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Softball heads to SCSU & UMD this weekend

Golden Bears face challenging road weekend series

4.8.22

By: Josh Deer
ST. PAUL, Minn. - This weekend, Concordia-St. Paul softball heads north for a pivotal Northern Sun weekend set of doubleheaders starting with St. Cloud State to be played on the campus of the College of Saint Benedict in St. Joseph on Saturday at 1 p.m. before heading to Minnesota Duluth for a Sunday doubleheader at noon at Malosky Stadium on UMD's campus.

The Golden Bears enter the weekend 4-4 in Northern Sun play while carrying a red-hot 21-6-1 overall record through 28 games. SCSU is riding a 12-game winning streak which includes a perfect 8-0 start in Northern Sun play and a two-game lead atop the NSIC standings amid a 20-9 overall record. UMD checks in at 5-3 in the NSIC against the same schedule SCSU has faced, with an identical 20-9 overall record. UMD and SCSU will also host, in reverse order, Minnesota State, who is 6-2 in the NSIC in what makes for a compelling weekend of softball action.

SERIES HISTORY: CSP 23, SCSU 22
Concordia-St. Paul holds a 1-game lead over the Huskies in CSP's Division II-era with the Huskies capturing the first five matchups between the programs from 2002 to 2004. Last year, CSP's doubleheader sweep of SCSU in April at Carlander Field snapped the Huskies' four game winning streak and a string of 7-1 play by SCSU over CSP from 2016 to 2019, with CSP spinning the series back to its favor with 6-4 and 5-4 wins at home.

Concordia is 12-10 all-time in road games at SCSU and 4-5 at neutral sites, while the teams have split their 24 conference matchups since SCSU joined the league in 2008-09.

SERIES HISTORY: UMD 37, CSP 27
The Golden Bears and Bulldogs have met 64 times since Concordia joined the NSIC in the 1999-2000 academic year with UMD leading the series by 10 games. But the Golden Bears have come on in recent years, winning six of the last 10 contests dating back to May of 2019 and including last season's regular season split at home, 4-0 and 9-8 at Carlander Field in April before UMD topped CSP 1-0 in the NSIC Tournament in May in Rochester.

Concordia is 12-20 against UMD in NSIC contests and 3-7 in away games. CSP's last trip to Duluth was in 2017 as UMD swept CSP by identical 4-1 results.

TEAM STATISTICAL RANKINGS
The Golden Bears are at or near the top of the NSIC in several team statistical rankings, including some strong numbers on the national scene among the 277 DII softball programs, below is a breakdown of the league ranking with NCAA rank in ( ):
  • 1st - 0.46 double plays turned per game, 13 total (18th NCAA)
  • 1st - .768 winning percentage (30th NCAA)
  • 1st - 1.57 doubles per game, 44 total (63rd NCAA)
  • 2nd - 8 shutouts (23rd NCAA)
  • 2nd - 9 sacrifice flies (69th NCAA)
  • 4th - 2.18 earned run average (31st NCAA)
  • 4th - 0.86 home runs per game, 24 total (44th NCAA)
  • 4th - .458 slugging percentage (64th NCAA)
  • 5th - 1.29 stolen bases per game, 36 total (109th NCAA)
  • 5th - 76 walks (139th NCAA)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Several Golden Bears rank among the league's top-10 in individual statistical categories, listed below with the national ranking in ( ): NOTABLE CSP RECORD BOOK MILESTONES
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