MANKATO, Minn. – The Concordia University softball team (9-22, 3-5 NSIC) picked up their third straight road split as they took game one from Minnesota State (20-14, 5-3 NSIC) on Thursday afternoon. The Golden Bears took the first game 4-2 before falling 7-3 in the second game.
 
Concordia-St. Paul 4, Minnesota State 2
Haley Schanks delivered a quality performance to pick up the win and Stephanie Kappes shut the door in the final two innings to grab the save as the Golden Bears limited the Mavericks to seven hits and two runs in the victory.
 
Schanks allowed an unearned run in the second and held MSU off the board until the sixth as she allowed just one earned run in 5+ innings. Kappes followed up the effort by recording the final six outs while allowing just a hit.
 
The Mavericks opened the scoring in the bottom of the second as they benefited from a pair of miscues from the Golden Bears to take a 1-0 lead.
 
Concordia answered back with a run of their own in the top of the third as Navarae Honoroff picked up a single with one down and eventually scored on a Nicole Thompson single two batters later.
 
The two pitchers matched zeroes for the next few innings until Concordia took the lead on a Teona Zepeda two-out RBI single brought in Elena Koncar. After she stole second and moved to third on a single off the bat of Thompson, Zepeda came home on botched throw on a stolen base attempt to make it 3-1.
 
Schanks helped out her cause by drawing a walk to open the inning in the sixth before Nicolle Sparks, who pinch ran for her, eventually came around to score on an Emily Shinn bunt.
 
Schanks finally ran into a bit of trouble in the sixth as she gave up a single and a walk before Samantha Buhmann drove a run scoring single cut the Golden Bears lead to 4-2. Concordia then turned to Kappes to stop the rally. After she coaxed a pop up, Koncar threw out a potential base stealer before a ground out ended the inning.
 
Kappes allowed a single to open the seventh, but used a double play en route to picking up the save and preserving the 4-2 win.
 
The Golden Bears spread out the offense with six different players collecting hits as the team finished with seven total hits in the win.
 
Nicole Thompson was the only CU hitter to finish with a multi-hit game as she picked up her fourth straight two-hit game.
 
Minnesota State 7, Concordia-St. Paul 3
The Mavericks' bats woke up early in the second game as they scored six runs in the first three innings to grab the decisive advantage.
 
It was the Golden Bears, however, who got on the board first as Zepeda opened the game with an infield single before stealing second to get into scoring position before an out was recorded. Thompson moved her to third on a ground out before she scored on a Jamie Fleischhacker bunt to make it 1-0.
 
Minnesota State answered back with the next six runs as they scored two runs in the first, one in the second and three in the third to break it open. Kara Lattery supplied the big hit in the first as she drove in two runs with a triple and Molly Sager added a solo blast in the second while the Mavericks strung together three runs on just two hits in the third.
 
That would be all for Concordia starter Stephanie Kappes (5-13) as she allowed six runs on six hits as she picked up a strikeout in her three inning of work.
 
Concordia got a run back in the fourth as they used a one-out walk followed by three straight singles, capped by Elena Koncar's run scoring hit, to pull within four. MSU starter Libby Bemis worked her way out of the bases loaded jam with a fielder's choice nailing the runner at home before fielding a come-backer to end the frame.
 
Dana Mogren added an insurance run for Minnesota State in the bottom of the sixth as she drove home Jess Meidl with a single to bring the lead back to five before Shinn brought home Fleischhacker with a fielder's choice in the seventh for CU to bring it to the final score of 7-3.
 
Bemis and MSU reliever Katie Koponen combined to hold the Golden Bears to just two earned runs on five hits as Bemis worked the first five innings before Koponen worked the final two.
 
No Golden Bear had more than one hit as Zepeda, Fleischhacker, Shinn, Kelly McKenzie and Koncar all singled in the game.
 
Concordia is set to play host to Bemidji State on Friday and Minnesota Crookston on Saturday in their home opener as they continue NSIC play.