ABERDEEN, S.D. – Sophomore Samantha Sullivan threw her first career complete game shutout on Saturday afternoon to help the Concordia-St. Paul softball team (24-18, 9-11 NSIC) earn a split against the Northern State Wolves (21-17, 11-7 NSIC) in Aberdeen, South Dakota. The first game was a close one and took nine innings to decide a winner, as the Bears fell 4-3, but CSP rallied to take game two 3-0.
 
GAME 1: Northern State 4, Concordia-St. Paul 3 (9 innings)
The first game of the doubleheader went back-and-forth, eventually concluding after nine innings, as Northern State came up with a clutch single in the ninth to win it 4-3. The Bears held a slight edge in hits (9-8) but had three errors in the contest.
 
Carlie Hart got the Bears' offense going right away in the first inning, as she singled, stole second, and scored when Justine Schattner hit a single up the middle. Hart went 3-5 to lead CSP's efforts at the plate. Schattner was the only other Concordia player to have a multi-hit game, as she went 2-5 with an RBI.
 
NSU answered right away, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first to take over the lead. Their leadoff batter hit a double to right center which was followed up by back-to-back singles, which scored her. The Wolves got their other run of the inning on a steal play.
 
Concordia tied it up in the third, when Aryka Knoche singled to right field to score Nicole Thompson, who had singled earlier in the inning which extended her hit streak to 19 straight games. The Bears would take the lead two innings later, when senior Haley Schanks singled to score Hart.
 
The Wolves tied it up again in the bottom of the fifth, and, as neither team was able to score in the final two innings, the game went into extra innings. CSP had a baserunner on in the eighth and two on in the ninth, but could not come up with a clutch hit to score them. Northern State also left runners on in the eighth, but found a way to score in the ninth to win it.
 
Knoche was in the circle for the Bears and gave up four runs (three earned) on eight hits to take the loss. The sophomore right-hander struck out six to increase her season strikeout number to 89 total batters so far this year.
 
GAME 2: Concordia-St. Paul 3, Northern State 0
In game two, Sullivan allowed only two hits on her way to a complete game shutout, the first of her career, to help CSP come away with the win. Similarly to game one, the Concordia offense outhit the Wolves, but this time by a 7-2 margin. The offense also took advantage of their opportunities, only leaving four runners on base.
 
Hart once again got the offense on the board in the first inning, hitting a single up the middle, stealing second, and scoring on a sacrifice fly from Schanks. Hart finished her impressive day at the plate going 3-4 and stealing two bases in game two. Schattner also remained consistent, compiling two more hits to end the day going 4-9.
 
The second through sixth innings were scoreless, but the Bears tacked on two more insurance runs in the top of the seventh when Hart and Cam Veenbaas (pinch running for Makenna Giese) both scored on a ball put in play by Thompson.
 
Sullivan and the defense took care of the rest, retiring the Wolves in order in the bottom of the seventh. With the win, Sullivan improves to 6-5 on the season.
 
UP NEXT
CSP continues their road trip tomorrow, as they will take on MSU Moorhead at 12 and 2 p.m. Check the schedule page for live stat and video links.