Softball | 4.15.19

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul softball team (22-16, 9-9 NSIC) has played their last 10 games on the road and will finish up this extended stretch of road games with a doubleheader on Tuesday against #17 Winona State (31-5, 16-0 NSIC). First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
 
With the conference tournament two and a half weeks away and 12 regular season games left, the Golden Bears are currently sitting in seventh place in the NSIC. The top-10 teams in the conference make the post-season tournament, which will be hosted in Rochester, Minnesota this year for the first time since 2013.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Concordia went 1-3 in their past weekend of games, being swept by St. Cloud State but splitting with Minnesota Duluth. Due to the snow and cold weather, all four of CSP's games were played in the St. Cloud State Husky Dome.
 
In their doubleheader with SCSU, the Bears fell 7-2 in the first game and needed extra innings in game two to decide a winner, with the Huskies scoring in the bottom of the 11^th to claim a 2-1 win.
 
Game one featured a 10-6 hit advantage in favor of St. Cloud State, who were also able to capitalize on two CSP errors to score four unearned runs. Sophomore Hanna Mortenson drove in both of Concordia's runs in the game, hitting a single in the fourth inning that scored both Carlie Hart and Justine Schattner. At the time, it put the Bears up 2-0. This lead did not last long, however, as the Huskies scored three runs in the bottom of the inning and four runs in the fifth to earn the win.
 
Hits were scarce in game two, as Schattner recorded the only hit for either team through the first seven innings of play. Neither team scored in this time, sending the game to extra innings. The Golden Bears broke through in the ninth inning when Meagan Bliese scored on a sacrifice fly from Hannah Carlson. Hart also attempted to score on the play, but was called out at the plate. The Huskies answered this run in the ninth and a triple in the 11^th allowed the winning SCSU runner to score.
 
The Golden Bears bounced back the following day, earning a 3-2 win over Minnesota Duluth in game one of the doubleheader. CSP tallied nine hits and junior Kali Kaestner threw a four-hitter in the win. It was the Bulldogs who scored first, holding a 2-0 lead after three innings of play. The Bears were able to come back from this deficit as Carlson doubled in the fourth to score both Aryka Knoche and Mortenson to tie up the game. In the following inning, Mortenson singled up the middle to score Kris McIntyre which ended up being the winning run in the 3-2 victory.
 
Game two also ended with a one-run score, this time with Minnesota Duluth on top. CSP junior Samantha Sullivan and Kaestner combined to give up only four hits in this game as well, but the Bulldogs took advantage of a bases-loaded walk and a solo home run to give them the only two runs they needed to win. Hart scored the lone Concordia run, crossing the plate on grounder hit by Knoche.
 
WINONA STATE SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears and the Warriors are meeting for the 44^th time on Tuesday, as Winona State holds a 30-13 edge in the series to date. WSU has won the last 10 games in a row, with CSP last defeating the Warriors in 2012 by a score of 11-3. When playing in Winona, the Bears have posted a 3-15 record.
 
LAST MEETING VS. WSU
In last year's matchup, the Warriors defeated the Bears in both games of the doubleheader, winning 13-3 and 12-1. WSU's offense had an impressive showing in the games, combing for 30 hits between the two contests. The Golden Bears recorded 10 hits on the day, being led by Haley Schanks and Carlie Hart who each had two hits apiece.
 
In game one it was a two-run game, with WSU holding a 5-3 lead, until the seventh when the Warriors unleashed for eight runs in the inning to secure the win. In game two, the Warriors also used a big inning to help them on their way to a sweep, scoring 12 runs in the third, which was enough to end the game in five innings.
 
ABOUT THE WARRIORS
Winona State is currently ranked 17^th in the nation according to the most recent NFCA coaches poll, which is their highest ranking of this season so far. The Warriors are a perfect 16-0 in conference play, most recently sweeping #12 Augustana and Minnesota Crookston. WSU is in action today taking on Bemidji State before they will face CSP on Tuesday.
 
As a team, Winona State currently has the highest batting average of any team in the NSIC, hitting .340. The Warriors also have the lowest ERA (1.48) and has held opponents to the lowest average (.188). The team has posted the best fielding percentage in the league (.975), but has only stolen 14 bases on the season.
 
The Warriors have two of the most successful pitchers in the NSIC in sophomore Liz Pautz and junior Jordyn Kleman. Pautz is 11-2 on the year with an NSIC-leading 0.85 ERA and 122 strikeouts. Kleman has a league-high 16 wins on the year, ranks second in the conference in strikeouts at 144, and has the third-best ERA at 1.72.
 
Offensively, Winona State is led by preseason Player of the Year, senior infielder Lani Van Zyl. She is hitting for a .478 average, which ranks second-best in the NSIC. Van Zyl has also posted a .536 on-base percentage, a .681 slugging percentage, 11 doubles, four home runs, and 28 RBIs.  The team has four other players who are also hitting for a .320 average or better.
 
KEY STATS
-Junior Kris McIntyre reached base for the 28^th straight game in the first game of CSP's doubleheader against St. Cloud State, which was the longest streak of the kind since at least 2001.
-McIntyre ranks seventh in the NSIC in batting average (.404), sixth in on-base percentage (.487), and fourth in stolen bases (20).
-Senior Carlie Hart currently ranks third in the CSP record book for the most career hits, needing 14 more to be the new all-time leader.
-Hart ranks tenth in the NSIC in batting average (.394), fifth in hits (52), 11^th in total bases (71), and first in stolen bases (35).
-Pitcher Samantha Sullivan has the ninth-lowest ERA of any pitcher in the NSIC (2.70) while also being tied for seventh in strikeouts on the season (83).
-Junior Kali Kaestner ranks 11^th in the ERA in the league (2.87), holding opponents to a team-low .276 batting average on the year.