ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Golden Bear softball team (10-8, 4-0 NSIC) hits the road this week to take on three different NSIC opponents. CSP will travel to Fayette, Iowa to take on Upper Iowa (6-13, 2-4 NSIC). Concordia will then travel to Augustana (S.D) to play this Saturday and then Wayne State (Neb.) on Sunday.
 
SCHEDULE CHANGE
Due to weather forecasted in the Fayette area this week, CSP will now play the Peacocks tomorrow, scheduled for a 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. start times for the doubleheader. The game was originally scheduled for a Wednesday doubleheader but will now be played tomorrow afternoon. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Golden Bears played in their first pair of home games this past weekend, opening up NSIC play. Concordia got off on the right foot by sweeping both UMary (N.D.) and Minot State (N.D.) in back-to-back doubleheaders. 

Friday, April 2^nd
GAME ONE: Concordia-St. Paul 6, UMary 2
The Marauders were the first ones to strike in game one. In the bottom of the second inning Madelynn Trout hit a solo home run to left field with two outs to give UMary a 1-0 lead early. Concordia would respond quickly in the bottom half of the inning as Taylor Griffin homered to left center to tie the game up 1-1. The Golden Bears would take the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning when Grace Beseman launched a leadoff home run to left field to make it 2-1 CSP. The Marauders would even it up in the top of the fifth. It started with a leadoff single by Kasidy Chileen, she then advanced to second on a wild pitch, Mikaela Pelesauma singled, advancing Chileen to third. The Marauders then pulled off a double steal, Pelesauma swiped second and Chileen took home to tie the game 2-2. CSP would retake the lead after Meagan Bliese hit a one out solo home run to left field to give Concordia a 3-2 lead. The Golden Bears were not done as Clara Heislen was hit by a pitch, she then stole second, a batter later Grace Beseman smoked a ball to left field, scoring Heislen and increasing the Golden Bear lead to 4-2. Concordia would tack on two more in the bottom of the sixth inning, Ani Bell pinch hit for Jacey Defries and singled to right field, she was lifted by Alexus Houston as a pinch runner. Amanda Parsons laid down a bunt single, advancing Houston to second. Taylor Griffin reached on a fielder's choice as Parsons was out at second and Houston advanced to third. After Griffin stole second, Bliese came through again with a double down the right field line scoring both Houston and Griffin to make it 6-2. Bryanna Olson set down the Marauders in order in the top of the seventh inning to secure the 6-2 Golden Bear victory.
 
GAME TWO: Concordia-St. Paul 7, UMary 1
In game two it was the Golden Bears who struck first early. After a one out single by Kris McIntyre, she stole second and Grace Beseman drove her in on a double to center field to make it 1-0 CSP. Concordia followed that up with a massive second inning. It started with a leadoff home run by Amanda Parsons to make it 2-0. Then Hanna Mortenson singled to center and stole second, Clara Heislen walked with two outs to make it first and second, Kris McIntyre singled to center, scoring Mortenson and advancing Heislen to second. Grace Beseman came through again with a big two run double down the left field line to make it 5-0. After Aryka Knoche reached on an error which caused Beseman to advance to third, there was a wild pitch by Nicole Eckhardt allowing Beseman to score and make it 6-0 CSP. The Marauders would get on the board in the top of the fourth inning after Madelynn Trout singled to center, Devyn Ritz then doubled to center, scoring Trout and making it 6-1. The Golden Bears would add one more run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Meagan Bliese hit an infield single, Alexus Houston pinch hit for Clara Hesilen and she doubled to right center which advanced Bliese to third base. Kris McIntyre then hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Bliese and making it 7-1. That was all Kali Kaestner needed to finish out her terrific pitching performance. She set down the Marauders on a terrific double play by Beseman and struck out the final batter to earn the complete game victory. She went seven innings, struck out seven batters allowing one run on seven hits and moved to 4-3 on the season. 
 
Saturday, April 3^rd
GAME ONE: Concordia-St. Paul 5, Minot State 0
The Golden Bears struck early in the bottom of the first when Clara Heislen reached on an error by the third baseman, she would advance to second base on the same throwing error. After two quick outs it looked like the Beavers were going to tight rope out of danger but Aryka Knoche came through on a single to left, scoring Heislen and giving CSP the early 1-0 lead. Concordia would tack on another run in the bottom of the third inning. Kris McIntyre got a single down the right field line with two outs, she stole second and Grace Beseman drove her in on an RBI single to center field to make it 2-0 Golden Bears. CSP had a big fifth inning with back-to-back singles by McIntyre and Beseman, Amanda Parsons came through on a big two run double to make it 4-0 Golden Bears. Ani Bell pinch hit for Taylor Griffin and she reached second on an error by the Beaver's left fielder which allowed Parsons to score and make it 5-0. That would be all that Bryanna Olson would need as she tossed seven scoreless innings, allowing only three hits, two walks and struck out four batters. She moves to 4-4 on the season.
 
