ST. PAUL, Minn. – After going 2-2 in the Emporia 5-State Classic this past weekend in Kansas, the Concordia-St. Paul softball team (4-5) will have the opportunity to play outside in the sunshine, as they travel to Florida at the end of the week for the Spring Games. This is the fourth straight year that the Golden Bears will play games in Florida.  

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
The Golden Bears will face ten different opponents at a combination of two different complexes. The team opens their games at the Diamondplex, playing their first four games at these fields. Their next six games will be played at the Auburndale Complex. The team's full schedule can be found here: https://cspbears.com/schedule.aspx?path=softball
 
Live stats will be available for all of Concordia's games. The links can be found on the schedule page.
 
More information on the Spring Games can be found at http://www.thespringgames.com/
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears went 2-2 this past weekend in the Emporia 5-State Classic. CSP was originally scheduled to play five games but due to weather and field conditions, CSP was held to just two games on Friday and then two on Saturday. 
 
In the first game the Golden Bears fell to Missouri Western State 7-3. Concordia struck first in the first inning and then again in the top of the fourth inning to take a 2-0 lead. Aryka Knoche was cruising for the Golden Bears but had some trouble in the bottom of the fourth when the Griffons scored two runs to tie the game. In the bottom the sixth inning, Missouri Western exploded for five runs to take a 7-2 lead. Concordia would get one more in the top of the seventh but could not rally back to beat the Griffons. Hannah Mihalik went 2-3 with two RBIs and two stolen bases for the Golden Bears. Clara Heislen, Kris McIntyre, Hannah Carlson, Aryka Knoche and Katie Carlson each had one hit in this game as well.
 
In the second game the Golden Bears scored first again in the bottom of the first inning but gave up two runs in the top of the second and one in the top of the third to fall behind 3-1. CSP would make it interesting when they scored a run in the bottom of the fifth to make it a one run game, but the Ichabod's would tack on two in the top of the seventh and they held Concordia scoreless in the bottom of the seventh to win the game 5-2. Both teams had 10 hits as Clara Heislen went 2-4 with two stolen bases and a run scored, Hannah Carlson went 2-3 and Amanda Parsons was 2-4 as well. 

On Saturday the Golden Bears earned two victories to finish out the weekend. They defeated Northwest Missouri State 6-2 in their first game, CSP put up two runs in the top of the third inning, three runs in the top of the fifth inning and one in the top of the seventh. Kali Kaestner threw 6.1 quality innings, allowing only two runs while striking out two batters to earn her first victory of the season. Aryka Knoche earned her first save of the season, Clara Heislen went 2-4 with a double, a stolen base and two runs scored. Kris McIntyre went 2-4 with an RBI, Hannah Carlson was 2-3 with two runs scored, a double, a homerun and three RBIs, Grace Beseman was also 2-4 with a double and an RBI.
 
In the fourth and final game of the tournament the Golden Bears defeated Missouri Southern 4-0. Bryanna Olson and Aryka Knoche combined for a five-hit shutout. Olson struck out three batters through 4.1 innings of work and Knoche struck out two while allowing only one hit and earning her second save of the day in her 2.2 innings of relief work. Knoche was also 2-3 at the plate with a double and an RBI, Hanna Mortenson hit her first home run of the season in this game as well.
 
THE OPPONENTS
Sunday, March 1st
TIFFIN (OHIO)
This will be the first meeting between the Golden Bears and Tiffin University. The Dragons are 1-3 this season, they will play two games this Saturday in Florida before playing the Golden Bears on Sunday. The Dragons have a younger team as they only have three seniors and three juniors along with 16 sophomores and freshman.

GEORGINA COURT (N.J.)
The Golden Bears have faced the Lions only one time which was in the 2018 Spring Games. Concordia defeated the Lions 11-3, CSP had 11 hits, two doubles, four walks and only one strikeout in the lineup. The Lions are currently 1-5, they will take on Notre Dame College (Ohio), Tiffin University and Gannon University, before they take on the Golden Bears Sunday afternoon.
 
