WEST ST. PAUL, Minn. - Concordia-St. Paul softball (1-5) split a doubleheader with Minnesota Duluth (9-6) on Tuesday afternoon at West St. Paul Sports Dome. The Golden Bears dropped the first game 3-1 before capturing its first win of the year in game two, 7-5 in a slug fest.
GAME 1: UMD 3, Concordia 1
The Golden Bears had their opportunities, but left five runners in scoring position with three of those being on third base. Concordia had a bases loaded, no out rally in the fifth inning with a 3-0 deficit that resulted in only one run as well.
Concordia then had the tying run at the plate, leaving a runner on third in the sixth and runners on first and second in the seventh.
The Golden Bears' lone run came on a bases loaded chopper to second base by Alecia Meiser, driving in her first run of the year with
Tessa Ewert scoring from third after leading off the inning with an infield single up the middle.
Meiser went 2-3 and had a sacrifice in the game from the top of the order. Ewert was 2-3 from the seventh spot.
Stephanie Kappes took the loss, falling to 0-4 despite going the distance allowing three runs on seven hits to lower her earned run average to 4.20. She struck out four, walked one and threw 72 of her 104 pitches for strikes.
She was out-dueled by UMD's Cayli Sadler who allowed one run in seven innings with seven strikeouts, also allowing seven hits.
UMD struck first in the third inning with back-to-back singles from the 8-9 spots in the lineup, advancing to a base each on a sacrifice. Ashley Schilling delivered a sacrifice fly while Kappes worked out of the inning allowing just a run.
The Bulldogs led off the fourth inning with a solo homer to the opposite field in right by Megan Mullen, her second of the year. Jordan Rice delivered a sharp RBI double down the left field line in the fourth inning to complete UMD's offensive day.
Rice went 2-4 in the game while increasing her RBI total to 16 on the year.
Game 2: Concordia 7, UMD 5
Concordia wasted no time jumping in front with an unearned run in the top of the first inning as
Jamie Fleischhacker stole second base, allowing
Teona Zepeda to dash home on the errant throw into center field. Zepeda had reached on a single, moved to second on a passed ball and stole third to get into scoring position.
In the second inning, freshman
Elena Koncar drove her first career home run to lead off the frame. Two batters later,
Cassie Bertelsen went yard for a 3-0 lead.
The Bulldogs countered with a three run third inning capped by a two run home run by Megan Mullen, her third of the year and second of th doubleheader. It was the second homer of the inning for the Bulldogs as four long balls left the yard in the first three innings alone between the two teams.
Concordia went back on top with a two run fourth inning as
Tessa Ewert led off with a solo shot to left to give Concordia's 6-7-8 hitters each a home run midway through the contest. Concordia added a run as Zepeda drove in a run on a grounder to second, reaching safely on the error, and would also steal second for her third steal of the young season.
UMD added a run in the fourth as
Linzy Heim escaped trouble, leaving the bases loaded for the Bulldogs. She allowed a leadoff homer in the fifth inning to Jordan Rice, her fifth of the season, but retired the next three Bulldogs.
Heim's day was done, but not before Concordia scored two more runs in the top of the sixth inning for her to leave with the lead. She allowed five runs on 10 hits over five innings, striking out six with no walks. She threw 79 of her 108 pitches for strikes as well.
Stephanie Kappes came in relief and mowed down the Bulldogs in order in the sixth and seventh innings, striking out two for her first save of the year on just 19 pitches.
Each team homered three times in the game, with all six long balls assigned to a different player. Concordia also added the speed game with four stolen bases and played perfect defensively. Meanwhile, UMD was kept quiet on the bases and made three errors in the field leading to three unearned runs.
Cayli Sadler took the loss for the Bulldogs despite striking out eight over four innings in relief. She allowed two runs, but both were unearned on two hits and three walks as she fell to 6-4 on the season.
Concordia continues non-conference play next week for the Rebel Spring Games in Florida where they'll play 10 games between March 11 and 16.
