SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Concordia-St. Paul softball team (30-24) were unable to overcome early runs scored by Southwest Minnesota State (18-25), falling 5-3 in their fourth game of the NSIC Playoff Tournament. The Bears end the tournament with a 2-2 record, after defeating Minot State and #14 Augustana in day one, and falling to Duluth earlier in the day.
 
Concordia ends the season with a 30-24 record, marking their first 30-win season since 2012. This Bears also earned a regional ranking for the first time since 2012 and had the most All-NSIC selections since 2013. A few records also fell this season, including the single season average and hit record, which were both broken by Carlie Hart, as she hit .451 this season with 93 hits. After this season, Nicole Thompson also ended her career with the highest career batting average of any CSP player at .399.
 
Despite not earning the automatic bid to the regional tournament by winning the NSIC Tournament, the Bears could still earn one of the five spots with an at-large bid. The selections will be announced on Monday, May 7^th at 9 a.m.
 
The eight Concordia hits in their final tournament game were spread out between six different players. Hart and Justine Schattner led the way, tallying two apiece. Hart added two stolen bases and a run to her stat line and Schattner had the lone CSP RBI and recorded a walk.  
 
The Mustangs opened the scoring, hitting a two-run home run in the top of the first to take an early 2-0 lead. CSP had a chance to answer in their half of the inning as Schattner and Schanks both singled, but they were unable to score. SMSU added an additional run in the second on an RBI-single, and then scored two more in the third on a double and a CSP error, leading the Bears 5-0 after two and a half innings.
 
CSP got on the board in the third, when Thompson got a two-out bunt single, stole second, and scored when Schattner singled to left center. The Bears would add another run in the fifth, when Hart, Thompson, and Schattner loaded the bases. Hart singled to start the inning, which was followed up by back-to-back walks from Thompson and Schattner. Concordia then took advantage of a wild pitch to score Hart, but were unable to do any more damage, trailing the Mustangs 5-2 after five innings.
 
The Bears had Hart in scoring position in the sixth, but could not get her across, and were retired 1-2-3 in the seventh, allowing SMSU to come away with the win. The Mustangs advance in the tournament and will take on Augustana in the next round.
 
Samantha Sullivan started on the mound for the Bears, giving up five runs on six hits. Kali Kaestner pitched five scoreless innings in relief, only allowing two hits while striking out five. Sullivan took the loss and finished the year with a 6-7 record.
 
Nicole Thompson ends her career as a Golden Bear with 226 hits, which is fourth-most of any Concordia player. She has the highest career batting average, at .399, and is second in CSP history in career on-base percentage, at .437. Thompson also tallied 115 runs, 62 RBIs, 13 doubles, and 62 stolen bases in her career, while holding a .946 fielding percentage.
 
Lizzy Swenson played in 112 games for the Bears in her career, tallying 58 hits, 25 runs, 12 doubles, and four home runs. She finished the year with a .990 fielding percentage and ended her career with a .323 on-base percentage. Swenson compiled 11 multi-hit games in her career, including having three multi-hit games this season, against Georgian Court, Wayne State, and MSU Moorhead.
 
Haley Schanks recorded 179 starts for the Bears, playing in 183 career games. She tallied 142 hits, 23 doubles, and 15 home runs in her career, for a career batting average of .266. Schanks also pitched throughout her first three years, making 64 appearances and striking out 107 batters. She finishes her career with a .975 fielding percentage and a .401 slugging percentage.
 
Lauren Bartel appeared in 79 games for the Golden Bears throughout her career. She has compiled her best season batting average this year, hitting .238 and scoring a career-best eight runs. She had her best game against MSU Moorhead this year, reaching base three times, going 2-2 with a pair of singles and a walk. Bartel finished her career with a .206 average, tallying 13 hits and maintaining a 1.000 fielding percentage.