ST. PAUL, Minn. – This week, Concordia-St. Paul softball prepares for a full slate of six games, with three doubleheaders starting at Southwest Minnesota State on Thursday at 2 p.m. followed by home opening weekend at Carlander Field against MSU Moorhead and Northern State. The weekend series is set for Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at noon, with officials continuing to monitor the weekend weather which features rain in the upcoming forecast.

NSIC STANDINGS
The Golden Bears (25-10-1 overall) enter the week tied for seventh in the NSIC Standings at 8-8 with SMSU (7-7 NSIC, 15-22 overall) in a pivotal midweek showdown in Marshall, Minnesota. For the weekend series, CSP welcomes the 15^th and 16^th-ranked squads in the conference as MSU Moorhead is 3-13 (6-25 overall) and Northern State is 2-14 (10-28 overall).

Concordia has already faced four of the top five teams in the conference standings, with the other (Winona State) wiped out due to weather last week.

WATCH LIVE
Weather permitting, CSP Athletics will provide live video coverage of all home softball games through the NSIC Network powered by Blue Frame Technology. Hear the action from the longtime play-by-play voice of the Golden Bears, Dan Flanagan, a native of St. Paul and graduate of Fordham University in New York where he specialized in sports broadcasting. Learn more about Flanagan on a recent CSP Bears Podcast

Most away games are also webcast live and available on the NSIC Network, as well, free of charge. Visit nsicnetwork.com/cspbears on a laptop or desktop computer, or download the NSIC Network app on your mobile device, or watch on your supported OTT provider such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV by searching "NSIC Network" and downloading the league streaming app. NSIC NETWORK FAQ

All webcasts, home or away, are subject to change and may be impacted by inclement weather.

SENIOR DAY
This weekend, the Golden Bears will celebrate their three seniors with Senior Day being held on the first day of the home opening weekend (pending any changes due to weather outlooks). The Golden Bears will honor Emma Lero, Amanda Parsons and Cam Veenbaas. The group is working towards five consecutive winning campaigns with Parsons playing all five seasons, Veenbaas participated in four years only missing the first part of the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign while Lero joined the program prior to the 2020 season as a transfer from SMSU.

Lero has competed in 59 games entering this week, producing a .347 average (25-72), .447 on base percentage and a .431 slugging percentage with six doubles and eight RBIs. As a senior, she's hitting .361 (13-36) with a .439 OBP while slugging .444 with a career-high six RBIs.

Parsons is a five-year starter (188 GP, 187 GS) behind the plate, compiling a .310/.381/.489 (165-532) batting line with 39 doubles, four triples, 16 home runs and 65 combined walks and hit by pitch, adding 10-11 stealing. She's scored 86 runs and driven in 93. As a senior, she's having her best year, hitting .434/.496/.623 (46-106) with a career-high 12 doubles, adding two home runs and a career-high 25 RBIs while throwing out 11 of 30 attempted base stealers on the year.

Veenbaas is a four-year starter, playing both second base and outfield as a Golden Bear with 173 career games and 167 starts, hitting .239/.298/.322 (90-376) with 19 doubles, four home runs, 54 runs and 16-19 stolen bases. As a senior, she's hitting .220/.273/.329 with 13 runs, six doubles and a home run.

Since 2018, the Golden Bears have produced a cumulative 121-83-1 overall record.

SERIES HISTORY: SMSU 29, CSP 25
Since Concordia joined the Northern Sun and made the move to NCAA Division II in the 1999-2000 academic year, CSP and SMSU have met 54 times with the Mustangs holding a slight 29-25 series advantage. In recent years, CSP has won three of the last four with the teams splitting last year at Carlander Field, SMSU winning game two to snap Concordia's three game winning streak in the series.

In Marshall, Concordia is 12-10 against the Mustangs, last visiting SMSU in 2019 with Concordia handing the Mustangs a sweep. Concordia is 19-24 against SMSU in conference play.

SERIES HISTORY: CSP 39, MSU MOORHEAD 9
Concordia and MSU Moorhead have met 48 times since CSP joined the NSIC in 1999-2000, with the teams splitting last year's doubleheader in Moorhead as MSUM's second game win snapped Concordia's 10-game winning streak and was the first win in the series by the Dragons since 2016.

Concordia holds a 13-2 record against the Dragons in St. Paul and a 31-9 record in conference games. The Golden Bears hold a 10-game home winning streak against MSUM with the Dragons' last road win against Concordia coming on April 10, 2007 prior to the opening of Carlander Field on campus.

SERIES HISTORY: CSP 35, NORTHERN STATE 10
After winning the first 27 meetings in the series history since CSP joined the NSIC for the 2000 season, the Wolves have rebounded in recent years, winning 10 of the last 18. More recently, however, Concordia has captured wins in three of the last four games with NSU snapping CSP's three game winning streak last year in the NSIC Tournament.

Concordia is 32-9 in NSIC games against NSU and is 14-4 in home games against the Wolves, including a home sweep in the last meeting at Carlander Field in 2019.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN BEARS: OVERALL & CONFERENCE
Concordia holds the third-ranked team ERA on the full season of 2.63 across 245.1 innings, trailing only Minnesota State (1.64) and Augustana (1.99). Offensively, CSP is second in the league with 61 doubles and fifth with 30 home runs.

CSP's lineup is led by senior catcher Amanda Parsons, who ranks seventh in the league in hitting (.434), fifth in on base percentage (.496) and fourth in doubles (12). Leadoff hitter and starting center fielder Clara Heislen is eighth in the league with 32 runs and fourth in the league with 10 home runs.

Kristi Pilz leads the pitching staff, ranking third in the league with a 1.66 ERA while Bryanna Olson is eighth at 2.22. Pilz (.217) and Olson (.218) are also in the league's top-10 in opponent batting average while Olson ranks second in the conference with 132.2 innings and sixth with 132 strikeouts. Olson leads the league with five saves and is third with 15 wins.

In conference games, Alexus Houston leads the league with three triples, Heislen is third with six home runs and Parsons is fifth with six doubles as three different players are among the league's best in extra-base hits.

In the circle in league play, Pilz is fourth in the NSIC with a 1.81 ERA and fifth with a .211 opposing batting average. Olson leads the league with five saves, is second in the NSIC with 52.2 innings, fourth with 58 strikeouts and ninth with a .227 opponent batting average.