LEESBURG, Fla. – The Concordia-St. Paul softball team (11-6) concluded their Florida trip with a win over Alderson Broaddus (2-9) and a loss to Seton Hill (9-2). The Golden Bears finished the trip with an 8-2 record, with their two losses being by two runs or less.
 
Junior Aryka Knoche had another impressive day at the plate, going 4-7 on the day with a home run and four RBIs. The Little Canada native has tallied at least one hit in the past five games, recording a .625 average in that span. She now leads CSP in slugging percentage (.660), RBIs (14), and batting average (.440).
 
GAME 1: CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL 5, ALDERSON BROADDUS 1
The Golden Bears extended their win streak to five games with a 5-1 win over Alderson Broaddus in their first game of the day. The team used six hits and three walks to earn the win, getting an early lead and holding the Battlers to only one run. This was CSP's 10^th time this season holding their opponents to two runs or less.
 
Sophomore Hanna Mortenson and senior Justine Schattner paced the offense with two hits each. Mortenson hit her first career home run in the contest, driving the ball to the opposite field, while also hitting a ground-rule double later in the game. Knoche chipped in with a hit, driving in a team-high two runs.
 
In the circle, Kali Kaestner earned the win, pitching all seven innings. The junior tied her career-high in strikeouts, fanning seven Battler batters. Almost half of those strikeouts came in the first inning, as Kaestner struck out three batters to strand two runners on base. She came up with another clutch strikeout in the sixth inning, catching an Alderson Broaddus batter looking to end the inning with the bases loaded. Kaestner is now 2-2 on the year, adding her second straight complete game with the win.
 
The Golden Bears wasted no time in getting on the board, putting up three runs in the first inning. Carlie Hart led off being hit by a pitch, stole second, and advanced to third on a single from Meagan Bliese. This set up a double steal, as Bliese stole second and Hart stole home on the throw. Justine Schattner then singled, advancing to second on a throw home. This allowed both Bliese and Schattner to score when Knoche singled up the middle.
 
Concordia would hold onto this 3-0 lead until the fourth inning. Hadassah Curry opened the fourth with a home run to left to give the Battlers their lone run of the game. Mortenson answered that with a home run of her own in the bottom of the inning to maintain the Bears' three-run lead.
 
CSP added another insurance run in the sixth when Makenna Giese scored on a sacrifice fly from Hart. This gave Kaestner a comfortable 5-1 lead heading into the seventh, where she forced three fly-ball outs to end the game.
 
GAME 2: SETON HILL 6, CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL 4
In thw third all-time matchup between SHU and CSP, the Griffons handed the Golden Bears their second loss of their Florida trip, scoring late in the game to pull out a 6-4 win. Concordia rallied for two runs in the seventh, but it wasn't enough to overcome the four-run lead the Griffons brought into that inning.
 
Knoche led the Golden Bears offensively, going 3-4 with a home run and a pair of RBIs. This was Knoche's first home run of the season and eighth of her career. Hart also tallied two hits in the game, with a double and an RBI.  
 
The Griffons were the first to score, as their leadoff hitter homered to left field, giving SHU a 1-0 lead. They would hold this lead until the fourth inning, when CSP tied it up using four hits to get a runner across. Hannah Carlson started the inning with a single up the middle and Mortenson followed that up with a single through the right side. Sophomore Cam Veenbaas also singled which loaded the bases. Hart came through with a clutch single, scoring Carlson to tie it up. Seton Hill played some tough defense, though, getting the last two outs with the bases loaded without allowing another CSP runner to cross.
 
Concordia took over the lead in the following inning. Knoche singled to center and Meagan Bliese came in to pinch run for her. Bliese stole second and ended up scoring, taking advantage of an error from the catcher. This put CSP up 2-1.
 
Seton Hill responded in the bottom of the inning, when their five-hitter connected for a three-run home run to centerfield. The Griffons added two more runs in the sixth inning to lead CSP 6-2 heading into the final inning.
 
The Bears did not go away quietly, though, as Kris McIntyre led off the top of the seventh with a single up the middle. Knoche then homered, driving the ball over the centerfield fence to get CSP within two runs. However, the Griffons recorded the final two outs to shut down the Concordia comeback.
 
Samantha Sullivan got the start in the circle for the Bears, pitching the first five innings. The junior gave up six runs on 12 hits while striking out four and walking none. Knoche pitched an inning in relief, giving up zero hits and only allowing one runner to score after being handed a bases loaded situation with no outs.
 
UP NEXT
Concordia will next play in Emporia, Kansas from March 22-24, taking on five in-region opponents.