ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Golden Bear softball team (23-19, 17-11 NSIC) will travel to Rochester, Minnesota for the NSIC Softball Tournament. Concordia, who is the fifth seed, will take on the fourth seed, Minnesota Duluth (31-13, 21-9 NSIC) tomorrow at 12 p.m. at the RYFSA Complex. 

NSIC TOURNAMENT WEBSITE
The 2021 NSIC Softball Tournament bracket has been set as regular season play concluded Sunday afternoon. The top ten teams in the final regular season standings will participate in the double-elimination tournament, which will be held May 13-15 at RYFSA Complex in Rochester, Minnesota.
 
The winner of the NSIC Softball Tournament will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Central Region Tournament.  The 42-team NCAA Central Region is made up of teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and the Great American Conference (GAC). Automatic bids are awarded to the tournament champions from each conference with the final three spots awarded on an at-large basis. In all, six teams will advance to the NCAA Regional Tournament. 

The NCAA softball selections will be announced on www.NCAA.com on Sunday, May 16 at 9 p.m. (CT).  The NCAA Championships are set for May 27-31 at Regency Athletic Complex hosted by Metro State University of Denver.

WATCH ONLINE - NSIC NETWORK
Powered by the NSIC Network, all Northern Sun home and away baseball games will be broadcast online, free of charge, weather permitting. Visit www.nsicnetwork.com/cspbears to watch the Golden Bears. Away games will feature production by the host institution, while home games are broadcast using BlueFrame Technology with the play-by-play call of Dan Flanagan, voice of the Golden Bears for over a decade. Flanagan is a St. Paul native who professionally trained in broadcasting at Fordham University in New York where he was the voice of the basketball and football teams, among other sports. NSIC Network Announcement & FAQ
 
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 and engaging content 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!

LAST TIME OUT 
The Golden Bears hosted the University of Sioux Falls (S.D.) (21-22, 15-14 NSIC) and Southwest Minnesota State (26-18, 17-13 NSIC) this past weekend at Carlander Field. Concordia won both game ones of the doubleheaders before falling to the Cougars and the Mustangs in game two. Kali Kaestner highlighted the weekend with two victories with two complete games, one being a shutout. 
 
5/8/21
GAME ONE BOX SCORE AND RECAP
Concordia-St. Paul 3, Sioux Falls 0
 
GAME TWO BOX SCORE AND RECAP
Concordia-St. Paul 2, Sioux Falls 4
 
5/9/21
GAME ONE BOX SCORE AND RECAP
Concordia-St. Paul 2, Southwest Minnesota State 1 (8 innings)
 
GAME TWO BOX SCORE AND RECAP
Concordia-St. Paul 5, Southwest Minnesota State 10
 
MINNESOTA DULUTH SERIES HISTORY 
This will be the 63^rd meeting between the Golden Bears and the Bulldogs. Minnesota Duluth holds a 35-27 all-time record against the Golden Bears. This will also be the fifth game between these two teams this season. CSP split with UMD at the beginning of the season in a non-conference doubleheader matchup down in Mankato. The Golden Bears then swept the Bulldogs in a conference doubleheader at Carlander Field in April. 

LAST MEETING WITH MINNESOTA DULUTH
4/17/21
GAME ONE: Concordia-St. Paul 4, Minnesota Duluth 0
The Bulldogs threatened in the top of the first inning by loading the bases, but Kali Kaestner was able to get out of the jam with a big strikeout. The Golden Bears responded with a big bottom of the first inning. After two hits by Clara Heislen and Kris McIntyre, Grace Beseman hit a three-run bomb over the centerfield fence for her eighth home run of the season to give CSP an early 3-0 lead. 
 
Concordia would add another run in the bottom of the third inning. Clara Heislen led off the inning by taking a pitch off her helmet to reach first base, she then stole second and also swiped third. Grace Beseman hit a high fly ball to right center, allowing Heislen to tag up and score on the sacrifice fly to make it 4-0 Golden Bears.
 
That would be all that Kali Kaestner would need as she went on to pitch a complete game shutout going seven innings, allowing only three hits and 10 strikeouts as she moved to 6-4 on the season. She stranded seven runners on base throughout the game. 
 
GAME TWO: Concordia-St. Paul 9, Minnesota Duluth 8
It didn't take Minnesota Duluth long to get on the board in game two. In the first inning leadoff hitter Lauren Oberle hit a home run to right field, it was her seventh home run of the season and it gave UMD an early 1-0 lead. The Bulldogs were not done yet, after a couple of hits Emma Frost hit a two-run single to left field, giving Minnesota Duluth a 3-0 lead over the Golden Bears
 
The Bulldogs added two more runs in the top of the fourth inning. After a quick first out, Emma Frost hit an infield single, then Julia Gronholz doubled to right field to make it second and third with one out. After a groundout back to Knoche, Kelly Swank singled up the middle to score both Frost and Gronholz to make it 5-0 UMD.
 
