ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Concordia-St. Paul softball team travels to Mankato this weekend to start the 2024 season. The Golden Bears are set to compete in the Minnesota State Invitational Softball Tournament in the Maverick All-Sports Dome on Friday and Saturday.

Concordia is set to play Emporia State (Kan.) at 9 a.m. and Lewis (Ill.) at 1:30 p.m. for action on Friday. On Saturday, CSP will play Emporia State again at 9 a.m. and Upper Iowa at 3:15 p.m.

"We have four games here in early February and it gives us a chance to see what we need to work on," said Bob Bartel, who enters his 20th season as the head coach for Concordia-St. Paul. 

LAST SEASON

The Golden Bears went 30-28 during the 2023 campaign with a 13-15 NSIC record. This put CSP as the No. 9 seed going into the NSIC Tournament. 

Concordia-St. Paul made a push in the NSIC Tournament, being one of the last four teams remaining in the double-elimination contest. CSP picked up a 5-4 win in the opening round against Sioux Falls, but then fell just short against top-seeded Augustana, losing 8-7. The Golden Bears then picked up a pair of five-inning victories over Bemidji State and Winona State before ending the season with a 7-6 loss to St. Cloud State. 

CSP returns 11 players from last year's roster which includes six from the regular batting rotation. The Golden Bears lost two pitchers in the offseason, but return left-handed pitcher Erica McCullough for her junior year. 

Last season, Concordia-St. Paul was ninth in the NSIC in batting with a team average of .288. The Golden Bears were second in the NSIC in home runs with 59 and fifth in doubles with 93. When it came to pitching, CSP was 10th in the conference with a team ERA of 4.37. 

NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Concordia-St. Paul is set to play a 26-game non-conference schedule to start the season which leads up to the first home game in St. Paul to begin conference play on March 23. The Golden Bears will be playing in tournaments in Minnesota, Kansas, Florida and Missouri over the non-conference slate. 

After this weekend's games at the Minnesota State Invitational, the Golden Bears will take a couple of weeks off before heading to Kansas to play in the Emporia State Classic on Feb. 16-17. CSP is slated to play Emporia State twice in the tournament along with Missouri competition from Missouri-St. Louis, Rockhurst and Maryville.

Concordia-St. Paul's biggest non-conference road trip is at THE Spring Games in Florida from March 1-8. The Golden Bears play 12 games featuring teams from as far west as Montana and as far east as Connecticut. 

Lastly, the Golden Bears round out the non-conference slate at the Teri Mathis-Zenner MIAA/NSIC Crossover Tournament on March 15-17. CSP will play Missouri Southern, Nebraska Kearney and Pittsburg State (Kan.) over the weekend. 

"I think it's a good non-conference schedule for us against some good quality teams," Bartel said. "It will help us gauge where we are at and figure out what we need to get better at to be successful when conference play starts."

NSIC AT A GLANCE

Concordia-St. Paul was picked seventh in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll with a total of 119 points. 

Augustana was picked as the top team in the conference for the fifth consecutive year. The Vikings finished 39-15 last season with a 23-5 NSIC record, finishing first place in the regular season. 

Torri Chute of Augustana was picked as the NSIC Preseason Player of the Year after winning NSIC Player of the Year last season. She hit an NSIC-best batting average last season at .444 with 72 hits and nine home runs. 

Minnesota Duluth was picked second in the NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Bulldogs finished the 2023 campaign with a 40-13 record and a 22-6 NSIC record to finish second after regular season play. Minnesota Duluth defeated Augustana in the NSIC Championship by a score of 9-0. The Bulldogs finished the season with a pair of one-point losses in regional play to Missouri Southern and Rogers State. 

Duluth's Lauren Dixon was named the Preseason Pitcher of the Year. She has the career strikeout record at UMD with 585 career strikeouts. She posted a 1.50 ERA last season over 172.2 innings pitches. She had a 21-5 record allowing only 37 runs with 228 strikeouts. 

Winona State was picked third in the NSIC Preseason Poll after finishing third in the NSIC last season with a 38-16 record. Minnesota State was picked fourth after finishing fourth last season at 31-19. St. Cloud State was picked fifth and MSU Moorhead was picked sixth in the NSIC. 

The Golden Bears know how good NSIC competition can be, especially with many top-quality batters in the conference.

"We're going to have to pitch well and play defense well," Bartel said. "Pitching is kind of the name of the game in the NSIC. We're obviously going to need to score some runs too and I think we will, but our pitching and defense will determine how we finish in the conference."

