ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Concordia-St. Paul softball team will open play on February 12-13 at the Minnesota State Dome Tournament at Minnesota State. The Golden Bears, who have been gearing up for the season opener for the past 11 months since their 2020 season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will take on Minnesota Duluth in a non-conference matchup on Friday at 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. They then will play Lewis University on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to finish out their opening weekend.
 
2021 will be Head coach Bob Bartel's 17^th season as the head of the program. He holds a career 441-379 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 Minnesota Duluth, the Bears hold a 24-34 all-time record, last facing them in 2019 when the Golden Bears defeated the Bulldogs 2-1 in the first round of the NSIC Tournament. Concordia has played Lewis University more recently as they played them last year falling to the Flyers 7-9. CSP holds a 3-4 record all time against Lewis University.

SCHEDULE CHANGE
Due to weather conditions forecasted for next weekend in Emporia Kansas, the Emporia Classic which was originally scheduled for February 19-21, is now moved to the March 5-7 weekend. CSP is scheduled to play five games during the Emporia Classic, first with Missouri-St. Louis and Emporia State on Friday, march 5th. Followed by Missouri Southern and Quincy University on Saturday, March 6th. CSP will conclude the Emporia Classic with a matchup against Southwest Baptist University on Sunday, March 7th.

Coach Bartel commented about the team's non-conference slate, "We need to come out playing well right away because of the shortened season and the regional tournament being reduced from eight teams to six teams. It's even more important to come out of the gate fast because all of our non-conference games are all in-region games."
 
In this year's NSIC preseason poll, the Golden Bears were slated to finish sixth, matching where they were picked in last year's pre-season pool and where the Bears finished in the 2019 season. 

"That's about where I expected us to be placed," Bartel said regarding the preseason poll. "I think that we can certainly finish higher. The conference keeps getting better year in and year out. The top five teams listed in the coach's poll are consistent NCAA regional teams so those games against them are always going to be a battle. Everyone around the conference seems to be getting better so we can't take any games off."
 
This predicted finish is not surprising as the team returns a large core of players with game experience, including six of their top seven hitters from last season and a majority of their pitching staff from a year ago will return for the 2021 season. Concordia returns 18 players from the 2020 season, where they finished the year with a 11-8 record without playing any conference games. CSP also brings in four freshmen to help fill in some of the depth on the roster, and also get a chance to play. 

Coach Bartel talked about the impact of having the majority of his starters from a year ago return for this season, "It's helpful to have the same squad in the fact that it should benefit us in trying to come out and play well right away. They know our systems already and they know how we play so we do not have to get a majority of our team up to speed on how we play." Bartel continued, "A veteran team is helpful for this year because to have a mature team to deal with the Covid distractions that have happened and could happen this year, will be very beneficial for us."
 
Bartel also talked about the group of seniors from last year, Kris McIntyre, Kali Kaestner, and Aryka Knoche who will return for this season because of the NCAA COVID-19 Automatic Waiver, to help lead the 2021 Concordia squad, "They are extremely excited to get back on the field and play. They are doing a great job of keeping this group motivated and focused for the season."

Concordia will be without Hannah Carlson who was their starting shortstop last season and one the CSP's offensive players from last year's lineup. She started in all 19 games for the Golden Bears last season, batting .358 which was second on the team with 19 hits in 53 at-bats. She collected three doubles and was tied for first on the team with three home runs while also driving in 11 RBIs for a .585 slugging percentage. She put together nine walks and scored 12 runs for a .455 on-base percentage. In the field she made 34 putouts and 29 fielding assists for a .875 fielding percentage. She finishes her Golden Bear career with a .297 batting average in 143 games played and 138 games started, collected 124 hits in 418 at bats, hit 22 doubles and 13 home runs while driving in 85 RBIs for a .443 career slugging percentage, put together 44 walks and five stolen bases while scoring 56 runs for a career .360 on-base percentage, had 204 putouts and 94 fielding assists for a .931 fielding percentage. In 2018 she had a 1.000 fielding percentage which is tied for first in single season history for the Golden Bears. 
 
Along with Carlson, the Golden Bears will also be without pitcher Samantha Sullivan who was one of the top pitchers for the Golden Bears last season. She appeared in six games and started in five for the Golden Bears last season. She posted a 2-3 record with a 3.32 ERA while also pitching two complete games. She struck out 21 batters in 25.1 innings of work while only allowing 12 earned runs and holding batters to a .313 batting average. She gave up only two extra base hits in her six games during the 2020 season. She went 27-35 in her Golden Bear career with a 4.01 ERA in 89 appearances and 77 career starts, she threw 32 complete games and tallied two career saves. She ranks sixth all time in program history with 275 strikeouts in 415.2 innings of work while holding batters to a .304 career batting average. She ranks fifth all time with 81 career strikeouts looking and ranks seventh all time with 77 career starts.
 
