BISMARCK, N.D. – The Concordia-St. Paul softball team (17-9, 4-2 NSIC) earned their second conference sweep of the season on Sunday afternoon, defeating UMary (11-15, 2-4 NSIC) 14-6 in six innings in game one and 7-4 in game two.
 
With the wins, the Golden Bears improve to 18-15 in their series history against the Marauders, now winning the past five games in a row.
 
Concordia will continue their NSIC season on Tuesday, April 2^nd when they host Upper Iowa in their home-opener at Carlander Field.
 
GAME 1: CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL 14, UMARY 6 (6 INNINGS)
In game one, Concordia tied their season-high in hits (15) to score the most runs of any game so far this season on their way to a 14-6 win over the Marauders. This was the team's sixth straight game tallying 10 hits or more and the 12^th time that this has happened this season.
 
Eight different CSP hitters had at least one hit in the win, with five players logging multiple hits. Senior Carlie Hart added her fifth straight game with two or more hits, going 3-5 with three stolen bases and an RBI. With the hits, Hart moves up two more spots in the CSP history book, as she now has the fifth most career hits in program history with 220.
 
Sophomore Cam Veenbaas had a breakout game at the plate, going 3-4 and driving in three runs, including hitting a double to left center that drove in two runs in the fourth.  
 
Junior Kali Kaestner got the start in the circle, pitching the first 4.1 innings giving up six runs on nine hits while striking out five and walking three. With the win, Kaestner improves to 3-2 on the year. Aryka Knoche came in to pitch the final 1.2 innings, giving up only one hit to earn her first save of the season.
 
The Golden Bears got off to a fast start, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning. Hart led off the game with a single and then stole second. Kris McIntyre walked and Justine Schattner reached on a Marauder error to load the bases. Hart took advantage of a passed ball to score and Hanna Mortenson loaded the bases once again with a walk. Parsons then drove in all of the runners on base, hitting a double to right center to give CSP an early 4-0 lead.
 
The Marauders responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning, using a pair of singles and a fielder's choice to get a run across.
 
Concordia kept up the offensive pressure in the second inning, as Veenbaas and Hart singled and McIntyre walked to load the bases. Veenbaas and Hart would both score on a Schattner grounder, capitalizing on another UMary error, as they overthrew it when trying to throw out Veenbaas at home.  
 
UMary kept pace, scoring three runs in the bottom of the second to make it 6-4, still in favor of the Golden Bears. The Marauders would tie the game up at six runs apiece in the third inning, when Kylie Alto hit a two-run home run.
 
The Bears took back the lead in the fourth with Veenbaas' double and then exploded for six runs in the sixth, giving them enough to end the game in six innings. The sixth inning featured seven CSP hits, including an RBI single from Veenbaas, an RBI triple from Hart, a two-run home run from Schattner, and a solo shot from Amanda Parsons.
 
This was Schattner's third home run of the season, and the 14^th of her career. Parson's homer was her first of the year and fifth of her career.
 
Knoche stranded two Marauder runners on in the bottom of the sixth, striking out the final batter to secure the run-rule win.
 
GAME 2: CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL 7, UMARY 4
The Golden Bears completed the sweep with a 7-4 win, using eight hits and a big fifth inning to earn the victory. Junior Samantha Sullivan pitched her sixth complete game of the year, improving her season record to 8-4 with the win.
 
Sullivan struck out seven batters in the outing, walking none. The right-hander currently leads CSP in K's with 56 on the year.
 
Schattner, Knoche, and Mortenson paced the offense in the second game, each recording two hits and at least one RBI. Mortenson led all hitters with three RBIs in the game.
 
Concordia once again scored first in the contest, getting a run across in the top of the first. McIntyre walked, stole second, and scored when Schattner singled. The Bears held onto this lead until they added to it in the fourth. Knoche started the inning with a single that was followed by a Mortenson double that got Knoche to third. Parsons then hit a sacrifice fly to center that scored Knoche, putting CSP up 2-0.
 
With McIntyre's walk in the first inning, she extended her reached base streak to 19 games, the longest streak of any CSP player so far this season. And with Mortenson's double in the fourth, she improved her hit streak to 11, the longest streak on the team.
 
The Marauders tied it up in the bottom of the fourth capitalizing on two hits, a CSP error, and a double steal to score two runs.
 
The Golden Bears rallied for five more runs in the fifth inning to break open the game. Hart and McIntyre both got on base and scored when Schattner singled. Knoche followed that up with a single of her own, and then Mortenson came up with a clutch three-run home run, her third blast of the season.
 
UMary rallied in the seventh inning, hitting two solo home runs to make the game 7-4, but Sullivan struck out two and forced a pop out to end the game.