ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul softball team will open play on February 7-9 at the Minnesota State Dome Tournament at Minnesota State. The Golden Bears, who have been gearing up for the season opener the past few weeks now, will take on Northwest Missouri State, Emporia State and Lewis in their opening weekend.
 
2020 will be Head coach Bob Bartel's 16^th season as the head of the program. He holds a career 430-371 overall coaching record along with a 188-176 record against NSIC opponents. He is currently the all-time wins leader in Concordia softball history and has led the Golden Bears to the NCAA Tournament four times including three trips to the Sweet Sixteen. 

The Golden Bears have faced all of this weekend's opponents in previous seasons. Against Northwest Missouri State, who CSP will meet twice this weekend, the Bears hold a 2-4 all-time record, last facing them in 2018 when the Golden Bears defeated the Bearcats 5-1. Concordia has played Emporia State more recently as they played them last year defeating the Hornets 6-5. CSP holds a 5-9 record against Emporia State and the Golden Bears have won the previous past two matchups. The Golden Bears will play Lewis for the first time since 2011 when the Golden Bears defeated the Flyers 6-4, CSP holds a 3-3 all-time record against Lewis.

Coach Bartel commented about the team's non-conference slate, "Most of our non-conference games are regional opponents so they are all important to us. We want to come out and win those games because that will put us in a good position at the end of the season. We will also be using those games to learn about our team, what we do well and what we can improve on." 
 
Concordia returns 12 players from the 2019 season, where they finished the year with a 33-20 record and a sixth-place finish in the NSIC. This was the team's second straight 30+ win season and their 19-11 conference record qualified them for a spot in the NSIC playoff tournament, their second straight appearance in the past two seasons.
 
Talking about how his team can sustain their success from the past two seasons, Coach Bartel said, "It takes good pitching, good defense and timely hitting. We need to hit with runners in scoring position and our defense and pitching have to be constant in this league to win games and to be competitive."

In this year's NSIC preseason poll, the Golden Bears were slated to finish sixth, matching where they finished in the 2019 season. This predicted finish is not surprising as the team returns a large core of players with game experience, including five of their top seven hitters from last season and their entire pitching staff from a year ago will return for the 2020 season.
 
"That's probably where I would have put us," Bartel said regarding the preseason poll. "It's an extremely tough conference, you have the defending national champion Augustana Vikings who have an extremely good pitching staff, Winona State who has good pitching and can really hit the ball and Minnesota State who won it all three years ago so it's an extremely tough conference. Anybody can beat anybody on any given day in this conference."
 
Concordia will be without Carlie Hart, the programs all-time leader in hits (265), runs (167) and the third highest career batting average in school history (.375). Hart was a huge factor in last year's offense as she was named NFCA All-Region First Team, D2CCA All-Region First Team, All NSIC First Team and Gold Glove Team. Hart set a new single season record in stolen bases (51) and runs (57). She led the NSIC in hits and stolen bases, also ranked in the top-10 in the conference in batting average, on-base percentage, runs scored, total bases, and triples last season. She paced the team with 27 multiple hit games, she led the Golden Bears in almost every offensive category, including batting average (.434), runs (57), hits (82), total bases (114), slugging percentage (.603), on-base percentage (.468), and stolen bases (51). She tallied 99 putouts and two assists in centerfield for a .962 fielding percentage, she also finished the season with a 17-game hit streak (the longest of any player in the 2019 season) and a 20-game reached base streak. 
 
Along with Hart, the Golden Bears also lost Justine Schattner who was another huge offensive threat for the Golden Bears last season. She was named to the All-NSIC First Team, started all 53 games for the Bears at third base, is tied for the all-time RBI record with 141 runs batted in, she ranks fourth on the CSP all-time hit list with 238 career hits, she has the fifth highest career on-base percentage of any CSP player in program history (.422), she also ranks fifth in career doubles (43) and career assists (392). Schattner had a breakout season last year, recording career highs in batting average (.405), on-base percentage (.465), hits (70), slugging percentage (.561), RBIs (44), and stolen bases (11) with a career low in strikeouts (11). She ranked in the top-10 in the NSIC in batting average (7^th), on-base percentage (8^th), hits (t-9^th), and RBIs (t-9^th), she led the team in doubles (13), RBIs, and assists (96), she collected 19 walks, tied for the most on the team, to improve her on-base percentage to .465, which ranked second highest on the team, she led the team with 14 games with multiple RBIs, she had 20 games with multiple hits on the season and she finished the year with an eight game hit streak and a 14 game reached base streak.
 