GAME TWO: Concordia-St. Paul 9, Minot State 1
In game two it was the Minot State Beavers who got on the board first. Jamie Odlum led off the game with a single, Maggie Mercer then placed a beautiful bunt single down the third base line to make it first and second with no outs. After a pop out, Isis Cabral singled through the left side, scoring Odlum and giving Minot State a 1-0 lead. Kali Kaestner was able to pitch out of the jam to keep it to a one run deficit. After two quick innings, CSP was finally able to break through. Taylor Griffin walked to begin the bottom of the third inning, Hanna Mortenson singled to right field, advancing Griffin to second. Meagan Bliese laid down a sacrifice bunt, allowing Griffin to go to third and Mortenson to second. After Clara Heislen reached on a fielder's choice, Kris McIntyre singled through the right side, scoring Griffin to tie the game 1-1. Grace Besemangot in on the action with an RBI single to left field, scoring Mortenson and giving CSP a 2-1 lead. Knoche would drive in a run on an RBI single and Amanda Parsons drove in two on a double to make it 5-1 Concordia. The Golden Bears would add four more runs in the bottom of the fourth. Meagan Bliese reached on a one out walk and then Clara Heislen singled to third base, Bliese advanced to second. A batter later, Grace Besemanripped a two-run single to center field, scoring both Bliese and Heislen. Aryka Knoche would single, sending Beseman to second, Parsons reached on an error, scoring Beseman and allowing pinch runner Alexus Houstonto advance to second base. Hannah Mihalik singled through the right side, scoring Houston to make it a 9-1 Concordia lead. It was Mihalik's first hit and RBI of the 2021 season. Kali Kaestner made quick work of the Beaver lineup in the top of the fifth inning and because of the eight-run rule, the Golden Bears won the game in five innings.
 
UPPER IOWA SERIES HISTORY
The Golden Bears and the Peacocks will be meeting for the 39^th time in series history. CSP currently holds a 24-14 record over the Peacocks in those meetings. They first played each other back in 2004 and it was all Golden Bears for the early part of those matchups, they went 22-7 from 2004-2015. The Peacocks have since gone 7-2 against the Golden Bears.
 
LAST MEETING WITH UPPER IOWA
GAME 1: CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL 7, UPPER IOWA 1
In game one, the Bears scored in three different innings and only allowed one Peacock runner to score to claim a 7-1 win. The scoring was highlighted by a four-run fourth inning that broke a 1-1 tie. Concordia had six hits in the contest, dispersed throughout the lineup with six different players each collecting a hit. The Bears also took advantage of five walks and two hit-by-pitches in the game.
 
GAME 2: UPPER IOWA 9, CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL 5
The Golden Bears dropped game two in heart-breaking fashion as they tied up the game in the sixth inning with three home runs, only to see Upper Iowa rally for four runs in the seventh to earn the 9-5 win. CSP held an 11-10 advantage in the hit's category, but could not overcome four errors in the field, which led to eight unearned runs. The top of the lineup continued their consistent offensive presence for the Bears, as each Hart, McIntyre, and Schattner recorded two hits in the game. Hannah Carlson also had a multiple-hit game, singling in the second and hitting a home run in the sixth.

ABOUT THE PEACOCKS
Upper Iowa is 6-13 on the season, with a 2-4 record in the NSIC. The Peacocks have been swept by Winona State, they split with Northern State and they just split with MSU Moorhead this past Saturday.  
 
As a team, the Peacocks are hitting for a .275 average and have hit 14 home runs on the season. They have stolen only four bases and are fielding for a .932 average. Junior Katie Crogan is leading the team with a .373 batting average, scoring 12 runs, five home runs, 15 RBI's and is carrying a .746 slugging and a .403 on-base percentage. 

Freshman Abby McKay is leading the team with a 5-5 record, a 3.74 ERA in 63.2 innings of work, striking out 70 batters and pitching seven complete games.
 
TEAM LEADERS: 
Grace Beseman is leading the team with a .386 batting average, 22 hits, four double, five home runs and 18 RBI, s. She is slugging .719 and has an on-base percentage of .407 with six stolen bases and 15 runs scored. Clara Heislen is hitting .351, leads the team with 16 runs scored, one double, four home runs, 10 RBI's, slugging .579, on-base of .406 and leads the team with seven stolen bases and carries a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. Kris McIntyre is hitting .313 with 14 runs scored and four stolen bases. Aryka Knoche is hitting .306, with two home runs, seven RBI's and is slugging .429. Amanda Parsons is hitting .294, three doubles, one triple, two home runs and 10 RBI's for a .510 slugging, .357 on-base percentage and has a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage behind the dish. 
 
Bryanna Olson is leading the pitching staff with a 2.03 ERA with a 4-4 record. She is second with 41.1 innings pitched and leads with 39 stakeouts and an opponent batting average of .230. Kali Kaestner leads the team with a 5-2 record, leads the team with 45.2 innings, is second with 38 strikeouts and leads the team with five complete games. 
 
Both live stream and live stats will be available for the double headers this weekend. You can find the links to each on the Golden Bear softball schedule page.