With some other pieces to fill in on the roster Coach Bartel takes this as an opportunity for some of his new players to step up and fill some of the lineup and pitching holes in the 2021 season, "We are going to have a few freshmen that will step in right away and be major contributors. And we will have some freshmen who will get their feet wet in some situations so It will be a great opportunity for all of them." 
 
The freshman this season can look to the freshman from last year who really stood out and helped cement themselves into the everyday lineup. Infielder Hannah Mihalik who hit .339 for the third best average on the team and led the team with 17 RBI's. Infielder Grace Beseman who hit .310 and was tied for the team lead with three home runs and was second on the team with 13 RBI's behind Mihalik. Outfielder Clara Heislen who hit .303, was second on the team with 20 hits, led the team with 14 runs scored and five doubles, and was a perfect 10-10 in stolen bases. 
 
Coach Bartel is looking for this group to continue to grow and produce even more in their sophomore season, "We need them to step up even more this season. We need them to continue to make progress and get better and better. They didn't get to play in any conference games last season, which is unfortunate because they will have to face some really good NSIC pitchers for the first time this season. But I am excited to see what they can do against conference opponents."
 
As a team, the Golden Bears hit .296 in the shorten season last year which ranked eighth in the NSIC. The previous season, Concordia hit .309 as a team which was the third highest in program history. CSP will look to keep that consistency up and down the lineup heading into their 2021 games. 
 
"I feel good about our offense," Coach Bartel added about his team's offensive approach. "I think one through nine we will have a little speed and a little bit of power. The key is going to be driving in runs. We need to be able to get that two out hit with runners in scoring position. That is where you are going to win games and its imperative that we keep getting on base and extending innings, but I am excited about our offense," he continued.  
 
Bartel sees center fielder Clara Heislen leading off for his offense this season. Bartel has his senior right fielder Kris McIntyre in the two spot. McIntyre was named the Golden Bears preseason player to watch, for the second year in a row. McIntyre started in 18 games for the Golden Bears last season. She led the team with a .375 batting average and led the team with 21 hits in 56 at bats. She hit two doubles and one home run while driving in nine runs for a .464 slugging percentage. She was second on the team with nine stolen bases and led the team with nine walks and was second on the team with 13 runs scored while leading the team with a .463 on-base percentage. She collected nine putouts and two outfield assists for a .846 fielding percentage. She Currently holds a career .354 batting average with 87 hits in 246 at bats, has played in 114 games and has started in 73 games, has hit eight doubles, three triples and two home runs and has driven in 30 runs for a career .435 slugging percentage, has 35 career walks, 41 career stolen bases and scored 76 runs for a career .439 on base percentage, has 53 putouts and six outfield assists for a career .868 fielding percentage. She has the highest career on base percentage (.439) in Golden Bear history and has the fifth highest stolen base percentage (.911) in team history. 

With McIntyre, coach Bartel and the Golden Bears will look to players like senior catcher Amanda Parsons who played in all 19 games last season. She was fourth on the team with a .321 average, 18 hits, 10 runs, two doubles and one triple along with two home runs which was tied for second on the team. She drove in 10 RBI's for a .500 slugging percentage. At first base Bartel will look to senior Hanna Mortenson to produce like she did in her sophomore season when she hit .275 with six home runs, 29 RBI's and nine doubles. 
 
At second base the Golden Bears will look for someone to fill the void while Hannah Mihalik and senior Cam Veenbaas are both recovering from injuries to start the season. Mihalik put up some impressive numbers in her freshman season and Veenbaas had a productive sophomore year a few seasons ago. She started in all 53 games at second base for the Golden Bears in the 2019 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. 
 
Bartel commented on the position battle for second base to start the season," Ani Bell and Emma Adamek will both get the majority of playing time at second. It will be a great opportunity for them to produce and get some competitive at-bats early in the season."
 
Bell appeared in nine games in her freshman season last year, scoring two runs and held a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. Junior Emma Adamek appeared in 16 games and started in one game last season. She scored three runs and carried a .727 fielding percentage.
 
On the left side of the Infield, Bartel see's freshman Taylor Griffin taking on the shortstop position. The Castle Rock, Colorado native hit .494 with six home runs, 27 RBI's and a .528 OBP during her junior year for the Douglas County High School Huskies. Grace Beseman will fill back in at third base where she got off to a great start before the season was cut short in her freshman season last year. 
 
