EMPORIA, Kan. – In their second day at the Emporia Classic, the Concordia-St. Paul softball team (13-7) fell to Washburn (14-16) 11-1, but bounced back to defeat Emporia State (8-17) 6-5. The Golden Bears will finish out their non-conference portion of the season tomorrow with games against Pittsburg State and Northeastern State. First pitch against Pittsburg State is set for 10 a.m.
 
Senior Justine Schattner had a big day at the plate for CSP, collecting a team-high five hits throughout the pair of games. Overall, she hit for a .714 average (5-7) on the day, while also drawing a walk, stealing a base, and scoring two runs.
 
GAME 1: Washburn 11, Concordia-St. Paul 1
In their first contest of the day, Concordia fell to Washburn 11-1, as the Ichabods put up eight runs in the seventh inning to seal the victory. With the win, Washburn takes a 5-4 lead in the all-time series history, as CSP won last year's matchup 4-3.
 
Schattner had an impressive game at the plate, going 3-4 for her sixth multi-hit game of the season. Carlie Hart and Hanna Mortenson also had multi-hit games, with Hart also driving in the team's lone run.
 
The Ichabods scored in the first inning, getting a run across with two hits and a walk, giving them an early 1-0 lead.
 
The Golden Bears got some offense going in the second inning, loading the bases with two outs on a Makenna Giese walk and singles from Mortenson and Cam Veenbaas. Hart then drove in Giese with an infield single. Washburn got out of the jam, though, with no further damage, leaving the game tied 1-1 after two innings of play.
 
Washburn broke the tie in the fourth, scoring two runs, on a home run and a single to left field that got another run in later in the inning.
 
CSP had a good chance to take over the lead in the fifth inning, loading the bases with no outs when Hart singled, McIntyre walked, and Schattner reached on a fielding error. The Ichabods' defense buckled down, however, recording three straight outs to get out of the inning.
 
Washburn broke out their bats in the seventh, collecting eight runs on eight hits, putting some distance between them and the Golden Bears, as they compiled an 11-1 lead, which would end up being the final score.
 
Junior Aryka Knoche pitched the first 3.2 innings for Concordia, giving up three runs on five hits. She would take the loss and is now 5-2 on the year. Teammate Kali Kaestner pitched the final 3.1 innings in relief, giving up eight runs on 11 hits.   
 
GAME 2: Concordia-St. Paul 6, Emporia State 5
In their second game of the day, Concordia used ten hits to defeat Emporia State 6-5. After the first three innings were scoreless, the next four were full of offensive action, as at least one team scored in each of the last four innings.
 
The Hornets were able to match CSP in hits, compiling ten of their own throughout the contest. The ten- hit mark was the seventh time this season that the Golden Bears have recorded 10+ hits in a game, although it's the first time since March 7^th, when CSP took on Concordia (NY).
 
Meagan Bliese, Schattner, and Knoche all had two hits in the game to pace the offense. Both Knoche and Mortenson drove in a pair of runs, as Knoche doubled in the fifth and Mortenson hit her second home run of season in the fourth.
 
Junior Samantha Sullivan went the distance in the circle for the Golden Bears, pitching all seven innings for her fourth complete-game of the season. Sullivan gave up five runs (only three earned) on 10 hits, while striking out four and walking none. Two of those strikeouts came in the seventh inning to help CSP keep their one-run lead.
 
Mortenson got CSP on the board first, breaking the 0-0 tie in the top of the fourth, hitting a two-run home run to left field, scoring Schattner who had singled earlier in the inning.
 
The Bears did not hold on to this 2-0 lead for long, as ESU rallied for three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. The Hornets tallied four singles in the inning, also taking advantage of a wild pitch and a CSP error.
 
After trailing 3-2 after four innings, Concordia put together their own rally in the fifth, using five hits to score three runs to lead Emporia State 5-3. Hart started the offense with a double and then proceeded to steal third, allowing her to score on a single from Bliese. Schattner got on base next with a single and Knoche hit them both in with a double to left center.
 
The Hornets were able to respond with a run in the bottom of the inning, getting a run across on an RBI-triple.
 
CSP tacked on another run in the sixth when Hart scored on an error by Emporia State. A 1-2-3 inning from Sullivan and the defense gave the Bears a 6-4 lead heading into the final inning. The Hornets were able to get one run back in the seventh inning, but Sullivan forced a pop-out to Mortenson at first to end the inning and secure the win.