CLERMONT, Fla. – With wins over Ashland (4-3) and Ferris State (1-6), the Concordia-St. Paul softball team made it four wins straight to improve to 12-4 on the season. The Golden Bears first defeated Ashland by a score of 4-1 before defeating Ferris State 4-2 in their second game of the day.
 
GAME 1: Concordia-St. Paul 4, Ashland 1
The Golden Bears won their first game, allowing only one run to cross throughout the entire game, which is the second fewest runs allowed in any contest yet this year, behind only the zero the Bears put up against MSU Moorhead on February 22^nd.
 
Sophomore pitcher Aryka Knoche got the start for the Bears and was efficient throughout all seven innings, throwing only 77 pitches. Knoche only allowed four hits in the game, giving up one run, while striking out one.
 
Sophomore Hannah Carlson drove in the first run of the game in the top of the second, when she doubled to left center, scoring Haley Schanks from first, who had reached on an infield single. The Bears would add two more runs in the next inning, when Carlie Hart led off with a double down the right field line. Justine Schattner walked and then Schanks tallied her second hit of the day to drive in Hart with a single through the left side. Schattner would also score in the inning, taking advantage of an outfield overthrow.
 
The Eagles would get one of those runs back in the bottom of the third, as junior Halle Dorko doubled to start the inning and later scored on a single up the middle. The Bears answered, though, when freshman Amanda Parsons started the fourth with a double to right center, followed by a Cam Veenbaas single. Hart then scored Parsons with a sacrifice fly to left field.
 
The Bears had chances to score in the last three innings, leaving four runners on base, but wouldn't need any more runs, as Knoche and the defense refused to give up another run, stranding three Ashland runners between the fourth and fifth innings and retiring the Eagles 1-2-3 in the final two innings to secure the 4-1 win.
 
Schanks and Veenbaas were the offensive leaders for the Bears in the game, each recording two hits. With her double in the third, Hart extended her hit streak to 11 straight games.
 
GAME 2: Concordia-St. Paul 4, Ferris State 2
The Bears fared just as well in the second game, getting the 4-2 win over Ferris State. With the victory, CSP matches its longest win streak from earlier this year, at four straight wins.
 
Carlson had the hot bat for the Bears in this game, going 3-3 at the plate with two doubles and driving in a pair of runs. Hart also put together a multi-hit game, going 2-4, which extended her hit streak to 12 games.
 
Similarly to the first game, Concordia got on the board first, but this time they scored all their runs in one inning. The third inning was the big one for the Bears, when they scored four runs on three hits, all with two outs. Hart reached on a fielder's choice, getting Lily Langevin out at second on a grounder to the shortstop. Hart then stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Schattner walked and Schanks singled to left center to score Hart. Carlson came up with a clutch double to centerfield to score both Schattner and Schanks, and Mortenson completed the rally with a single to right field to score Carlson.
 
The Bears' 4-0 lead would be cut in half in the top of the fourth, when right fielder Katie Scheuer hit a two-run homerun. No one would score for the rest of the game, although Concordia continued to put people on base. In the bottom of the fourth the Bears loaded the bases with two outs, but Ferris State came up with a crucial out to avoid more runs. CSP threatened to score again in the fifth, but the Bulldogs successfully defended a suicide squeeze and got out of a bases-loaded jam with a fly out to right field.  
 
Samantha Sullivan picked up the win and is now 3-0 on the year. The sophomore pitcher gave up two runs on three hits in four innings of work. Sophomore Kali Kaestner relieved Sullivan in the top of the fifth and would be credited with a save, her first of the year, pitching three innings without giving up a hit.
 
 UP NEXT
The Bears will conclude their Florida trip tomorrow, March 6^th, taking on Seton Hill and Holy Family, both of which are from Pennsylvania. First pitch is set for 8 a.m. Central time.