ST. CLOUD, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul softball team picked up a pair of wins on Saturday, defeating Parkside University 5-3 and Bemidji State 9-2. The Golden Bears improve to 3-1 in St. Cloud with one more game on Sunday to close out non-conference play.

GAME ONE: Concordia 5, Parkside 3
Clara Heislen got things started, hitting a double to leadoff off the game and scored on a bases loaded walk drawn by Danni Sharum. The Golden Bears put one more on the board in the inning, bringing in Grace Beseman on a fielder's choice to take an early 2-0 lead. 

The Rangers answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the second. Hailey Remington picked up UWP's first RBI, knocking a triple to right center to score third baseman Morgan Medlin. Two batters later, shortstop Mia Johnson beat out an infield hit to score Remington and tie the game for Parkside. 

UWP broke the tie in the bottom of the third. A one out ground-rule double set them up with a runner in scoring position. Pinch runner Tai Gonzalez advanced to third on a fielder's choice and scored two pitches later on a wild pitch from Bears starter Kristi Pilz.

The Parkside lead would be short lived. With two outs in the top of the fourth inning, Avery Johnson put one over the left field fence to tie it up at 3-3. It was the outfielder's 10th RBI of the season 

After two singles to lead off the bottom of the fourth, Head Coach Bob Bartel relieved Pilz in the circle, bringing in Bryanna Olson. In her three innings of work, Pilz gave up three runs on eight hits while striking out one and walking two. Olson made quick work of the final three batters, inducing a pop-up on a bunt, before striking out the last two. 

The Rangers also made a pitching change to begin the top of the fifth, bringing in Olivia Masnica to relieve KC Shickel. USP's starter finished four innings giving up three runs on three hits while striking out six and walking four. Masnica retired all three Bears that came to the plate, drawing fly ball outs to all three outfielders.

Masnica did not fare as well in the top of the sixth as Concordia fought to reclaim the lead for the first time since the second inning. With two outs and Sydney Pelzer on second, Avery Johnson found her pitch and hit a two run bomb. It was the second home run of the day and third of the weekend. 

Olson closed out the game for the Golden Bears, putting away six of the final seven Rangers, including striking out the last batter to give CSP the 5-3 victory. With the win, Olson moves to 8-6 on the season. The junior held UWP scoreless over the last four innings, giving up just one hit while striking out six and walking none. 

GAME TWO: Concordia 9, Bemidji State 2
The Golden Bears got things rolling in the top of the second inning. A double from Sydney Pelzer and a single from Avery Johnson put two runners on with no outs. Annalise Scamehorn moved the runners into scoring position with a groundout and Taylor Griffin put the Bears on the board with an RBI bunt single to score Pelzer. Rachel Novak moved Griffin over to second and brought Johnson home with an RBI groundout. Finally, Clara Heislen capped off the scoring for CSP with an RBI single to drive in Griffin.

Bemidji State got on the board in the bottom of the third inning. The Beavers put runners on first and third with no outs and scored their first run on a passed ball. Left fielder Alexa Christianson doubled to left center to bring in BSU's second run of the inning, but was gunned down at third by CSP center fielder Heislen for the first out. The Beavers would get caught at third base again to end the inning, getting caught stealing by catcher Jacey Defries.

Rachel Novak helped the Bears get both runs back in the next half inning. The Concordia first baseman singled to score Tori Turgeon and advanced to second on an error by BSU. The sophomore showed off her base running skills, stealing third and home to put CSP back up by two.

The Golden Bears offense exploded in the fifth inning to knock Beaver starter Stella Golden out of the game. CSP started the inning off with three straight doubles, including a two RBI ground-rule double from Pelzer to score Grace Beseman and Defries. Avery Johnson continued her dominance at the plate, smacking her third home run of the day and fourth of the weekend to put the Bears up 9-2. 

Starting pitcher Erica McCullough and the Concordia defense shut down the Beavers over the final three innings. The bases stayed empty for Bemidji State as the final nine batters were set down to close out the game. McCullough (3-2) picked up her third complete game win in the contest, limiting BSU to five hits, two runs and a combined .208 batting average. 

The Golden Bears finished with a season high 15 hits and .455 batting average as a team. Grace Beseman, Sydney Pelzer and Avery Johnson were all 3-for-4 and incredible at the plate for Concordia. All three of Beseman and Pelzer's hits were doubles, career high's for both players and tied for the second most in school history. Johnson continued her hot streak at the plate hitting another home run and a double. The CSP left fielder is now 6-for-12 for the weekend with four home runs, a double and eight RBI. 

The eight doubles as a team ties the school record for a single game. The 2014 Golden Bears are the only other team to accomplish the feat, hitting eight against Minnesota Morris in a 22-0 five inning win. 

UP NEXT
The Concordia softball team take on Bemidji State again tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. to close out the non-conference section of the schedule.