ST. PAUL, Minn. – Upon completion of the Hy-Vee Classic last weekend, the Concordia-St. Paul softball team finished their nonconference schedule and are now preparing for NSIC play. The Golden Bears ended their nonconference season with a 15-7 record, including defeating two ranked opponents in #14 Missouri-St. Louis and #6 West Virginia Wesleyan.
 
The Bears will take on #10 Minnesota State in their home-opener on March 27^th, before travelling to Augustana and Wayne State to close out their first week of the conference schedule.
 
LAST TIME OUT
In their last tune-up before beginning conference games, the Golden Bears went 2-2 in the Hy-Vee Classic, splitting with their opponents on both Saturday and Sunday. CSP defeated Northwest Missouri State to start the weekend, but then fell to Central Missouri in the final inning by a score of 9-8. On day two, the Bears first lost to Missouri Western 5-3, but ended the weekend with a 4-3 comeback win over Washburn (Kan.).
 
Sophomore pitcher Aryka Knoche recorded the win over Northwest Missouri, pitching all seven innings, giving up one run on eight hits. Knoche also struck out five in the game, and leads the Bears with 42 strikeouts on the season, which is tied for seventh most in the NSIC.
 
In their game against Central Missouri, the Bears almost came away with a comeback win, scoring four runs between the sixth and seventh innings to take an 8-7 lead, but then permitted two runs to cross in the bottom of the seventh, allowing Central Missouri to  win 9-8.
 
The following day, Concordia again had their comeback attempt fall just short, as they took a 3-2 lead heading into bottom of the fifth, but Missouri Western rallied for three runs, going on to win 5-3. Knoche homered in the contest, and sophomore Lily Langevin drove in the other CSP run on a double to left center.
 
To end the road trip with a win, the Bears used a late rally to score four runs between the fifth and sixth innings to defeat Washburn 4-3. Junior Carlie Hart drove in three runs in the fifth on a base-clearing double, which also extended her hitting streak to 17 games. The next inning, junior Justine Schattner hit a solo shot to left center to put the Bears up 4-3 and then Knoche and the Concordia defense retired Washburn 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh to earn the victory. Sophomore Kali Kaestner pitched six innings, giving up three runs (none of which were earned) on six hits and was credited with the win, while Knoche earned her first save of the season.
 
MINNESOTA STATE SERIES HISTORY
The Bears have a 15-33 all-time series record against Minnesota State and are 6-12 when facing them for conference contests. The Mavericks have won the last six matchups, with the Bears last earning a win over them in April of 2015, winning 4-2 in Mankato. Four of their last six games have been especially close, being decided by four runs or less.
 
LAST MEETING WITH MSU
In their last double-header against Minnesota State, Concordia dropped two close games, losing 4-1 and then 4-2 in Mankato. In game one, MSU's pitcher Coley Ries threw a two-hitter to help the Mavericks to victory. In game two, the Bears tallied six hits, but Minnesota State took advantage of three CSP errors to come away with the victory.
 
Junior Sarah Kivisto was the offensive leader for the Golden Bears in these games, driving in all three of Concordia's runs, hitting a homerun in each game.
 
AUGUSTANA SERIES HISTORY
The Vikings have been pretty dominate over the Bears since starting to play each other in 2003, holding a 23-5 record against CSP, including winning the last 17 contests. The last time that Concordia has defeated the Vikings was a 7-2 win on May 5^th, 2010.
 
LAST MEETING WITH AUGIE
In the first game of their double-header matchup last season, the Vikings scored in five different innings, and held the Bears to only four hits, allowing them to win 7-1. Liz Jarosz scored the only Concordia run of the game, when she homered to left center in the seventh.
 
The Bears jumped out to an early lead in the second game, compiling four hits and taking advantage of two Viking errors to score five runs in the first two innings. Augustana rallied in the later part of the game though, scoring all 11 of their runs in the final four innings. The Bears would get two of those runs back in the seventh, but went on to lose 11-7. Langevin, Haley Schanks, and Kivisto all went 2-4 in the game, with the latter two driving in a pair of runs each.
 
WAYNE STATE SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears own an even 21-21 all-time record against the Wildcats, and are 8-5 in their past 13 matchups over the last six years. CSP won both games in the 2017 season, but WSC had won the past five straight before that. 
 
LAST MEETING WITH WSC
In game one of last year's doubleheader, the Bears used a big fifth inning to go on to win 7-4. Wayne State held a 2-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth when CSP's offense got going, recording five hits, including two homeruns, to score five runs. Wayne State answered with a homerun of their own in the top of the sixth, but were unable to get any more runs across.
 
The second game was an offensive battle and featured three Concordia homeruns. The Wildcats held a 13-12 edge in hits, but the Bears made more of their opportunities, scoring nine runs in between the fourth and fifth innings alone, going on to win 11-9. 
 
Hart, Schanks, and Elena Koncar were the biggest producers on offense, as Hart ended with a team-best six hits and Schanks and Koncar both went 4-6. Schanks also drove in a massive five runs between the two games. 
 
NSIC LEADERS
-Junior Carlie Hart is in the middle of a 17-game hitting streak, and ranks among the top-twenty in the NSIC in many statistical categories, including being 11^th in batting average (.427), fifth in hits (35), fourth in triples (3), ninth in total bases (49), 15^th in runs scored (20), and third in stolen bases (13).
-Sophomore Hannah Carlson currently has the second highest CSP batting average (.362) and ranks 20^th in the NSIC in on-base percentage (.456) and 11^th in walks (10).
-Senior Nicole Thompson has racked up 28 hits so far this season, which ranks 16^th in the NSIC. Thompson also ranks 15^th in most stolen bases, with seven.
-Sophomore Kali Kaestner has CSP's lowest ERA so far this season, at 2.17, and ranks seventh in the NSIC in this category. She also ranks 12^th in opposing batting average, at .248, and ninth in wins, at six.