With big shoes to fill, Coach Bartel takes this as an opportunity for his current players to step up and fill some of the lineup and defensive holes in the 2020 season, "We are going to have a few freshmen that will slot in at centerfield and third base. Clara Heislen from Las Vegas is a speed type player and has some power at the plate and is a very aggressive hitter, outfielder and base runner so she will see a lot of action in centerfield. At third we will have Grace Beseman to fill Justine's spot and she is getting better and better every day, she isn't a natural third baseman but she's doing very well defensively at the corner and offensively she has the ability to match Justine's numbers and she will be a very good player for us."

As a team, the Golden Bears hit .309 last season which was the third best in program history. The previous season, Concordia hit .323 as a team which was the highest in program history. CSP will look to keep that consistency up and down the lineup heading into their 2020 games.
 
"We're gonna have a fairly deep lineup," Coach Bartel added about his team's offensive approach. "We probably won't steal as many bases as we did last year, we don't possess the same amount of speed, but we will continue to put pressure on defenses with our speed both in stolen bases and the shorter game. We are hoping to hit for a little more power this season, that will help us but we need to just continue to do what we have done in the past and I think all of our players will keep getting better and better," he continued.  
 
Bartel sees Kris McIntyre leading his offense this season. McIntyre was named the Golden Bears preseason player to watch, she had a career year last year as she had a career high batting average of .353, hits (53), runs scored (56) which both ranked third on the team, she also had 61 total bases.  She was named to the NSIC All-Academic team, she appeared in 51 games, making 45 starts. She reached base for 28 straight games, which was the longest streak of any CSP player since at least 2001. She stole 26 bases on the year, which was tied for fifth in the NSIC, she collected 13 games with multiple hits, she recorded a .430 on-base percentage, tallying 19 walks on the season and she scored 42 runs while also driving in 16 runs.
 
"Kris McIntyre who wasn't a starter to start the season last year started to get on base and play well when she was in so I couldn't just take her out anymore and she was a huge factor towards the end of the season." Said Coach Bartel on McIntyre, "I think that you will see her game elevate even more in the outfield this year."
 
With McIntyre, coach Bartel and the Golden Bears will look to players like senior Hannah Carlson to continue to put up good numbers. Carlson appeared in 50 games last season and hit for a .288 batting average, collecting a career-high 45 hits, slugged for a .462 percentage, with nine doubles and six home runs which was tied for the team lead. She drove in 41 runs on the year, ranking second highest on the team, she played a variety of positions for the Golden Bears, making 25 starts in right field, 17 starts at shortstop, three starts at first base, and two starts as the designated player.
 
"We are going to count on Hannah to pick up some of the RBI slack that we lost from Justine Schattner." Said coach Bartel on Hannah Carlson, "We are probably going to have her play a few positions, we are looking to have her play some second base until Cam gets back otherwise, she will probably see a majority of time in the outfield." 
 
Concordia will also return junior infielder Cam Veenbaas who started all 53 games at second base for the Golden Bears last season, she hit for a .284 batting average, with seven doubles and a home run, she added nine walks to boost her on-base percentage to .346 , she drove in 11 runs and stole six bases throughout the season and tallied 109 putouts and 70 assists for a .952 fielding percentage. Junior Hannah Mortenson will look to continue to be productive at first base as she started in 50 games at first base for the Golden Bears last year and hit for a .275 average with 41 hits on the season, she tallied nine doubles and six homers for a .456 slugging percentage, she drew 13 walks to increase her on-base percentage to .353, she drove in 29 runs on the year, which ranked fourth-best on the team and collected 306 putouts and nine assists with a .997 fielding percentage.
 
Junior catcher Amanda Parsons looks to build off of her season last year in which she logged a .997 fielding percentage, with only one error and two passed balls in her 51 games played at catcher for Concordia last year. She threw out 15 runners during her sophomore season, which paced the NSIC, she hit for a .245 average on the season with 38 hits, she recorded 11 doubles and three homers for a .375 slugging percentage, she had nine games with multiple hits, she drove in 17 runs and stole eight bases throughout the year and walked nine times to improve her on-base percentage to .314. 
 
