ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia Golden Bears softball team (6-16, 0-2 NSIC) saw Minnesota State (19-7, 2-0 NSIC) pull away late in both games as the Mavericks swept the Golden Bears in the NSIC opener on Saturday. MSU won game one 5-1 and game two 10-2.
 
GAME 1: Minnesota State 5, Concordia-St. Paul 1
The first five innings featured excellent pitching and defense before the Mavericks added three late runs to pull away in the conference opener.
 
The two teams combined for just nine hits and three runs through five as Minnesota State clung to a 2-1 lead heading into the late innings.
 
Linzy Heim (4-7) was solid in the circle for the Golden Bears as she pitched better than the final line indicated. The junior allowed five runs (four earned) on nine hits while striking out one and walking none in the complete game effort.
 
Heim was outdone by MSU's Coley Ries (12-3), who finished the afternoon with 13 strikeouts as she allowed a run on four hits in the win.
 


After a pair of scoreless innings, the Mavericks struck first in the third as a single and a steal from Karli DesLauriers with one down set up a McKenzie Paap run-scoring single up the middle.
 
Concordia answered back in their half of the inning as Carlie Hart started off the inning with a line drive double to the gap before Jamie Fleischhacker moved her up with a sacrifice bunt and Nicole Thompson drove her in with an infield single.
 
Minnesota State regained the lead in the fourth as Samantha Buhmann laced a double off the wall in right. After a sacrifice bunt moved her to third, a successful squeeze brought her home to make it 2-1.
 
That score held until the top of the sixth as MSU added to their lead with three insurance runs to help put the game out of reach. The Mavericks sandwiched three singles around an errant throw on a bunt to go along with a sacrifice fly to bring in the three runs.
 
The Golden Bears threatened in each of the final two innings as they put a pair of runners on in each frame, but they were unable to close the gap in a 5-1 final.
 
Nicole Thompson finished the game with two of CSP's four hits as Hart added the double and Justine Schattner added a single as well.
 
GAME 2: Minnesota State 10, Concordia-St. Paul 2
Conordia held an early advantage in the second game of the day, but were unable to hold on as Minnesota State scored the final nine runs of the game to close out the sweep.
 
The Mavericks opened the scoring in the top of the first as they manufactured a run to grab the lead. McKenzie Paap walked, stole second, advanced to third on a sac bunt and scored on a two-out to make it 1-0.


 
The Golden Bears erased that lead quickly as Jamie Fleischhacker drew a walk, Nicole Thompson put down a perfect bunt single and Justine Schattner was hit by a pitch to load the bases before an out was recorded. Kelly McKenzie tied it up as she drew a bases loaded walk before Haley Schanks put CSP out front 2-1 with a fielder's choice grounder to short in which no out was recorded, but that would be all they would get as the bases were left loaded at the end of the inning.
 
That advantage lasted until MSU evened the score in the third as Dana Mogren led off the inning with a double and Samantha Buhmann followed with a single to tie it at 2-2.
 
Minnesota State turned it on from there as they put up three in each of the next two inning to build an 8-2 lead. Kara Lattery came through with a big two-run single in the fourth after an outfield error extended the inning and Jess Meidl tacked on another with an RBI single of her own. The big hit in the fifth came in the form of a Dana Mogren three-run shot to left to push the lead to six heading to the late innings.
 
The Mavericks tacked on a pair more runs in the seventh as Mogren chipped in two more RBI with a single up the middle.
 
Haley Schanks (2-9) worked a complete game in the loss as she allowed six earned runs and struck out one. Schanks also led the Golden Bears at the plate as she went 2-4 with a run batted in.
 
Fleischhacker, Thompson, Schattner and Jarosz all added hits as well to bring the total to six in the game.
 
Concordia is back at Carlander Field this weekend as they play host to Minnesota Duluth on Friday and St. Cloud State on Saturday.