CLERMONT, Fla. -  The Golden Bears softball team (13-5) finished their spring trip with a split, falling to Seton Hill (4-3), but rallying to beat Holy Family (0-5) in their second game of the day. Concordia ends the trip with a 6-4 record, winning five of their last six games.
 
GAME 1: Seton Hill 4, Concordia-St. Paul 1
The Bears opened the day with a 4-1 loss against Seton Hill at Hancock Fields in Clermont, Florida. The Griffons compiled nine hits throughout the contest, and capitalized on a CSP error that scored two runs in the bottom of the second. On the offensive end, the Bears had five hits scattered throughout the seven innings and were only able to get one across on a double steal in the fifth.
 
Sophomore Aryka Knoche pitched all six innings for the Bears, giving up four runs, only two earned, on nine hits, while striking out two. Knoche took the loss and is now 5-3 on the year.
 
Seton Hill scored first in the game, scoring three runs in the first two innings. In the first, the Griffins started the inning with two singles. Third baseman Justine Schattner turned a double-play to kill some of their momentum, but Seton Hill still managed to get one across when their clean-up hitter singled to right to score the runner on second. The Griffins would add two more in the bottom of the second, when their first two batters singled. Both would score on a CSP error, when the ball was thrown into the outfield on a bunt play. The Bears worked out of it though, getting the next three batters out to only allow two in the inning.
 
It would remain 3-0 until the fifth inning when Cam Veenbaas and Lily Langevin led off with back-to-back singles. Veenbaas advanced to third on a fielder's choice, when Langevin got out at second, with Carlie Hart at first. Hart stole second and Veenbaas stole home on the throw, recording the only Concordia run of the game. Kris McIntyre got on in the seventh with a walk, but the Bears were unable to put together a rally, and fell 4-1.
 
Hart extended her hit streak with a single in the first inning and has now recorded a hit in the past 13 games. Schattner, Veenbaas, Langevin, and Hannah Carlson were the other Golden Bears that recorded hits in contest.   
 
GAME 2: Concordia-St. Paul 2, Holy Family 1
Concordia would end their Florida Spring Games with a win, defeating Holy Family 2-1. Neither team was able to score for the first four innings, but Holy Family got a run across in the top of the fifth. The Bears answered in the bottom of the sixth with two runs of their own and held off a Tiger rally in the top of the seventh to secure the win.
 
It was senior Haley Schanks who came up with the big single to drive in the two runs that would end up winning it for the Bears. Langevin also had a solid day at the plate, going 2-2 with a pair of singles. Hart, Thompson, and McIntyre also tallied hits in the contest, which extended Hart's hitting streak to 14 games.
 
Defense was key in the win, as the Bears were errorless in all seven innings. In center, Hart came up with two critical plays to keep Holy Family from scoring. First, Hart robbed a homerun in the sixth inning and then she threw out a baserunner going from second to home on a single to center in the seventh, preserving Concordia's lead. The team also got out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh, as pitcher Kali Kaestner forced a groundout to Veenbaas at second base to end the game.
 
Sophomore Samantha Sullivan started on the mound for the Bears, pitching the first five innings, giving up one run on four hits, while striking out two. Kaestner relieved Sullivan in the sixth, pitching the last two innings, allowing no runs on four hits. Kaestner was credited with the win and improves to 5-2 on the season.
 
 
UP NEXT
After a busy five days of competing, the Golden Bears will have a ten-day break before traveling to Missouri for their last five non-conference games. They will first take on Pittsburg State (Kan.) and Northwest Missouri State on March 16^th, before facing Missouri Southern State, Missouri Western State, and Northeastern State (Okla.) later in the weekend.