CSP will also look to Aryka Knoche to not only have an impact in the lineup but in the circle as well for the Golden Bears. Last season Knoche appeared in 37 games for CSP, making 35 starts in her junior season, she made 14 starts in the circle and 25 starts as the designated player. She hit for a .380 batting average, tallying 41 hits, including 10 doubles, a triple, and a home run, she slugged for a .519 percentage, which ranked third on the team, she drew 13 walks to boost her on-base percentage to .444 and recorded a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with 26 assists and one putout. She collected an 8-6 record in the circle, with a 3.12 ERA, she held opponents to a .303 batting average, she struck out 65 batters on the year while walking only 23 and pitched eight complete games and had one save.
 
The Golden Bears will also rely on sophomore's Katie Carlson and Emma Adamek along with junior Meagan Bliese to build off of the experience they gained last season. Carlson appeared in 42 games while making 30 starts in her rookie season, she made 24 starts in left field, four starts in right field, and two starts at catcher for the Golden Bears. She logged a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with 46 putouts, she tallied 13 hits on the year, including three doubles and two home runs and she drove in 13 runs throughout the season. Adamek appeared in 33 games including 15 starts as the designated player in her rookie season, she recorded nine hits throughout the year with two doubles and a triple, she collected eight walks to improve her on-base percentage to .300 and drove in five runs during the season. Meagan Bliese appeared in 41 games while making 18 starts in the outfield for Concordia, she collected 10 hits in 55 at-bats for a .182 average, she stole nine bases in 11 attempts, she recorded 12 putouts during her sophomore season and drove in four runs. 
 
In the Circle the Golden Bears return all three of their main pitchers from a year ago. Kali Kaestner who was named the Golden Bears preseason pitcher to watch is looking to continue to dominate the NSIC. Last season she appeared in 35 different games for the Golden Bears, making 15 starts on the year, she collected a 12-5 record on the season, including winning seven of her last nine starts, she pitched a career-high 10 complete games, tallied a team-low 2.41 ERA which ranked eighth in the NSIC, she tied for first in the league in saves, with five on the year. Her five saves are tied for the most in a season by any CSP player in program history, and her six career saves ranks fourth on the all-time list. She struck out 79 batters throughout her junior season, while walking only 42, she held opponents to a .249 batting average, ranking eighth-best in the conference, she gave up two runs or less in nine of her last ten starts and only allowed 25 extra-base hits in her 124.2 innings pitched.
 
Concordia will also look for Samantha Sullivan to build off her career year she had in circle during the 2019 season when she made 26 appearances and 24 starts on the season. She collected a 13-9 record, pitching nine complete games and two shutouts, she struck out a career-high 109 batters on the year, while walking only 41, she recorded a 3.41 ERA in her 141.2 innings pitched and she held opponents to a .301 average. Her 109 strikeouts ranked first on the team and eighth in the NSIC and she ranks 10^th in career wins (25) in CSP's record book and sixth in strikeouts (254). Aryka Knoche and freshmen Bryanna Olson and Afton Zemke will round out the Golden Bears pitching staff. 
 
Coach Bartel thinks that his pitching staff with be one of the team's biggest strengths heading into the start of play, "We have a great veteran pitching staff that will help lead us to a good season, we have three seniors and a few freshmen who will see a lot of action in the circle so we are very excited to see what this staff can do this season."
 
Overall, the 2020 team brings back 12 different players with game experience and nine freshman. Coach Bartel commented that, "Overall, I think we have a good balance of underclassmen and upperclassmen that we might be young in some spots, but we will have veteran experience and leadership around them." With this mix of young and experienced players, the team has hopes of returning to the NSIC playoff tournament again for a third year in a row. 
 
The Bears will have 30 conference games and 26 non-conference games, with 17 of their 26 non-conference games being in-region games for a portion of their schedule. In addition, CSP also has nine non-region games, eight of which are in Florida at the beginning of March.
 
The conference season kicks off on March 24^th when the Bears take on Minnesota State. The team's first six conference games will be played at home at Carlander Field until they hit the road for their first away series on April 1^st when they travel to Fayette Iowa to play Upper Iowa.
 
The postseason tournament takes place from May 2-4 and is being held in Rochester this year, at the RYFSA complex. The top-10 teams in the conference standings will qualify for the tournament, with the winner getting an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
 
Follow along with all of the softball action this season by checking back to the schedule page for live stats and video links. Or, download the CSP Bears gameday fan app that provides users the opportunity to follow the softball team to get live stats, schedule, and promotional updates straight to your phone throughout the spring.