Senior Meagan Bliese will be the Golden Bears everyday left fielder. She took hold of that position last year when she appeared in 16 games and started in 13. She hit .364 with 12 hits in 33 at-bats. She recorded one walk, was tied for third on the team with two doubles and collected six RBIs for a .424 slugging percentage. She recorded three stolen bases with one walk while scoring nine runs for a .383 on-base percentage. In the outfield she recorded 23 putouts for a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
 
CSP will look to Aryka Knoche, Emma Lero, Afton Zemke, Payton Hanson Annalise Scamehorn, and Jacey Defries to be productive for the Golden Bears this season. Senior Aryka Knoche who recorded 43 at-bats last year as the Golden Bear's DP. She also was an anchor in the pitching rotation as she went 1-3 while leading the Golden Bears with an ERA of 2.60, two saves and 33 strikeouts in 32.1 innings of work. Concordia will look to her to be a force in the circle as well as in the lineup.  

Emma Lero hit .462 in 13 at bats, appearing in nine games and getting the start in three of those. Payton Hanson appeared in four games last season during her freshman campaign, Zemke hit .500 in the three games she appeared in last year, Scamehorn hit .250 while appearing in five games, recording five at-bats. And Jacey Defries will back up Amanda Parsons behind the plate. Defries appeared in eight games last year and got the start in one of those. She held a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage behind the plate last year. Freshman Alexus Houston, Kristi Pilz, and Mackenzie Perry will round out the rest of the Golden Bears depth. 

In the Circle the Golden Bears return a majority of their main pitchers from a year ago. Kali Kaestner who was named the Golden Bears preseason pitcher to watch for the second year in a row. She appeared in 11 games and started in six while going 4-2 with a 2.86 ERA and led the team with three complete games in the 2020 season. She struck out 26 batters while leading the team in innings pitched with 41.2. She allowed only 17 runs on 46 hits while holding opponents to a .277 batting average last season.
 
Concordia will also look for sophomore Bryanna Olson to continue to grow and perform well in the circle. She went 4-0 while recording a 3.10 ERA in four starts and eight appearances while throwing in 29.1 innings of work in her freshman season. She pitched one complete game, allowed only 23 hits, and 18 runs which was the lowest on the pitching staff. She was second on the team with 32 strikeouts and she led the staff with the lowest opponent batting average, .202. Olson along with Aryka Knoche, will be anchors in the pitching staff with Kali Kaestner.

Coach Bartel thinks that his pitching staff will be one of the team's biggest strengths heading into the start of play, "Our pitching staff is pretty much intact from last season. And we have added two freshmen that we will be able to bring along as needed, we won't have to rush them. I think that they will be able to handle high pressure situations but with five pitchers and shorter amount of games this season, we can utilize that to help our young pitchers get better and better as they continue to build up innings and learn how teams in our conference approach certain at-bats." 

Overall, Bartel is just looking forward to his team getting back out on the diamond, "I am looking forward to seeing this team play again, playing someone other than ourselves. When we were playing our intersqaud scrimmages in the fall and I saw how much fun they were having playing with each other again, I have to believe it is going to be much better when they are competing against other teams. I am looking forward to seeing their faces when they get to take the field again." 

The Bears will have 30 conference games and 14 non-conference games, with all of their 14 non-conference games being in-region games.
 
The conference season kicks off on March 30^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 7th when they travel to Fayette Iowa to play the Upper Iowa Peacocks. The NSIC tournament takes place from May 6-8 and is being held in Rochester at the RYFSA Complex.
 
WATCH ONLINE - NSIC NETWORK
Powered by the NSIC Network, all Northern Sun home and away softball games will be broadcast online, free of charge. Visit www.nsicnetwork.com/cspbears to watch the Golden Bears. Away games will feature production and commentary by the host institution. Only NSIC games will be broadcasted on the NSIC Network, non-conference hosts may or may not provide live streaming services. 
 
WATCH ON YOUR TV
The NSIC Network, supported by BlueFrame Technology, is available to download on your favorite OTT providers like Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV. Simply search for "NSIC" or "NSIC Network" and download the app for a full listing of Northern Sun action on your TV.  NSIC Network Announcement & FAQ
 
WATCH ON THE GO
Download the NSIC Network app in the Google Play Store or the App Store on your Apple device to watch on your smartphone, a new feature from BlueFrame Technology.  NSIC Network Announcement & FAQ
 
FOLLOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Not able to watch or keep an eye on live stats? Check in on social media by following our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds. Each platform will have different levels of engagement. Twitter will offer scoring updates, Instagram will feature live look-ins along with engaging content for home games and Facebook is a great place to get links to previews, recaps and more. Simply search for CSP Bears on any of the platforms and remember to #BeGolden!
 
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 game day 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.  
 
The games this weekend will feature both live stats and live stream. The links for both can be found on the Golden Bear softball schedule page and down below.
 
Live stats: https://msumavericks.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
 
Live Stream: https://nsicnetwork.com/msumavericks/