ST. CLOUD, Minn. – For the third time in the past five years, the Concordia-St. Paul softball team (19-15, 4-8 NSIC) split with the St. Cloud State Huskies (21-12, 7-5 NSIC), securing game one by a score of 3-2, but dropping game two 3-1. Having two close games fits right in with how the CSP and SCSU series has been recently, as these were the seventh and eighth games in the last ten that were decided by three or less runs.
 
GAME 1: Concordia-St. Paul 3, St. Cloud State 2
Junior centerfielder Carlie Hart led the Bears offensively in game one, tallying three of the team's seven hits, and scoring twice. Amanda Parsons and Justine Schattner drove in the Concordia runs, as Parsons hit her fourth home run of the year in the second inning and Schattner hit a sac fly in the fifth.
 
St. Cloud State wasted no time, getting a run in the top of the first inning, as their leadoff batter walked and then scored on a CSP error on the following play. The Concordia defense locked down after this, getting out of the inning without allowing another run and not allowing a SCSU runner past second base until the final inning, recording three 1-2-3 innings in the meantime.
 
Parsons tied up the game at one apiece in the bottom of the second, hitting her solo shot to centerfield. The Bears would score again in the third, when Hart, who singled earlier in the inning, scored on a St. Cloud error. Schattner added an insurance run on her sacrifice fly in the fifth, giving the Bears a 3-1 lead.
 
This run became crucial in the top of the seventh, as SCSU opened the inning with back-to-back hits, scoring a run to make it 3-2. After this sophomore pitcher Aryka Knoche forced three fly outs to retire the Huskies and secure the 3-2 win.
 
Knoche pitched all seven innings for the Golden Bears, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits. With the win, Knoche is now 8-6 on the year.
 
GAME 2: St. Cloud State 3, Concordia-St. Paul 1
In game two both teams registered five hits, but of St. Cloud's five, three were extra base hits, including two home runs, whereas CSP hit all singles. SCSU's pitcher Bradi Yost had only allowed two hits heading into the seventh inning, before giving up three hits and a run in the bottom of the seventh.
 
Both the Bears and the Huskies were held scoreless through the first three innings of play, with senior Nicole Thompson being the only player to record a hit, as she singled in both the first and third innings. Pitcher Samantha Sullivan had a solid first half of the game, striking out five without allowing a hit.
 
The Huskies would break the 0-0 tie in the fourth, hitting two solo home runs to take a 2-0 lead. They would add another run in the fifth when sophomore Anna Roth doubled and was driven in on the next play on a single to right field.
 
CSP was not able to get much offense going until there was two outs in the bottom of seventh inning, when they rallied to load the bases and get a run across. Sophomore Hannah Carlson and senior Lizzy Swenson hit back-to-back singles and freshman Hanna Mortenson walked to load the bases. Junior Makenna Giese, pinch hitting for Lily Langevin, came through with a single up the middle to drive in Lauren Bartel, who was pinch running for Carlson. The Bears, however, were unable to get any more runs across, and fell 3-1.
 
Sullivan pitched the first 4.1 innings and would take the loss, allowing three runs on four hits, while recording six strikeouts. Sullivan is now 4-4 on the year. Sophomore Kali Kaestner relieved Sullivan, pitching the final 2.2 innings, allowing no runs on one hit, with two strikeouts.
 
UP NEXT
The Bears will open up a six-game road trip next week, taking on Upper Iowa first on Wednesday, April 11^th in Fayette, Iowa. They will then travel to Crookston and Bemidji over the weekend, facing the Golden Eagles on the 14^th and the Beavers on the 15^th.