MANKATO, Minn.- The Concordia-St. Paul softball team went 2-0 on the second day of the 2022 Portolite & Field Turf MSU Invitational Softball Tournament in Mankato. With the pair of wins, the Golden Bears improved to 3-1 overall on the season and in the tournament.
CSP vs. NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE
The Golden Bears pull ahead in the all-time series with the Bearcats, taking a 7-6 lead after Saturday morning's 8-0 win in five innings.
The Bears scored five runs in the second, once in the third, and twice in the fifth to secure a shutout, five-inning win per the NCAA run-ahead rule which ends a game if a team is ahead by eight runs through five innings.
Starter Bryanna Olson (1-1) pitched all 5.0 innings, allowing no runs. The sophomore allowed only one hit, tallied six strikeouts, and faced 18 batters.
Sydney Pelzer helped open up scoring for the Bears in the second frame, earning two RBIs with bases loaded. The freshman singled to first but then advanced to second as she pushed Halle Bemmels to third and advanced Jacey Defries and Amanda Parsons to home.
Pelzer would go on to score when teammate Clara Heislen homered, her first of the season. Heislen had two RBIs on the day with one hit in three at-bats.
Senior Parsons had two runs and one hit through two at-bats. In the fifth, Payton Hanson singled up the middle, batting in the run for Parsons to secure the win. Afton Zemke advanced to third on the play.
Sophomore Grace Beseman had three hits in three at-bats against NWMSU, improving to a team-leading five hits in ten at-bats through three games, boasting a .500 batting average.
CSP vs. LEWIS
Lewis took an early lead after scoring two unearned runs in the first inning before the Bears made a comeback. Parsons singled to right field, advancing Cam Veenbaas to third and sending Heislen home, 2-1.
Up next, Defries bunted and advanced to first base, moving Parsons to second and sending Veenbaas in for her first run of the 2022 season, 2-2.
The Bears had a large third inning where they scored four runs and allowed none. Heading into the inning, the Bears trailed by two after giving up runs in the second without scoring any themselves before Defries doubled to left center and sent Parsons and Beseman home, 4-4.
Freshman Annalise Scamehorn earned her first collegiate career RBI by singling up the middle then advancing to third, sending Defries in, 5-4. The Bears closed out the inning with a sacrifice fly from Taylor Griffin, getting Avery to home plate, 6-4.
Beseman, Parsons, and Johnson all recorded their second runs of the day in the sixth, giving the Bears the push they needed to top the Flyers, 9-7.
Three pitchers took the mound for CSP, including Kristi Pilz for the first time in 2022. Pilz (0-0) recorded 42 pitches against 10 batters, allowing four runs and four hits in 1.1 innings. Erica McCullough (1-0) started on the mound for 3.1 innings, giving up five runs on ten hits. Bryanna Olson (2-1) closed out the game in 2.1 innings. Through 41 pitches she allowed one hit and two walks, and recorded four strikeouts.
Concordia will conclude the dome tournament with an early morning matchup against Missouri Western at 9 a.m. on Field 2. Live stats will be made available as the Golden Bears take on the Griffons for the second time this weekend. Maryville elected to withdraw from the tournament due to travel concerns.
