ST. CLOUD, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul Softball team (19-15, 5-5 NSIC) was swept on Friday in their doubleheader against Minnesota Duluth (23-6, 9-1 NSIC). The Bulldogs defeated CSP in five innings, 11-1, in game one and used a seventh inning comeback to win game two, 3-2.

With the wins, UMD takes the top spot in the conference standings, moving ahead of Winona State (8-1 NSIC) and MSU Moorhead (7-1 NSIC). The Golden Bears fall to seventh in the conference and share a .500 record with St. Cloud State (4-4 NSIC). The Bears will see SCSU tomorrow afternoon under the Husky Dome for their conference doubleheader.

GAME ONE: Minnesota Duluth 11, Concordia 1 (Five Innings)
The Bulldogs took a quick lead in the first inning and never looked back. A hit batter and a walk to start the game put a runner in scoring position for center fielder Kadin Burkhardt who knocked a single to left field to drive in UMD's first run of the game. 

Minnesota Duluth poured it on in the second inning, bringing in a leadoff single on a triple from right fielder Dea Deleon. A walk put runners on first and third and the Bulldogs took advantage of the situation, using a double steal to score the speedy Deleon from third. Another walk and sacrifice bunt moved runners into scoring position for UMD, setting things up for a two-out single to increase their lead to 5-0.

A walk, two more hits, and another run ended the day for CSP starter Erica McCullough and Kristi Pilz entered the game in relief. The junior struck out the first batter she faced, but allowed a walk to load the bases. A ground-rule double brought in two more runs in to score before Pilz retired the final batter on a ground-out to shortstop Taylor Griffin. 

The Golden Bears showed some life in the fourth inning, holding the Bulldogs scoreless in the top half and scoring their first and only run of the game in the bottom of the inning. A throwing error on a double play attempt put Danni Sharum on second and gave the Bears their first at-bat with a runner in scoring position. Tori Turgeon came on as a pinch runner and showed off her speed, scoring from second on a two-out single up the middle by Avery Johnson to bring the score to 8-1. 

The Bulldogs extended their lead to 10 in the fifth to set up an early end to the game. A single with the bases loaded brought the first of the three runs, but were momentarily stopped from scoring run number two as the Bears cut down a runner at the plate for the first out of the inning. A sacrifice fly and a single brought in the 10th and 11th runs of the game for UMD before Pilz picked up her third strikeout to end the inning. The Golden Bears loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth, but Minnesota Duluth was able to escape unscathed to end the game in five innings. 

Bulldog starting pitcher Lauren Dixon was the star of the game, going five innings, giving up just one run on four hits while striking out eight. 

GAME TWO: Minnesota Duluth 3, Concordia 2
The Golden Bears fared much better in the second game at the plate and in the circle, but were plagued by missed opportunities. Concordia left 11 runners on base and took a lead into the seventh before falling to a late Bulldog comeback. 

The Bears took their first lead of the day in the second inning, loading the bases for right fielder Riley Rosenthal. The freshman battled through a 12 pitch at-bat, at one point fouling off five-straight pitches, before hitting a single to right field to bring in Taylor Griffin. Bulldogs pitcher Mady Starhia limited the damage, getting the next two outs to strand two on base and limit the Bears to a 1-0 lead. 

Both teams went without a run over the next three innings, before a two-out home run by UMD's Kadin Burkhardt tied things up in the sixth. A Taylor Griffin lead-off single set the Bears up to answer in the bottom of the inning. Rachel Novak entered the game as a pinch runner and advanced into scoring position on groundout. Avery Johnson came through with another late game RBI with a single to bring in Novak and put the Bears back in front 2-1.

Golden Bears starting pitcher Bryanna Olson looked in control in the top of the seventh and set to close out the game, striking out a pair of Bulldog batters after a leadoff walk for the first two outs. Another walk put the go ahead run on base setting things up for UMD left fielder Corrie Weise. A hard hit ball into left took a disastrous bounce over Avery Johnson's head in left field and rolled into the corner of the outfield. Two runs came across, but a quick cutoff and throw home by Grace Beseman saved a third as catcher Danni Sharum tagged out Weise at the plate.

UMD brought in game one starter Lauren Dixon to close things out, but the Bears were able to have some success against the Bulldog ace, putting two on with two outs. Taylor Griffin made great contact, but her screaming line drive was just low enough to be caught by Minnesota Duluth's shortstop to end the game and give UMD the 3-2 win. 

Olson (11-9) was solid in the circle for the Bears as she picked up the loss. She went all seven innings for her 12th complete game of the season, giving up two earned runs on three hits while striking out eight. With the eight strikeouts Olson moved in front of Dixon as the conference leader in strikeouts with 119.

UP NEXT
The Golden Bears are back under the Husky Dome again tomorrow for a doubleheader with St. Cloud State (19-14, 4-4 NSIC). Game one starts at noon with game two following at 2:00 p.m.