MEET THE GOLDEN BEARS: PITCHERS AND CATCHERS

McCullough is CSP's lone returner on the mound from last season. The left-handed pitcher posted a 9-7 record in 2023 appearing in 28 games with 20 starts. She had a 4.21 ERA striking out 60 batters and giving up a batting average of .306. 

"Erica's got a lot of experience," Bartel said. "She's a competitor and she doesn't shy away from any team at any time. We expect her to put up better numbers again this year and keep moving forward."

The Golden Bears lost Bryanna Olson and Kristi Pilz to graduation this last season. With these losses, CSP is going to be looking into freshman pitchers Emmy Bowne and Makayla Wigern to fill the void. Bowne comes in from Big Lake High School as an all-conference pitcher. 

"We are expecting good things from Emmy," Bartel said. "She's going to come right in and compete and keep us in a lot of games."

Wigern recorded a 2.63 ERA during her senior season at Glencoe-Silver Lake High School. She tallied 249 strikeouts in 255.1 innings pitched in her high school career. 

Danni Sharum returns for her junior season as the catcher of the Golden Bears. She started in 52 games last season and played in 54. She posted a .266 batting average with a .476 slugging percentage and a .369 on-base percentage. The sophomore from Marietta, Georgia also collected 33 RBIs with six doubles and eight home runs.

"I think Danni is going to jump out and hit for more power than she did last season," Bartel said. "She's going to drive in some runs and hopefully hit for a higher average."

Bryleigh Dana could also be an option at catcher for the Golden Bears. The freshman out of Cottage Grove earned all-conference twice and an all-conference honorable mention at Park High School. 

MEET THE GOLDEN BEARS: OUTFIELD

The Golden Bears return their entire outfield from last season. This includes the preseason player to watch for Concordia in senior centerfielder Clara Heislen. Heislen was sixth in the NSIC in home runs last season hitting 12 homers. She was a Third-team All-American and the Week Five NSIC Player of the Week. Heislen slashed .287/.389/.580 with 38 RBIs and 13 doubles last season. 

"Clara brings a vast amount of experience to our lineup, she's been our starting centerfielder since day one of her freshman year," Bartel said. "She's the heart and soul of this team, a fierce competitor and true leader on and off the field."

Alexus Houston is back for her senior season playing right field. She won the NSIC Gold Glove Award for Outfield last season. She slashed .283/.324/.449 during her junior campaign and led CSP in hits with 56. Houston also recorded 29 RBIs with nine doubles, three triples and six home runs. The Forreston, Illinois native led Concordia-St. Paul in stolen bases with 14. 

Due to an injury, the Golden Bears are moving Rachel Novak from first base to left field for the first few weeks of the season. Novak appeared in 41 games last season with 14 starts. The sophomore from Oakdale batted .182 in 44 at-bats with five RBIs on eight hits. 

"We were working Rachel out at first base this fall in anticipation that she could help us there," Bartel said. "But she also has some experience out in the outfield so she'll start the season out there."

Avery Johnson will be in left field when she returns from injury. Johnson appeared in 56 games last season with 54 starts. The sophomore from Hudson, Wisconsin slashed .316/.381/.557 last season with 50 hits, nine home runs and nine doubles. She also tallied 35 RBIs and had the second-best batting average on the team.

Tori Turgeon returns for her sophomore season with CSP. She appeared in 45 games during the 2023 season with five stolen bases and scored 18 runs.

MEET THE GOLDEN BEARS: INFIELD

At third base, the Golden Bears are planning on starting freshman Alexis Monty. The Stillwater native earned First Team All-State and was a part of the 2018 State Championship team for Stillwater Area High School. 

"That's kind of a new position for her," Bartel said "She was a shortstop in high school but I think she will adapt well to this new spot."

Sydney Pelzer is going to be moved from second base to shortstop. The junior from Little Canada started in all 58 games last season with a .312 batting average. She tallied 31 RBIs with 15 doubles and three home runs. 

Riley Rosenthal is starting at second base after being used both in the infield and outfield last season. She played in 38 games with 11 starts last season. The sophomore from Woodbury collected 10 hits and six RBIs in 44 plate appearances during the 2023 campaign.

At first base, Annalise Scamehorn is projected to start with Dana and Novak as potential other options for the position. Scamehorn played in 51 games last season with 49 starts and put up a team-best .319 batting average. The senior from New Brighton was named All-NSIC Second Team last season with 21 RBIs, five doubles and two home runs. 

Morgan Medlo will also be in the mix for the Golden Bears this season. The junior appeared in 23 games last season with one start and tallied four hits with one RBI in 19 at bats.