CLERMONT, Fla. – The Concordia Golden Bears softball team (4-11) split their final two games of the day on Tuesday falling to #19 Indianapolis (15-5) 6-3 and then defeating St. Michael's (Vt.) (0-5) 5-3 to end the day.
 
#19 Indianapolis 6, Concordia-St. Paul 3
Indy's pitcher Lauren Honkomp (11-1) made it tough right out of the gate for Concordia as she struck out the side to begin the game. The Greyhounds would put runners on the corners following a walk, sac bunt and fielding error before a RBI single by Natalie Lalich gave U-Indy a 1-0 lead.

UI would add a second run in the bottom of the second inning thanks to a RBI single by pitcher Lauren Honkomp to take a 2-0 lead.

The Golden Bears would cut the Greyhounds lead in half in the third after Justine Schattner reached on an error with the bases loaded scoring Emily Shinn from third to make it a 2-1 game.

The one run deficit would not last long as Indianapolis built their lead back to two with one swing of the bat curtesy of a solo home run by Lalich.

Concordia would go down one-two-three in the top of the fourth before Indy added three more runs to their lead in home half of the inning. UI would use a ground out RBI and bases loaded two RBI single to build their lead to 6-1.

The Golden Bears would add one run the fifth and sixth inning to cut the Indy lead in half heading into the final half inning of play. A throwing error by the Greyhounds with a runner on third would give CSP their lone run in the fifth and solo home run by Liz Jarosz to lead off the sixth would be the final Golden Bear run of the game.

In the seventh and down by three, Emily Shinn would lead off with a double but the next three batters were retired in order giving Indy the 6-3 win.

Linzy Heim (1-6) took the loss for CSP going the distance while allowing eight hits and six runs. Honkomp recorded her 11^th win of the season, also going the distance, allowing eight hits and striking out three.

Shinn led the Golden Bears at the plate going a perfect 3-3 with a double. Cathy Skaggs and Natalie Lalich led the Greyhounds with two hits apiece on the afternoon.

Concordia-St. Paul 5, Saint Michael's (Vt.) 3
Concordia pitcher Samantha Sullivan (3-5) struck out two of the first SMC batters but a fielding error with runners on first and second allowed the Purple Knights to get the first run of the game and jump out to an early 1-0 lead. CSP was able to get a runner in scoring position in the home half of the first but could not tie up the game.

After SMC went down in order to begin the second, the Concordia bats came alive. Hannah Carlson led off with a double to right field and then Sarah Kivisto added a single in the following at bat putting runners on the corners. The Golden Bears would then pull off a double steal as Carlson stole home as Kivisto stole second tying the game at one.

The next two batters would fly out and then Kivisto would steal third before Carlie Hart singled to right field, scoring Kivisto and giving Concordia a 2-1 lead.

Nicole Thompson would keep the inning alive with a single and then another steal attempt would score one run but the inning would end as Thompson was caught stealing giving CSP a 3-1 lead.

In the third, SMC was unable to cut into the Concordia lead as they stranded a runner in scoring position. Justine Schattner would lead off the bottom of the third with a single to left center. Liz Jarosz would add a single of her own the following at bat.

Schattner and Jarosz would advance to third and second, respectively, following a wild pitch. Haley Schanks would then fly out to deep center allowing Schattner to tag from third to give CSP a 4-1 advantage after three innings of play.

In the fourth, after a ground out, Sullivan continued her dominance on the mound as she struck out the last two batters of the inning. With two outs and runners on the corners for the Golden Bears, Schattner would add yet another run for the Golden Bears with a RBI single through the right side now building the Concordia lead to 5-1.

In the fifth the Purple Knights would cut into the Concordia lead with a two out RBI double, followed by an RBI single to cut the CSP lead to 5-3.

After the Golden Bears went down in order in the bottom of the fifth, SMC was able to get a runner on third in the sixth but could not make it one run game as Sullivan got out of the jam with a fly out to right field.

In the final inning of play the Purple Knights had one last chance to tie or take the lead, but Sullivan's pitching and the Golden Bear defense prevented any comeback attempt giving Concordia the 5-3 win.

Sullivan would get her second win of the day for CSP, going the distance yet again allowing only five hits, three runs (two earned) and striking out a new career-high eight batters.

Nicole Thompson and Justine Schattner led Concordia at the plate going 3-4 and 2-3 respectively. Seven different Golden Bears recorded a hit in the win.

Torie Rathwell led St. Michael's at the plate going a perfect 3-3 at the plate with a RBI.

Concordia will have an off day tomorrow before resuming play on Thursday as they take on Hillsdale (Mich.) at 7 am and then Clarion (Pa.) at 9:30 am.