Monday, March 2nd
SAGINAW VALLEY STATE (MICH.) 
CSP is currently 4-5 all time against Saginaw Valley State, the last time they faced them was in 2013 when the Golden Bears defeated the Cardinals 5-0 down in Florida. The Cardinals are currently 5-1 and have scored 38 runs with a team batting average of .337, a team on base of .368 and a team slugging percentage of .457. The Cardinals will take on Adelphi and Saint Anselm before playing the Golden Bears in the tournament.

CEDARVILLE (OHIO)
The Golden Bears faced off with Cedarville last season in Florida, as the Yellow Jackets sneaked away with a 4-3 win. The Golden Bears outhit the Yellow Jackets six to five but unfortunately CSP made four errors throughout the game which helped the Yellow Jackets steal the victory. Cedarville is 0-8 so far this season as they will play seven games before taking on the Golden Bears including a game with a fellow NSIC team UMary.

Tuesday, March 3rd
#14 SAINT ANSELM (N.H.)
This will be the first time that the Golden Bears will take on the Hawks and the first time this season that CSP will play a nationally ranked opponent. The Hawks are currently 6-0, scoring 36 runs, they have a team batting average of .287, a team on base percentage of .377 and a team slugging percentage of .444 with four home runs. The Hawks will play six games before taking on the Golden Bears next Tuesday.

#3 GRAND VALLEY STATE (MICH.)
This will be the first matchup of these two teams since 2006 when the Golden Bears defeated the Lakers 6-2 down in Fort Myers, Florida. The Lakers are currently 2-2 on the season, with victories over #17 Winona State and Illinois Springfield. Grand Valley will play five games in Florida before facing the Golden Bears on Tuesday.
 
Thursday, March 5t^h
ST. ROSE (N.Y.)
Last season was the first time that the Golden Bears faced off with the Golden Knights. CSP defeated St. Rose 6-0, Samantha Sullivan pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only three hits and striking out six batters. Concordia had a combined nine hits as Kris McIntyre and Amanda Parsons each had two hits and each drove in a run. The Golden Knights have yet to play a game this season and they will have already played 10 games before playing CSP next Thursday. The Golden Knights were 14-24 last season.
            
SETON HILL (PA.)
The Bears will play the Griffins for the fourth time in program history and for the third year in a row in the Spring Games. Concordia is 1-2 all time against Seton Hill and they fell to the Griffons 6-4 last season, the Golden Bears did have nine hits, but the Griffons matched that with 12 hits. After the Griffons were leading 6-2 going into the final inning the Golden Bears mounted a rally, scoring two runs in the top of the seventh but it fell short and Concordia lost 6-4. The Griffons are currently 3-4 on the season. 
 
 Friday, March 6^th
OHIO DOMINICAN (OHIO)
This will be the second matchup between the Golden Bears and the Panthers, the last time they faced each other was in 2017. The Panthers defeated the Golden Bears 3-1 despite CSP outhitting them eight to five. Ohio Dominican is currently 4-6 with a two-game winning streak, they have scored 49 runs in 10 games with a .286 team batting average, a .369 on base percentage and a .432 slugging percentage with a total of four home runs.

MERCYHURST (PA.)
The Golden Bears will meet Mercyhurst for the 10^th time in program history but this will be the first time since 2008. Concordia is 6-3 all time cs Mercyhurst and is 4-1 in the past five meetings including a 6-5 win over the Lakers the last time they met. Mercyhurst is currently 0-6 on the season.
 
TEAM LEADERS
Through the team's first nine games, freshman Hannah Mihalik is leading the team in batting average (.414), OPS (.968), hits (12), and RBIs (11). Kris McIntyre is batting .345 with 10 hits, six RBIs and four stolen bases, Amanda Parson is batting .323 with 10 hits, a double and a triple and three RBIs, Hannah Carlson is batting .310 with nine hits, one homerun and five RBIs, Clara Heislen is batting .303 with 10 hits, two doubles, two RBIs and is 6-6 in stolen bases.
 
In the circle, it's been freshman Bryanna Olson who has dominated, she is 3-0 with a 1.84 ERA, throwing in 19 innings and striking out 17 which is tied for the team lead, she is holding opponents to a .230 batting average. Aryka Knoche has two saves and a 3.57 ERA in 15.2 innings of work and striking out 17 as well.