BEMIDJI, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul softball team (19-22, 5-10 NSIC) were swept by Bemidji State (16-18, 5-7 NSIC) on Monday, falling in game one 10-6 and game two 11-10 in nine innings. It has been a rough stretch for the Golden Bears as they have now lost nine in a row.

The Golden Bears will look to get back on track tomorrow against Southwest Minnesota State at home. The Mustangs (11-24, 6-10 NSIC) are coming off a 3-1 weekend, sweeping University of Mary and splitting with Minot State. Games are set for 2:00 and 4:00 p.m.

GAME ONE: Bemidji State 10, Concordia 6
Alexus Houston got things started in the first inning with a one-out solo home run to give the Golden Bears a 1-0 lead. The Bears tacked on two more in the second inning with Danni Sharum and Jacey Defries coming in to score on a dropped ball by the BSU center fielder.

The Beavers answered with six in the bottom of the second, knocking CSP starter Bryanna Olson out of the game. The junior had a promising start, striking out three of the first five batters in the game, but things would fall apart in the second inning. A hit batter with one out started the collapse, with three-straight walks followed by three straight hits bringing six runs across the plate. Kristi Pilz came on in relief and finished off the final two outs on six pitches. 

The Bears cut the lead to 6-5 in the top of the third on a two-run home run by Grace Beseman. A solo shot from BSU catcher Morgan Benedict was the only damage in the bottom of the inning as the CSP headed to the fourth down 7-5. 

The scoring picked up again in the bottom of the fifth as Bemidji State started the inning off with a single, double, and a three-run home run. Pilz settled things down to hold the Beavers scoreless over the last two innings, but the damage was done. 

Concordia added one more in the seventh on an RBI double from Beseman to score Houston, but BSU would hold on to win 10-6. Concordia out-hit the Beavers (11-10), but left seven on base in the contest.

Bryanna Olson took the loss to drop to 11-12 while BSU's starter Kayla Damerow went all seven innings in a winning effort to improve to 6-10. Alexus Houston and Grace Beseman led the Golden Bears offensively with both hitting doubles, and home runs. Houston was 3-4 with an RBI and Beseman finished 2-4 with three RBI.

GAME TWO: Bemidji State 11, Concordia 10 (Nine Innings)
The Beavers were the team to take an early lead in the second game of the double header. BSU took advantage of a couple of CSP errors to score three unearned runs and backed them up with two more on a two-RBI triple by right fielder Molly Houts to go up 5-0.

Clara Heislen hit a two-run shot in the top of the third for her team leading ninth home run. The Beavers responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run and a two-out RBI double.

After two hit batters by Erica McCoulough to start the fourth, coach Bob Bartel went to his bullpen, bringing in Bryanna Olson. The junior was solid, letting up just one more run in the fifth to allow the Bears to mount a comeback. 

The Bears started picking at the Bemidji State lead in the top of the fifth, scoring two in the inning on a solo homer by Danni Sharum and a ground rule double from Clara Heislen to score Alexus Houston. Leadoff home runs in the sixth by Sydney Pelzer and Avery Johnson cut the lead to 8-6 with an inning to go. 

The duo of Pelzer and Johnson came through for CSP again in the seventh, hitting back-to-back two-out RBI doubles to tie it up at 8-8. Olson shut down the Beavers in the bottom of the inning, striking out twins Alexa and Aimee Christianson before inducing a groundout to send it to extra innings. 

Both teams were held without a run in the eighth. Pelzer and Johnson continued to be clutch at the plate for the Golden Bears in the ninth. A sacrifice fly from Pelzer scored Beseman to bring the CSP within one. Johnson extended the inning with a two-out single to move Jacey Defries to third, setting up Annalise Scamehorn for an RBI single to put the Bears up 10-8.

After a quick out, Olson walked the Christianson sisters to put two Beavers on. An RBI single by Houts turned up the pressure and put two on. A lineout to Alexus Houston gave Concordia their second out and held Aimee Christianson at third, but another walk loaded the bases. Four pitches later, Emmarie Yeager found the open space behind first for a single to tie things up and set up center fielder Eliena Christianson to play the hero. The fifth year senior came through, hitting a sharp ground ball that bounced off third base and into foul territory to walk it off 11-10. 

Olson (11-13) took her second loss on the day in a valiant effort. Walks were the junior's undoing as both free passes in the ninth would score. Overall Olson had six walks to four strikeouts over 5.2 innings, giving up four runs on six hits. 

UP NEXT
The Golden Bears are back home tomorrow for a doubleheader against Southwest Minnesota State at Carlander Field. Game one against the Mustangs starts at 2:00 p.m with game two following at 4:00 p.m.