WEST ST. PAUL, Minn. – In their first games in almost three weeks, the Golden Bear softball team (3-3) dropped a pair of contests to Minnesota Duluth (3-5) at the West St. Paul Dome. Both games were close, as the first was decided by one run and the second decided by two runs.
 
Concordia was originally scheduled to play in the Emporia Classic this weekend in Kansas, but cold and snowy weather prevented the trip and forced CSP to schedule dome games instead. In addition to their doubleheader today, the Golden Bears will face Upper Iowa on Friday in a single contest at 9:30 a.m. at the West St. Paul Dome.
 
GAME 1: Minnesota Duluth 6, Concordia-St. Paul 5
In the first game of the doubleheader, Concordia's comeback attempt fell just short, as they had the tying run on second base in the top of the seventh, but were unable to score her to even up the game. The Golden Bears held a slight edge in hits throughout the contest (10-9), but it was the Bulldogs who would pull out the 6-5 win.
 
Junior Breanna Swint pitched a complete game for Minnesota Duluth, giving up 10 hits, while striking out eight and walking four. For CSP, Aryka Knoche took her first loss of the season in the circle, giving up eight hits and striking out three. Teammate Kali Kaestner relieved Knoche partway through the fifth inning giving up only one hit and striking out three in her two innings of work.
 
Carlie Hart, Knoche, and Hannah Carlson all had two hits in the game, with each of them hitting a double in the contest. Both Carlson and Justine Schattner drove in two runs, with Meagan Bliese driving in the last CSP run.
 
It was Schattner who would get the Golden Bears on the board first, hitting a two-run home run in the first inning, scoring Hart, who had led off with a walk and then had stolen second base. The Bulldogs answered, however, scoring three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. UMD loaded the bases with a single and two walks and then came up with a bases-clearing double to left center to give them a 3-2 lead. Another run in the bottom of the second would give the Bulldogs a two-run lead, which they would hold until the fifth inning.
 
The Golden Bears had baserunners on in second, third, and fifth innings, and bases loaded in the fourth, but were unable to get any of those runners across. In the fifth, Minnesota Duluth hit back-to-back singles, and those runners got into scoring position by stealing second and third. They were later hit home by another UMD single, giving the Bulldogs a 6-2 lead.
 
Neither team was able to get a runner on base in the sixth inning, but the seventh inning was an active one for the Bears. Kris McIntyre started the inning with a walk and Knoche followed that up with a single to left field. Carlson then doubled to right center, scoring both McIntyre and Knoche. Freshman Emma Adamek came into pinch run for Carlson and sophomore Amanda Parsons moved Adamek to third with a single to right field. Bliese then drove in Adamek with a sacrifice fly to left field, which also advanced Parsons into scoring position. Parsons was left at second, however, and their three-run seventh inning was not enough to tie the game.
 
GAME 2: Minnesota Duluth 4, Concordia-St. Paul 2
The Golden Bear offense struggled in the second game of the matchup, as the team compiled only two hits throughout the seven innings. Their opponents were more active at the plate, recording eight hits throughout the game and taking advantage of four walks.
 
Despite only having two hits in the game, CSP found other ways to get on base and score, especially early in the game. Hart started the game with a single up the middle and then advanced to second when Schattner was hit by a pitch. Both runners moved up another base on a wild pitch and Hart scored when H. Carlson hit a grounder to the shortstop, giving the Bears an early 1-0 lead.
 
In the second, two more Golden Bear batters reached base by being hit by a pitch and Giese came around to score on an error by UMD's right fielder. This put CSP up by two runs heading into the third inning.
 
In the fourth inning Minnesota Duluth was able to tie up the game. The Bulldogs loaded the bases with a walk and two singles and were able to score one runner on a single to right field and another runner on a sacrifice fly to center. In the bottom of the inning, Giese hit a two-out double to right center, but was left on base, leaving the game tied at 2-2.
 
UMD took over the lead in the sixth inning when one of their batters singled and advanced to second on a passed ball and to third on a wild pitch. The runner then was hit home on a sacrifice fly to centerfield. The Bulldogs added an insurance run in the seventh, when a double down the right field line drove in a runner on first. The Golden Bears had a runner on base in the bottom of the inning, but UMD recorded the last out to secure their second win of the day.
 
Junior Samantha Sullivan took the loss in the circle for CSP, pitching six innings and giving up three runs, two of which were earned. Kaestner came in for the final inning, giving up a run on one hit and one walk. For Minnesota Duluth, Sam Pederson pitched a complete game earning the win.
 
UP NEXT
The Golden Bears will return to the West St. Paul Dome tomorrow to face another NSIC opponent in Upper Iowa. The game, which is set to begin at 9:30 a.m., will be counted as a nonconference contest. Live stats for the game can be found at https://cspbears.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary