MINOT, N.D. - Concordia-St. Paul (33-12-1, 16-10 NSIC) racked up 28 hits on Sunday afternoon, hitting their way to a doubleheader sweep at Minot State (28-18, 9-13 NSIC) at South Hill Complex. Concordia used a 7-run fourth inning in a 10-3 game one win before jumping out to a 7-2 lead in game two, holding on for an 8-6 win to complete the sweep.

Sophomore Grace Beseman went 3-4 in the doubleheader with two doubles, a home run, six RBIs and a walk, driving in five runs in the game one win. Senior catcher Amanda Parsons and sophomore outfielder Alexus Houston each had four hits in the doubleheader as 12 different Golden Bears had a hit on the day.

Concordia, at 16-10 NSIC, has created distance to clinch the sixth seed in the 2022 NSIC Softball Tournament, leading Upper Iowa (13-14) and trailing Minnesota Duluth (20-8) entering the season's final day tomorrow at the University of Mary (7-35, 5-17 NSIC) in Bismarck for a noon doubleheader.

GAME 1: CSP 10, MINOT STATE 3
After leaving the bases loaded in the first inning, the Golden Bears put together a 2-out rally in the second inning sparked by Grace Beseman's 2-run double as part of a 3-run inning for the game's first lead.

Minot State responded with three runs of its own in the third inning to tie the game, all unearned runs as CSP committed a pair of fielding errors.

When the position players returned to the dugout for the fourth inning, they gave starting pitcher Bryanna Olson more than enough run support to overcome the defensive miscues, piling on seven runs and sending 11 players to the plate. Beseman once again supercharged the rally with a 3-run homer, her seventh of the year as the first four batters reached with hits. Cam Veenbaas turned the lineup over with a bases loaded double to left center following Taylor Griffin's RBI single back to the circle.

Olson handled the lead well, shutting down the Beavers the rest of the way, forcing them to strand runners in scoring position in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings and six in scoring position for the game.

She improved to 18-6 with the complete game win and didn't allow an earned run, scattering seven hits with six strikeouts.

CSP's 2-3-4 hitters each had two hits, with Houston going 2-5 with two runs. Beseman was 2-3 with a walk in four plate appearances, driving in five runs. Parsons continued her hit parade, going 2-3 and added another hit by pitch to her career record at CSP and scored a run.

The bottom of the lineup was also productive as Griffin was 3-4 as her average has climbed 70 points in the last three weeks while Veenbaas had her first 3-RBI game of the year.

GAME 2: CSP 8, MINOT STATE 6
The first four Golden Bears picked up hits including back-to-back RBI doubles by the second and third hitters, Alexus Houston and Grace Beseman as part of a 3-run inning.

In the second inning, Kristi Pilz came out of the bullpen with the bases loaded and one out and shut down the rally, inducing a fielder's choice ground out with Pelzer throwing to Parsons from the hot corner to cut down the lead run at the plate before inducing a pop out to end the inning with only two Minot runs crossing the plate to preserve the lead.

Concordia extended the lead as Pelzer led off the third with her fifth home run of the year, and Emma Lero and Amanda Parsons had back-to-back RBI singles in a 3-run fourth inning for a 7-2 lead.

From there, Pilz held strong in the circle the rest of the way, allowing two earned runs in 5.2 innings of relief for Erica McCullough to improve to 7-1 on the year.

Minot State tacked on a run in the fourth and two unearned runs in the fifth, but Pilz limited the damage for the win.

In game two, five Golden Bears had multi-hit games starting from the top with Clara Heislen going 2-5 with two runs and an RBI followed by Houston going 2-4 with her ninth double, a run and an RBI. Beseman was 1-1 with her seventh double, a run and an RBI before being lifted early on.

Emma Lero came off the bench in her spot, going 2-2 with an RBI as the third spot in the order had a 3-4 combined day at the plate with two runs and two RBIs, with Rachel Novak getting into the mix with a run coming in to pinch run and adding a plate appearance.

Amanda Parsons stayed hot at the plate, going 2-4 with an RBI, lifting her season average to .472 with her fourth-straight 2-hit game amid a 12-game hitting streak that has had her average explode nearly 40 points. She's spent just two days below .400 on the year, at .395 on March 13 on the last day of the spring trip in Florida and at .396 two games later on March 19.

The top five players in the lineup had 2-hit games as Pelzer went 2-3 with her fifth homer of the year, firming her grasp on the club lead with 42 RBIs, nine more than Heislen, Beseman and Parsons who all continue to add to their RBI totals, as well.

And although she didn't register a hit in game two, Avery Johnson continued to be productive at the plate, driving in a pair of runs with a sacrifice fly and an RBI groundout.

The Golden Bear bench continues to produce, combining to go 4-6 as Payton Hanson and Annalise Scamehorn each had hits to join Lero's 2-2 day. Hanson is now hitting .455 (10-22) on the year with four walks and has yet to strike out, getting on base at a .538 clip while Scamehorn is hitting .273 with a .368 obp.

In the doubleheader, CSP hit .418 (28-67) with six extra base hits, getting on base at a .467 team clip while slugging .567, holding Minot State to a pair of extra base hits (both doubles) and a .305 team slugging percentage.