SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The #8 seeded Concordia-St. Paul softball team (30-22, 13-15 NSIC) upset the #2 seeded Augustana (who is also ranked 14^th in the nation) in the second round of the NSIC Tournament, getting two runs across in the top of the ninth to win 5-3 in nine innings. With the win, the Golden Bears surpass the 30-win mark for the first time since the 2012 season. The win also marks the third nationally ranked opponent that the Bears have defeated this season and the first time that CSP has defeated the Vikings since the 2010 season.
 
Samantha Sullivan threw the first two innings for the Bears, giving up three runs on six hits. Sophomore Kali Kaestner came in to relieve Sullivan in the bottom of the third, with two runners on base. Kaestner retired the next three batters in order and then proceeded to pitch six more scoreless innings, scattering four hits to earn her 10^th win of the year.
 
CSP held a 14-10 hit advantage in the contest, finding a way to score five runs despite leaving ten runners on base. The whole lineup got in on the action, as eight different CSP players recorded at least one hit, with five different players recording two or more hits throughout the game.
 
The Bears wasted no time getting on the board, scoring one in the top of the first. Carlie Hart, Nicole Thompson, and Justine Schattner opened the game with three singles and Hart came across to score on a Haley Schanks fielder's choice. Hart and Schattner both finished with multiple hits in the game, as Hart was 2-5 with a stolen base and two runs, including the game-winning one, and Schattner went 3-5, hitting singles in the first, third, and fifth innings.
 
Augustana quickly answered CSP's first inning run, using four hits to score three runs of their own. Sullivan got out of the inning, leaving two on base, but the Vikings took over the lead, which they would hold onto until the fifth inning.
 
Concordia chipped away at the Augie lead, scoring one in the fourth and one more in the fifth to tie it. Lily Langevin, who went 2-4 in the game, hit a liner to left field in the fourth inning to score Hannah Carlson from third. Langevin then came up big on defense, being part of a relay that threw out an Augie runner at the plate to keep it a one run game.
 
The Bears added another run in the fifth to tie it at three apiece when sophomore Aryka Knoche doubled to left center, scoring Schanks from first base. This was Knoche's fifth straight game with an RBI, and 11^th game this year with multiple RBIs, as she drove in another run in the ninth.
 
CSP had an opportunity to take the lead in the sixth, when Cam Veenbaas and Langevin opened the inning with back-to-back singles. The Augustana defense held tight, though, and neither team scored in the sixth or seventh, sending the game to extra innings.
 
Both teams were retired 1-2-3 in the eighth inning, but Hart opened the ninth with a single up the middle. Hart stole second and was driven in on a two-out single from Schanks, who advanced to second on the play. Sophomore Kris McIntyre came in to run for Schanks and scored when Knoche singled in the next at-bat. The Vikings opened their half of the inning with a single as well, but Kaestner and the defense retired the next three batters in order to earn the win.
 
The Bears will continue in the winners' side of the bracket, facing Minnesota Duluth tomorrow, May 4^th, at 12 p.m. at Sherman Park. Live stat and live video links can be found on the top of the page or on the softball schedule page.