ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Early runs doomed the Concordia-St. Paul softball team (6-17) as they dropped two games on the final day of the Apple Market Classic. The Golden Bears fell to Northwest Missouri State in the first game of the day 8-7 and fell to Washburn in the second game 3-0.
 
Northwest Missouri State 8, Concordia-St. Paul 7
The Golden Bears dug their way out of a 5-0 hole to take the lead but couldn't hang on as the Bearcats used a bases clearing double in the fifth to regain the lead for good in an 8-7 win.
 
Northwest Missouri quickly jumped on Concordia starter Stephanie Kappes with five hits and three runs in the first inning. Stephanie Mark opened the scoring with an RBI single, Jessica Rawie added a run scoring double and Kendle Schieber drove home another with a bunt single. Things didn't get much better in the second inning as Rawie and Schieber each drove in runs to make it 5-0 early.
 
Kappes held it there over the next few innings as she allowed the Golden Bears to work their way back into the game. The first strike came in the fourth inning for Concordia as Haley Schanks opened the inning with a single and Liz Jarosz promptly brought her home with her first homer of the season as she pulled CU within three.
 
Jarosz added to her day with double with the bases loaded in the fifth that drove in Nicole Thompson and Jamie Fleischhacker and Emily Shinn plated Haley Schanks and Jarosz with a single as the Golden Bears took the lead at 6-5.
 
That lead didn't last long as the Bearcats used a two-out, three-run triple off the bat of Mark to make it 8-6. Schanks got one back for Concordia in the top of the sixth with an RBI triple with two down but NWMSU stranded her with a strikeout to end the threat. CU went down in order in the seventh as Northwest Missouri closed out the one-run win.
 
Concordia's offense came to life in the game as they finished with 11 hits as seven different Golden Bears picked up a hit. Outside of Schanks and Jarosz's strong performances, Teona Zepeda and Nicole Thompson each added a pair of hits as well.
 
Kappes (3-10) worked the complete game in the circle for Concordia as she allowed five earned runs on 13 hits with four strikeouts.
 
 
Washburn 3, Concordia-St. Paul 0
After the slugfest in the first game of the day for the Golden Bears, runs were much harder to come by in the second game. Cassidy Merriman proved to be the difference maker with two home runs as she drove in all three runs in the game.
 
Following a Marina Quimby single to lead off the Ichabods' half of the first, Merriman delivered her first blow with a blast to left center that made it 2-0. Washburn loaded the bases following the homer, but the Golden Bears held WU from adding any more runs in the first.
 
Merriman was back at work in the second inning as she launched another homer to center field to extend the lead to 3-0.
 
Lauren Thimmesch took it from there for the Ichabods as she held Concordia off the board in a complete game shutout. She allowed just four this and struck out five in her 11^th win of the year.
 
After the early onslaught from Merriman, Haley Schanks (2-3) really settled in as she allowed just one hit over the final four innings. She allowed six hits in total as she struck out eight in a strong outing for Concordia.
 
Concordia threatened to score multiple times in the game as they put five runners in scoring position in the game, but they were unable to push anything across. Emily Shinn provided the first threat with a double in the second before advancing to third on a wild pitch. Thimmesch coaxed a groundout to work out of the jam.
 
Jamie Fleischhacker and Schanks strung together a pair of hits in the fourth and moved up to second and third with one out but a foul out and a groundout ended that rally. The Golden Bears were right back at it in the fifth as Kelly McKenzie walked, Zepeda singled and Nicole Thompson also walked to load the bases. Once again a grounder ended the inning as Washburn withstood all CU had to offer as they held on for a 3-0 win.
 
Concordia will have just one day off before opening up NSIC play on the road at Minnesota State. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 2 p.m.