 1-2 and stole two more bases, giving her 10 on the young season in eight games. M.Feuerbach and Roth each went 2-3 to help bolster the middle of the lineup.

Kluever's final line was seven innings, two earned runs while scattering six hits and four walks with three strikeouts.

Concordia concludes their games at the crossover tomorrow with Upper Iowa and Truman.