MINOT, N.D. – The Concordia-St. Paul softball team (15-9, 2-2 NSIC) pounded out 22 hits in Saturday's games against Minot State (14-7, 3-1 NSIC), but fell short in both contests, as the Beavers won 6-5 in game one and 9-4 in game two at the South Hill Complex in Minot.
 
Senior Carlie Hart and continued her strong start to the conference season, collecting five hits on the day and driving in three runs. Junior Kris McIntyre also had an impressive day at the plate, going 5-7 and drawing a walk.
 
GAME 1: MINOT STATE 6, CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL 5
Both offenses were very active in game one, as the Beavers outhit Concordia 13-10 to come away with a 6-5 win. The game featured five lead changes throughout the seven innings, but Minot State scored a run in both the fifth and sixth innings to give them the win.
 
Hart, McIntyre, and Makenna Giese all had two hits in the contest, and Giese also drove in two runs with her first career home run in the second inning. Justine Schattner also drove in a pair of runs in the game.
 
Minot State scored the first runs of the game in the bottom of the first, getting two runners on and scoring them both on a double to right center.
 
The Golden Bears answered those runs with a big second inning, stringing together six hits to score four runs. Giese started off the scoring, driving the ball over the center field fence to score herself and Hannah Carlson, who had singled earlier in the inning.
 
Meagan Bliese kept the bats going doubling to right center and then scoring on a Hart single. McIntyre then singled down the right field line, advancing Hart to third, which allowed her to score on a Schattner single. This gave CSP a 4-2 lead.
 
The Beavers tied up the game in the bottom of the second, using three hits and a CSP error to get two runs across.
 
In the fourth inning, Concordia loaded the bases with singles from Giese, Hart, and McIntyre. Giese then scored on a grounder from Schattner. This put the Golden Bears in the lead again, 5-4.
 
It was the Beavers, however, who had the offense late in the game. They scored once in the fifth, rapping a triple down the right field line and scoring on a single from the next batter. MISU then took over the lead in the following inning, as shortstop Maggie Mercer singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a single from third baseman Karlee Coughlin, who went 3-4 in the game with four RBIs.
 
This would be all the Beavers would need, as CSP was retired 1-2-3 in the seventh.
 
Junior Aryka Knoche took the loss in the circle for Concordia, pitching all six innings, giving up six runs (only four earned) on 13 hits while striking out two and walking three. Knoche is now 6-3 on the season.
 
GAME 2: MINOT STATE 9, CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL 4
Game two turned out to have just as much offense as game one, as Minot State held a slight 13-12 edge in hits, but used two big innings to secure the sweep. Concordia, recording 10+ hits for the fourth straight game, missed out on some opportunities offensively, stranding 10 runners on base throughout the contest.
 
Hart, McIntyre, and Knoche paced the offense in game two, each tallying three hits. Hart and Knoche also combined for three RBIs.
 
Hart and McIntyre threatened the Minot defense right away in the game, as Hart singled and McIntyre walked to get CSP some baserunners early. The Beavers worked out of the inning, though, recording the next three outs in order.
 
MISU used that momentum in the bottom of the inning, scoring four runs on three hits, while also taking advantage of two CSP errors, giving themselves an early 4-0 lead.
 
The Bears would start to chip away at this lead in the third, when Hart got on with an infield single, stole second base, and advanced to third on a bunt single from McIntyre. This allowed Hart to score when Schattner hit a grounder the following at-bat.
 
Hart was also involved with the scoring in the following inning, this time hitting her second home run of the year, also scoring Hanna Mortenson who had led off the inning with a single. The homer made it a one-run game, as the Beavers led 4-3.
 
Minot State would add to their lead in the bottom of the fourth, scoring one run on three hits. Both teams had a baserunner on in the fifth, but neither team was able to score. In the sixth, the Beavers had another big offensive inning, scoring four more runs. They loaded the bases with three singles to start the inning and then scored a run on sacrifice fly and one more on an overthrow. Two more hits later in the inning scored two more runs, giving Minot a 9-3 lead heading into the final inning.
 
Concordia put up a solid comeback attempt in their last at-bat, scoring a run and then loading the bases all with no outs. However, the Beavers made a pitching change and reliever Jordyn Staples was able to retire the next three CSP batters in order securing the 9-4 win.
 
Junior Samantha Sullivan pitched the first five innings for the Golden Bears, giving up eight runs (only three earned) on 11 hits, taking the loss to move to 7-4 on the year. Kali Kaestner came in to pitch the final inning for Sullivan, giving up one run on two hits.
 
UP NEXT
The Golden Bears will look to bounce back tomorrow, when they face UMary at 12 and 2 p.m. in Bismarck. Live stats and a video stream will be available and links can be found on the softball schedule page.