ST. PAUL, Minn. - Concordia-St. Paul has announced that this weekend's scheduled home doubleheaders have been relocated to the Maverick All-Sports Dome on the campus of Minnesota State University, Mankato. The Golden Bears (17-4-1, 0-2 NSIC) will face Wayne State (3-20, 0-2 NSIC) on Saturday with a doubleheader starting at 3 p.m., followed by a Sunday doubleheader against #7 Augustana (18-5, 2-0 NSIC) starting at 11 a.m.

The games were originally scheduled to be CSP's home opening weekend at Carlander Field, but officials have deemed the field will not be ready for the weekend set. The relocated weekend will not have a live webcast, but will feature live stats for fans to follow along. Admission to the games will be free of charge.

LAST TIME OUT: CSP SWEPT IN CLOSE GAMES AT MSU
The Golden Bears opened NSIC play on Tuesday at the Maverick All-Sports Dome with a pair of losses, falling 4-0 and 1-0 to #15 Minnesota State. In game one, CSP had the bases loaded with one out in the 5th inning while trailing 1-0, but were unable to convert the threat into runs. MSU followed by scoring three runs with the aid of a pair of errors on sacrifice bunts by MSU, who only compiled one hit in the inning. CSP put runners in scoring position in the sixth and seventh innings, as well, but came up short in the game one loss. In game two, CSP and MSU played scoreless softball through six innings. In the seventh, CSP was retired in order for just the second time all game, while MSU put its leadoff runner on base in the bottom of the inning for the first time. A sacrifice bunt and an RBI single gave the Mavericks a narrow sweep over CSP to open conference action.

Freshman left hander Erica McCullough took the loss in game one despite a strong performance, limiting the Maverick offense to four hits and two walks across 5.0 innings, allowing two earned runs with five strikeouts. Kristi Pilz pitched a shutout sixth inning with a pair of strikeouts in relief.

In game two, Bryanna Olson continued her strong campaign, allowing two hits and a walk through six shutout innings before taking the loss in the seventh, ultimately pitching 6.1 innings, allowing a run on four hits with seven strikeouts, falling to 11-2 and snapping her streak of wins in 11 straight decisions.

Senior catcher Amanda Parsons went 3-6 with a double in the doubleheader while Annalise Scamehorn was 2-3 with a double in the first game and Alexus Houston was 1-3 with a double in game one while drawing a walk in game two.

SERIES HISTORY: CSP 26, WSC 22
The Golden Bears and Wildcats will meet for a 49th and 50th time this Saturday with Concordia holding the slight edge in the series overall, but has dominated in recent years with a 7-1 record since 2017. CSP holds a slight edge in neutral site territory, 5-4 and the programs have met each of the last three doubleheaders played at Wayne State (2018, 2019, 2021).

Last year, CSP and WSC split in Wayne, with the Wildcats taking a 7-6 win in game one before CSP secured the split with a 7-3 win in game two. Grace Beseman was 2-3 with three runs and a sole homer in game one while Aryka Knoche powered the win, going 2-4 with three RBIs while pitching a complete game, allowing one earned run to improve to 3-1.

SERIES HISTORY: AUGIE 30, CSP 6
The Golden Bears and Vikings have met 36 times heading into the weekend with Augustana controlling the series 30-6 including a 21-1 record in NSIC games, although the Golden Bears have fared better in neutral site matchups, winning three times in 10 tries. The Vikings have won five in a row against CSP, with the Golden Bears' last win coming in the 2018 NSIC Tournament, a 5-3 win over the #14th-ranked Vikings in Sioux Falls.

Last year, the teams met with Augustana boasting the #1 ranking in the country in Sioux Falls, with the Vikings victorious 8-0 in game one before a closer 2-0 margin the second game. In the first game, the Vikings jumped on the Golden Bears early with three runs in the first, one in the second and three more in the third inning. CSP scratched out two hits in the run-rule shortened game, as Aryka Knoche and Hannah Mortenson each went 1-2. In game two, the Vikings again scored early on a leadoff solo home run to start the game, but Concordia starting pitcher Bryanna Olson settled in, going the distance (6.0), allowing two runs on four hits with five strikeouts against the top team in the country. CSP once again produced two hits as Clara Heislen went 1-3 and Hannah Mihalik went 1-2.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Just a sophomore athletically, Grace Beseman is already putting her name on the CSP softball career charts. She currently has the highest career slugging percentage (.649) across her 85 career games, while ranking sixth in batting average (.370) and 10th in on base percentage (.412), with a 98-265 batting line. Her 19 career home runs put her seventh on the all-time list, as well. Her 2022 season includes a career-best trajectory at .424/.474/.682 (28-66), with only the slugging percentage slightly behind last year's .688 mark which is the third-best slugging percentage for a season in program history. In addition to her slugging, Beseman has 27 stolen bases in 32 chances, including 5-8 this year through 22 games and has just 14 strikeouts in 265 career at bats.

Now in her third year, sophomore right handed pitcher Bryanna Olson is in the midst of a breakout season with an 11-2 record and four saves in 17 appearances. Entering the season, she held a 9-7 record in 30 appearances, already topping her career wins total in half of a season. She's reached the 20-win plateau with a 20-9 record and holds a 2.60 ERA in 199 career innings, holding opponents to a .230 average with 194 strikeouts.

She is currently second in career strikeouts per 7-innings (6.82), fourth in lowest career opponent average (.230), fifth in saves (5) and eighth in earned run average (2.60). Her four saves this year already put her tied for third in a season in program history, as well.


Fifth year senior catcher Amanda Parsons is producing her career year, with a career-high .435/.514/.629 slash line across the board through 22 games (27-62) with her 18 RBIs just six shy of last year's career-high in a season. She holds the program record with 24 career HBP and is third in career runners caught stealing, throwing out 46 runners. She's ninth in career doubles (33) and 10th in career home runs while holding a career .299/.374/.477 slash line (146-488) in 174 games (173 starts).