MANKATO, Minn.- The Concordia-St. Paul softball team split games on the first day of the 2022 Portolite & Field Turf MSU Invitational Softball Tournament. The Golden Bears fell to Washburn but succeeded over Missouri Western State and now have a 1-1 season record.
The Bears rallied late against the Ichabods, unsuccessfully, and were back-and-forth against the Griffons until ultimately securing the win.
CSP vs. WASHBURN
Washburn improves to 7-4 in the all-time series with CSP after defeating them in the first game of the tournament 5-4. The Ichabods have now won three in a row against the Golden Bears.
After trailing 5-1 in the fourth inning, runs by Sydney Pelzer, Rachel Novak, and a home run by Amanda Parsons pulled the Bears within one but was not enough to overcome their opponents.
Parsons scored two runs in the game and led her team with two hits in four at-bats, with a .500 on base percentage. The senior's 1.250 slugging percentage was also highest among her teammates.
Freshmen Pelzer and Novak scored their first runs in a CSP uniform. Pelzer, the second baseman, had one run and one hit in two at-bats against Washburn. Novak, who served as a pinch runner for Jacey Defries, scored in the sixth after Emma Lero was walked to first.
Through six innings pitched, Bryanna Olson allowed seven hits, five runs, one earned run, three walks, and earned seven strikeouts against 29 batters faced. She was the Bears only pitcher against Washburn.
Both teams matched up well with each other. The Bears lead in hits 9-7, doubles 2-0, were even at four RBIs each, and trailed 2-3 in walks and 8-7 in strikeouts.
CSP vs. MISSOURI WESTERN STATE
Concordia improves to 10-15 against Missouri Western State in the all-time series after a narrow victory in Mankato 4-3. After a double to left center from the Griffons which evened the score 3-3 in the fourth inning, Alexus Houston homered to left center to give the Bears the run they would need to win.
Houston scored her first career home run and had one RBI, with two hits in three at-bats on Friday afternoon. Her 1.667 slugging percentage was highest on her team and her on base percentage was tied for second best.
Clara Heislen, Jacey Defries, and Halle Bemmels also scored for CSP, picking up their first runs of 2022. Heislen led the Bears with four at-bats with two hits and an RBI and Defries led with seven putouts.
Pitcher Erica McCullough saw 5.1 innings of action before Bryanna Olson returned to the mound for the remaining 1.2 innings. McCullough allowed six hits, allowed three runs, walked four batters, and registered three strikeouts against 26 batters faced in her first career win.
The Bears and the Griffons compared similarly throughout, with the edge given to the Bears. Each team had 27 at-bats, 3 RBIs, and one error while the Bears led in hits 8-7, strikeouts 3-6, putouts 21-18, and stolen bases 4-0.
The Golden Bears will return to action tomorrow for Day Two of the Dome Tournament. They will face Northwest Missouri State at 9:00 a.m. and Lewis at 11:30 a.m. Both games will be on Field 1 and will have live video and live stats.