The Golden Bears would get on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning. Jacey Defries led off with a one out single, she then advanced to second base one a wild pitch. Amanda Parsons hit a rope to center field for a single, advancing Defries to third base. Hanna Mortenson reached on a fielder's choice as Parsons was out at second. Cam Veenbaas would double, scoring Defries and advancing Mortenson to third. Hannah Mihalik would pinch run for Veenbaas and Meagan Bliese hit a two-run single to right center to make it a 5-3 game. 
 
Minnesota Duluth would answer in the top of the fifth inning. Jordyn Thomas led off the inning with a solo shot to center field, her seventh home run of the season to make it a 6-3 game. Jessica Bren followed that up with a single and then she stole second base. After a ground out that advanced Bren to third base there was a walk and a stolen base which allowed Julia Gronholz to hit a sacrifice fly and make it 7-3. UMD would add one more run on an RBI single by Sidney Zavoral to make it 8-3. 
 
The Golden Bears would come back fighting as they scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Grace Beseman led off with a single and then the pitcher Bryanna Olson reached on an error, allowing Beseman to go to second. Jacey Defries then singled to left field, loading the bases. Amanda Parsons reached on a fielder's choice as Beseman was thrown out at home. Hanna Mortenson then hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Olson and making it 8-4. Cam Veenbaas walked to reload the bases and Meagan Bliese hit a two-run single up the middle, scoring Parsons and Defries to make it 8-6. 
 
Concordia would make it dramatic in the bottom of the seventh inning. Jacey Defries led off the inning with a single up the middle, Amanda Parsons stepped up and hit a huge game tying two-run home run to right field, her fourth home run of the season. Hanna Mortenson singled to left field, she would advance to second base on a wild pitch and then Cam Veenbaas singled to left, advancing Mortenson to third base to make it first and third with no one out. Meagan Bliese came to the plate and she sent the Golden Bears home on a walk-off single to right center to win the game 9-8.
 
Kali Kaestner picked up her second victory of the day, pitching one inning, allowing two hits and striking out three batters. Aryka Knoche started the game for CSP, she went four innings, allowing five runs on eight hits while striking out three batters. Bryanna Olson pitched two innings in relief, allowing three runs on three hits and striking out one. 

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
Minnesota Duluth went 31-13 in the regular season with a 21-9 conference record. They went 7-3 in their last 10 games of the season including a split with Winona State, they then swept Sioux Falls (S.D.), got swept by SMSU, and they finished the season with a sweep of Northern State (S.D.) and MSU Moorhead. 
 
As a team the Bulldogs are hitting .313 with 365 hits and 271 runs scored. They have hit 50 home runs as a team and are slugging .534 with an on-base percentage of .396. They have walked 156 times and have stolen 51 bases. They are led by Lauren Oberle who is batting .383 with 14 doubles, nine home runs and 24 RBI's. She is slugging .692 and has an on-base percentage of .497. Jordyn Thomas is leading the team with 10 home runs and 43 RBI's. 
 
Lauren Dixon is leading the Bulldog staff with a 14-5 record, 23 appearances and 20 starts, 123 innings pitched and 139 strikeouts with 14 complete games. Sam Pederson leads the team with a 2.28 ERA and holds opponents to a .223 batting average. 
 
GOLDEN BEAR TEAM LEADERS
Grace Beseman continues to lead the Golden Bear in every major offensive category. She is hitting .371 with 49 hits, 11 doubles, 11 home runs and 39 RBI's. She is slugging .705 with an on-base percentage of .404, she also has scored 31 runs and has stolen 13 bases. 
 
Kris McIntyre is second on the team with a .326 batting average, she is tied for first on the team with 33 runs scored and she is third on the team with 42 hits. She has three home runs, 15 RBI's and 11 stolen bases.
 
Clara Heislen is hitting .316 with 33 runs scored (tied with McIntyre), second on the team with 43 hits, she has six doubles, one triple, five home runs, 18 RBI's, a .485 slugging and a .386 on-base percentage with a team leading 14 stolen bases and a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. 
 
Amanda Parsons is hitting .306 with 37 hits, 22 runs scored, seven doubles, two triples, five home runs, 24 RBI's, a .521 slugging and a .359 on-base percentage. She also has a .997 fielding percentage. 
 
Aryka Knoche is hitting .281 with 34 hits, three home runs and 22 RBI's. Hanna Mortenson also has three home runs and 15 RBI's on the season.
 
Kali Kaestner is leading the staff with a 12-6 record, a 2.12 ERA with 12 complete games, 108 strikeouts in 109 innings of work. Bryanna Olson is 5-7 with a 3.44 ERA, 12 starts in 22 appearances, four complete games, 81 strikeouts in 83.1 innings of work. Aryka Knoche is 6-5 with a 4.27 ERA, four complete games in 12 starts and 19 appearances while also striking out 55 in 77 innings.