ST. CLOUD, Minn. - The Concordia University softball team (0-4) dropped a pair of evening games with Nebraska-Kearney (2-7) and #25 Emporia State (10-2) after losing their first game of the day this morning in the Kelly Laas Memorial Invite on the campus of St. Cloud State.
 
NEBRASKA-KEARNEY 7, CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL 2
The Lopers jumped on the Golden Bears early by grabbing a 5-0 lead through three innings to help them cruise to the victory. CU actually had more hits than UNK as they picked up 12 hits compared to 10 for Kearney.
 
Stranding 10 runners and committing four errors proved to be too much to overcome for the Golden Bears.
 
UNK opened up the scoring in the second with a one-out, solo homerun to greet Linzy Heim in her first career start for Concordia. Two Golden Bear errors led to another run in the inning to make it 2-0.
 
After Heim retired the first two hitters of the third, she gave up four straight hits, including two doubles, to bring in three more runs to make it 5-0.
 
Nebraska-Kearney tacked on another run in the fifth to go up 6-0 before the Golden Bears got on the board. Teona Zepeda broke the shutout with a solo shot with one out in the bottom of the fifth, but UNK took it right back the next half inning as they strung together three hits to tack on another run to their lead.
 
The Golden Bears did add on one more run in the sixth as Navarae Honoroff ripped a double before scoring on a wild pitch.
 
Alicia Meiser, Liz Jarosz, Bekah Roth and Navarae Honoroff all had two hit games as eight of Concordia's nine starters picked up hits.
 
Linzy Heim (0-1) battled for 7.0 innings in her first career start as she gave up seven runs (five earned) on 10 hits with two walks and a strikeout.

#25 EMPORIA STATE 8, CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL 7 (8)
A late Emporia rally erased a four run Golden Bear lead to push the game to extra innings and set the stage for a walk-off home run for the Hornets' Jessica Gragg.

For the first time in four games the Golden Bears struck first. Meiser led the game off with a walk before stealing second. She scored just one batter later as Zepeda reached base on an error. Two batter later Jarosz drove in Zepeda with a sac fly to give CU the early 2-0 advantage.

The Hornets strung together four singles in the in bottom of the second to tie the score, but it wouldn't last long.

Liz Jarosz picked up her second RBI of the game with a single in the top of the third to drive in Zepeda. Roth followed it up with another single to bring in Jarosz and bring the lead back to two at 4-2.

Emporia State got one back in the fourth, but Jarosz continued her big game with her first career homer to open the fifth. Tessa Ewert later extended her hitting streak to four to open the season with an RBI single. The Golden Bears tacked on a seventh run on a first-and-third play that brought home Koncar.

CU held that 7-3 lead into the bottom of the sixth.

Stephanie Goodwin led off the inning with a solo blast to cut the margin to three. After the next hitter flew out the Hornets picked up three singles and a hit batter in the next four hitters. The final hit drove in two runs to tie the score at 7.

The Hornets threatened again in the seventh as they loaded the bases with one out but Stephanie Kappes worked her way out of the jam by coaxing a fielder's choice and a pop out to end the inning.

After the Golden Bears failed to score in the top of the eighth, Gragg stepped up and sent everyone home with a walk-off home run to lead off the eigthth.

Liz Jarosz picked up her second consecutive multi-hit game as she went 2-3 with a home run and three RBI. She is hitting .417 through her first four collegiate games. Teona Zepeda also had a two hit day as she went 2-4 with a walk.

Kappes (0-3) went 7+ innings for CU gave up 16 hits and eight runs while striking out four against the dangerous Emporia lineup.

Concordia is back in action this Tuesday as they take on Minnesota Duluth at the Sports Dome in West St. Paul.