Softball | 4.16.15

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul softball team (16-27, 10-10 NSIC) begins the stretch run of the regular season this weekend as they travel to Minot State (27-16, 8-12 NSIC) and U-Mary (19-26, 8-11 NSIC) for a pair of crucial NSIC doubleheaders. First pitch against the Beavers is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday and 12 p.m. against the Marauders on Sunday.
 
Concordia will look to gain some separation from the middle of the pack in the league as they head into the final 10 games of the conference schedule. The Golden Bears currently sit in a tie for eighth place in the standings with a game and a half lead over 11^th-placed U-Mary and two games ahead of 12^th-placed Minot State. The top 10 teams in the league make the NSIC/US Bank Tournament which makes this weekend especially important. CU will face two more teams near them in the standings net week as they face 13^th-placed Sioux Falls on Wednesday and 7^th-placed Wayne State on Saturday before closing out the regular season on Sunday against the top team in the league in Augustana.
 
After battling injuries early in the season, Lizzy Swenson has forced her way into the lineup over the past several weeks with her bat as she has added another threat to the Concordia batting order. Swenson has split time between the infield and behind the plate to make nine appearances, including seven starts dating back to game two against Southwest Minnesota State on March 31. The freshman has hit an impressive .524 (11-21) while drawing four walks to reach base at a .615 clip during that stretch. She hit her first career homer at home against Minnesota Crookston and ranks fifth on the team with eight RBI in that span despite playing in just over half of the games.
 
Over the past week, Jamie Fleischhacker brought the power to the Golden Bear lineup with a pair of homers, a double and five RBI as she took the team lead with six home runs on the season. She also leads the team on the year with 34 RBI, good for 13^th in the NSIC, and 26 walks, good for second in the league. Fleischhacker has been a part of the big three in the middle of the CU lineup that has contributed 16 of the team's 21 homers as Liz Jarosz and Haley Schanks have also hit five homers apiece.
 
The Golden Bears got acquainted with the Beavers last season as they met Minot State for the first three times in series history. The two teams split a conference doubleheader in St. Paul before Concordia knocked off Minot State 5-4 in the NSIC/US Bank Tournament. CU rode a solid outing from Stephanie Kappes to eliminate the Beavers and keep their season alive before falling to U-Mary later on in the same day.
 
Concordia has had success against the Marauders in the all-time series as they have gone 13-10 in 23 meeting but they lost all four meetings last season. U-Mary swept the Golden Bears in St. Paul in the regular season before handing CU both of their losses in the NSIC/US Bank Tournament. The Marauders won 7-3 in the opening game of the tournament and later knocked Concordia out with a 9-4 win.